The Rise and Fall of the American Tool Room
The Gear Archive
4,699 views
Behind a separate door at the far end of the factory floor, a handful of craftsmen worked in silence at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. This is Toolroom where accuracy itself was made. Following the tool room from its origins in the early American armory system, into Detroit's postwar golden age, and finally through the quiet decline brought by deskilling, offshoring, and 30 lost years of apprenticeship.
Sources consulted and referenced in our research:
National Park Service, Springfield Armory National Historic Site: https://www.nps.gov/spar/index.htm
Wikipedia, John Hancock Hall (gunsmith and pioneer of interchangeable parts): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ha...
Wikipedia, Harpers Ferry Armory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpers...
Wikipedia, American system of manufacturing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America...
Wikipedia, Pratt & Whitney (machine tool company): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_%...)
Wikipedia, Tool and die maker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool_an...
Wikipedia, Electrical discharge machining: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electri...
Wikipedia, Numerical control (history of CNC): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numeric...
Wikipedia, Hand scraper (scraping and Prussian blue technique): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_sc...
etc...
COPYRIGHT & FAIR USE NOTICE
Some images, footage, and archival materials in this video are used for commentary, education, research, and historical documentation under Fair Use principles.
We respect all copyright holders. If you own any material featured in this video and have concerns regarding its use or attribution, please contact us directly before filing a copyright claim or takedown request. We will be happy to review the matter and resolve it appropriately.
4 Comments
For video production, there is a process like proof-reading, a review that gives final approval before release. This is functionally equivalent to a final inspection given to a tool before it is sent to production, and it looks like you did not do that here.
The Rise and Fall of the American Tool Room
The Gear Archive
4,699 views
Behind a separate door at the far end of the factory floor, a handful of craftsmen worked in silence at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. This is Toolroom where accuracy itself was made. Following the tool room from its origins in the early American armory system, into Detroit's postwar golden age, and finally through the quiet decline brought by deskilling, offshoring, and 30 lost years of apprenticeship.
Sources consulted and referenced in our research:
National Park Service, Springfield Armory National Historic Site: https://www.nps.gov/spar/index.htm
Wikipedia, John Hancock Hall (gunsmith and pioneer of interchangeable parts): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ha...
Wikipedia, Harpers Ferry Armory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpers...
Wikipedia, American system of manufacturing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America...
Wikipedia, Pratt & Whitney (machine tool company): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_%...)
Wikipedia, Tool and die maker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool_an...
Wikipedia, Electrical discharge machining: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electri...
Wikipedia, Numerical control (history of CNC): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numeric...
Wikipedia, Hand scraper (scraping and Prussian blue technique): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_sc...
etc...
COPYRIGHT & FAIR USE NOTICE
Some images, footage, and archival materials in this video are used for commentary, education, research, and historical documentation under Fair Use principles.
We respect all copyright holders. If you own any material featured in this video and have concerns regarding its use or attribution, please contact us directly before filing a copyright claim or takedown request. We will be happy to review the matter and resolve it appropriately.
That said, I think the modern toolmakers are still a highly skilled group. What the automation has allowed them to do is make things that were pretty much impossible years ago, and do it very fast, but the skill still has to be there. I remember one mold I spent months programming on that was at the edge of what the software was capable of doing, and about lost my mind in the process. Today that programming job would likely be done in a day or so without all the head banging on the keyboard. Todays toolmaker might not have the skill to do everything manually like was done in the 1950's but he can do much more complex work, much faster than they would ever dreamed of. Personally I wouldn't want to go back.