Thanks for the posts so far! Don't worry...no sensationalism here. That's why I'm coming to you guys - I know you know your stuff. My hubbie sent me! If I'm wrong, I won't print it; I want to understand it fully. Part of my motivation is that I think Ford is cool, and tractors are cool and I'd like to have it in the book.
Failure or not a failure: I realize that the Fordson played a big role in revolutionizing agriculture. Do you know the story of how early on in its history the UK government during WWI begged Ford to help because they didn't have enough men to tend the fields and they were afraid of mass starvation. Ford built and shipped over Fordsons, and mostly women drove them to grow food.
I am examining how and if the Fordson was a "not so great invention." It has been called by some a failure. This is because the original model - the one Ford put out, received a lot of complaints, including difficulty in operation, and a tendency to flip over (Pipp's Weekly in 1922 published a list of 136 fatalities). From my perspective, the tractor is ONLY a failure in comparison to the Model T, and Ford's OWN standards. The Model T was relatively perfect - the jokes were about it being boring and dependable and longlasting. There were not large numbers of complaints about operating it; there were not fatalities during regular use as a result of mechanical design. It dominated the marketplace. Having read about Ford, personally I think that for some reason he was not able to make the tractor up to his OWN standards, and was anxious to help farmers so gave them the best he could. RELATIVELY speaking, the tractor did not last long in the marketplace (production in US ceased in 1928, when there were over 100 tractor models on the market, and Ford had only 5 percent of the marketshare.) International Harvester outcompeted Ford because they widely introduced the PTO, which was a much superior system - but I'm still trying to figure out what system it was replacing.
(Keep in mind that the premise of the book - not so great inventions - is taking a look at the reasons why inventions might be considered failures...it is not clear cut. for example, Thomas Edison's Concrete Piano sounds like a silly idea. It didn't sell then very well, and wouldn't now. But in fact, it works well, produces great sound, and is cheap to produce: just as Edison planned. During writing the book, I realize that the word failure is pretty grey area, and I hope to get that point across to readers)
Thanks for the fantastic pic Jeff - can I use it? Is it yours? Can I give you photo credit? I'll need your name to do so.
Goose: from what I've read, the rear fenders were a later addition in response to the problem of it flipping.
Bullwheel: I had a feeling the term wasn't being used right. Goose - how did the tractor operate its mower? Or was this ground wheel (anyone know the right term for it??) part of the implement itself. Come to think of it, did the tractor pull the older horsedrawn implements?? There are stories about how the first Fordson owners would light a fire under it to warm it up! Thanks again
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Today's Featured Article - Listening to Your Tractor - by Curtis Von Fange. Years ago there was a TV show about a talking car. Unless you are from another planet, physically or otherwise, I don’t think our internal combustion buddies will talk and tell us their problems. But, on the other hand, there is a secret language that our mechanical companions readily do speak. It is an interesting form of communication that involves all the senses of the listener. In this series we are going to investigate and learn the basic rudimentary skills of understanding this lingo.
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