2 vs 4 hole quadrant
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 10:29 am
Why did Ford switch from 4 holes to 2 on the handbrake quadrant? Is there any design benefits from the change or dimension changes to the quadrant?
Page 1 of 1
Re: 2 vs 4 hole quadrant
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 10:49 am
Ol’ Henry was always looking at ways to save $$. So he might’ve saved 1.5 cents per car going to the 2 rivet quadrant.
Re: 2 vs 4 hole quadrant
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 1:16 pm
In Henry’s production line less time meant more money.
Two less holes to drill in a quadrant and in the frame. A few seconds here and a few seconds there. And 2 more rivets that could be used on the next quadrant and frame that were left over from the one before!
Two less holes to drill in a quadrant and in the frame. A few seconds here and a few seconds there. And 2 more rivets that could be used on the next quadrant and frame that were left over from the one before!
Re: 2 vs 4 hole quadrant
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 3:17 pm
I guess that makes sense. Interesting!John kuehn wrote: ↑Thu Jul 01, 2021 1:16 pmIn Henry’s production line less time meant more money.
Two less holes to drill in a quadrant and in the frame. A few seconds here and a few seconds there. And 2 more rivets that could be used on the next quadrant and frame that were left over from the one before!
Re: 2 vs 4 hole quadrant
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 8:00 pm
The thing that always amazed me is why he didn't make that change several years earlier? I totally 'get' the whole 'consider history in the context of its time' thing! I OFTEN tell other people that. It is the keystone of actually understanding history! Just memorizing details and dates is not understanding history.
In the beginning of the Model T years, the four rivets would have simply been a continuation of how similar mechanisms were done. However, by 1915, it should have been obvious that four rivets was overkill.
I suspect it was simply a matter of priorities. For the first five years of model T production? It was all about getting the manufacturing process ironed out. Henry was building the largest assembly line the world had ever seen! This wasn't some short year-long project. This was funneling hundreds of parts, many of them made from dozens of smaller pieces, to the right place at the right time. This was several floors of operations upon several acres of land with a hundred doors in and one door that completed cars were driven out (a bit of poetic license there?)!
That Henry was able to imagine this, that alone shows the genius of the man. (Regardless of the limited education he had!) That he was able to build it and make it work shows the strength and the drive of the man! By the time the black radiator cars began being built, it was mostly refining the process, improving the cars while lowering the costs, and so forth. At any time from then on? I am a bit surprised that this one detail wasn't addressed sooner. However, there were plenty of other things that needed constant attention.
In the beginning of the Model T years, the four rivets would have simply been a continuation of how similar mechanisms were done. However, by 1915, it should have been obvious that four rivets was overkill.
I suspect it was simply a matter of priorities. For the first five years of model T production? It was all about getting the manufacturing process ironed out. Henry was building the largest assembly line the world had ever seen! This wasn't some short year-long project. This was funneling hundreds of parts, many of them made from dozens of smaller pieces, to the right place at the right time. This was several floors of operations upon several acres of land with a hundred doors in and one door that completed cars were driven out (a bit of poetic license there?)!
That Henry was able to imagine this, that alone shows the genius of the man. (Regardless of the limited education he had!) That he was able to build it and make it work shows the strength and the drive of the man! By the time the black radiator cars began being built, it was mostly refining the process, improving the cars while lowering the costs, and so forth. At any time from then on? I am a bit surprised that this one detail wasn't addressed sooner. However, there were plenty of other things that needed constant attention.