The Ford Barn

ronn · 02-08-2021, 03:33 PM

well this thread taught me a lesson or two.

good coming to the Barn......

Oldford59 · 02-08-2021, 05:30 PM

Yes makes total sense about the wood.
I do though enjoy listening to stories from the old guys it sounded like a good storyline !

rotorwrench · 02-08-2021, 07:06 PM

Poplar-Mahogany marine grade plywood was used on boats and aircraft well before the model A era. Ford's Iron Mountain sawmill was in production by the end of July in 1921 and Ford kept improving on it as time went by. Ford made all the wood panels for the station wagons when they came out.

jack wingard · 02-08-2021, 07:11 PM

My 29 Coupe came from Nevada. It doesn't seem to be original but it does appear to be redwood.

McMimmcs · 02-08-2021, 07:26 PM

The folklore my dad always told me was the factories were heated with wood burning furnaces and the wood came from the shipping containers.
The other part of the story was Henry owned several tree plantations and a massive lumber mill in the Bay City Michigan area and was able to produce the needed wood at the mill.

rotorwrench · 02-09-2021, 11:39 AM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Read up on the Iron Mountain plant if you want to know where Ford sourced most of his wood. Check out Edward G. Kingsford and how he aided in the purchase of the of the land in the upper peninsula for Henry Ford. The waste from the sawmill was made into charcoal briquettes.

Different plants likely had differing energy sources but the Rouge had coal hauled in either by ship or rail so that was likely the energy source for the main Dearborn and Highland Park facilities in that era. I don't doubt that Ford's plants used all the materials that they could but they also found other good uses for some materials rather than waist them. I have heard that Ford used shipping container wood for some things but I don't know how many items were actually sent out in containers. They actually stacked a lot of things together or in special racks when they were loaded on the freight cars to go out to the various plants. Knock down vehicles were crated as a complete assembly of components for shipping overseas. They were put together like jigsaw puzzles so that everything fit in as small an area as possible.

02-08-2021, 03:33 PM	#21
ronn Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: NNNNNNNNJJJJJJJJJJ Posts: 6,784	Re: Was Plywood Used well this thread taught me a lesson or two. good coming to the Barn......

02-08-2021, 05:30 PM	#22
Oldford59 Member Join Date: Jan 2021 Posts: 47	Re: Was Plywood Used Yes makes total sense about the wood. I do though enjoy listening to stories from the old guys it sounded like a good storyline !

02-08-2021, 07:06 PM	#23
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,425	Re: Was Plywood Used Poplar-Mahogany marine grade plywood was used on boats and aircraft well before the model A era. Ford's Iron Mountain sawmill was in production by the end of July in 1921 and Ford kept improving on it as time went by. Ford made all the wood panels for the station wagons when they came out.

02-08-2021, 07:11 PM	#24
jack wingard Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Stoneboro PA Posts: 120	Re: Was Plywood Used My 29 Coupe came from Nevada. It doesn't seem to be original but it does appear to be redwood.

02-08-2021, 07:26 PM	#25
McMimmcs Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Fort Gratiot, Michigan Posts: 2,296	Re: Was Plywood Used The folklore my dad always told me was the factories were heated with wood burning furnaces and the wood came from the shipping containers. The other part of the story was Henry owned several tree plantations and a massive lumber mill in the Bay City Michigan area and was able to produce the needed wood at the mill. Last edited by McMimmcs; 02-08-2021 at 07:38 PM.

02-09-2021, 11:39 AM	#26
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,425	Re: Was Plywood Used Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Read up on the Iron Mountain plant if you want to know where Ford sourced most of his wood. Check out Edward G. Kingsford and how he aided in the purchase of the of the land in the upper peninsula for Henry Ford. The waste from the sawmill was made into charcoal briquettes. Different plants likely had differing energy sources but the Rouge had coal hauled in either by ship or rail so that was likely the energy source for the main Dearborn and Highland Park facilities in that era. I don't doubt that Ford's plants used all the materials that they could but they also found other good uses for some materials rather than waist them. I have heard that Ford used shipping container wood for some things but I don't know how many items were actually sent out in containers. They actually stacked a lot of things together or in special racks when they were loaded on the freight cars to go out to the various plants. Knock down vehicles were crated as a complete assembly of components for shipping overseas. They were put together like jigsaw puzzles so that everything fit in as small an area as possible. Last edited by rotorwrench; 02-09-2021 at 11:50 AM.