Master Hands - Chevrolet Manufacturing (1936)

Master Hands (4K) by Jam Handy Organization. Courtesy: Prelinger Archives. First 4K scan of Master Hands, made by Adrianne Finelli on March 5, 2019 at Internet Archive from a 35mm print.
Classic "capitalist realist" drama showing the manufacture of Chevrolets from foundry to finished vehicles. Though ostensibly a tribute to the "master hands" of the assembly line workers, it seems more of a paean to the designers of this impressive mass production system. Filmed in Flint, Michigan, just months before the United Auto Workers won union recognition with their famous sitdown strikes. Released the same year as two other films with which it shares similarities: MODERN TIMES and TRIUMPH OF THE WILL. Selected for the 1999 National Film Registry of "artistically, culturally, and socially significant" films.
Publication date 1936 Topics Jam Handy Organization, National Film Registry, Chevrolet Motor Company, automobile manufacturing, Flint Michigan
#Chevrolet

[@robertjensen1048]

The most extraordinary thing is how these men were able to tirelessly produce cars while an entire symphony was playing nearby.

[@polymetric2614]

idk man those cars definitely had tires on them

[@canadagood]

Entire symphony? It was probably just one guy who job was to walk around the factory schlepping around a hand-cranked phonograph machine.

[@ever9440]

While watching i was wondering if they had ear protection from the machinery. But i think you're right, the music seemed to drown that all out. 🤣

[@eroticmasterbaker]

Best comment ever!

[@rxw5520]

I think the symphony was added later after they’d filmed it. If I’m not mistaken. That’s probably the most logical explanation I can think of, but again, I wasn’t there so I can’t be sure.

[@sweetkellymay]

What I find even more amazing is the people who built all the machinery, so these guys could build the parts.

[@boscoalbertbaracus1362]

just a much bigger foundry and factory, that probably dried up and went out of business decades ago when we started importing machinery from CHYNA and such.

[@ThZuao]

What an impressive degree of automation. And all before robots too. Purely mechanical systems.

[@daviddavis1322]

Great point. Never thought about it like that.

[@sac3528]

You'd be amazed just how much automation in factories today is still mechanical, or simple electromechanical (limit switches and not much else) systems.

[@kwaseb]

Don't forget to mention the amazing Camera which filmed this footage...save for being in black and white, amazing clarity

[@jimmyhuesandthehouserocker1069]

what scares me is the lack of eye protection and little regard for worket safety

[@jareddiamond6607]

@@jimmyhuesandthehouserocker1069 that's your take on this? Calm down on the soy milk mate.

[@charlieharper4975]

WOW! That was impressive as hell! I'm amazed at how much hand labor still went into production. Hard and dangerous labor. And some of those hard working men were OLD. Back then - you worked! These were the same guys that built the tanks that won WWII.

[@user-ec7yd2gi1w]

Это действительно впечатляюще! Но танки, которые "выиграли" ВОВ, построил СССР. В войну ИГРАЮТ только дети. Шевроле конечно молодцы.

[@user-ec7yd2gi1w]

И кстати, за аббревиату́ру ВОВ (Великую Отечественную Войну) Огромное спасибо, что помните!

[@wrenchpony9735]

@@user-ec7yd2gi1w the Sherman tanks were quite shit in all honesty. With out a doubt industry won WWII. America was able to pump out such an insane overwhelming number of machines the Germans didn't stand a chance. Then the German rulers made one of the two worst military decisions of the war and invaded Russia. The Americans had machinery to throw at the enemy, the Russians had people to throw at them.

[@wrenchpony9735]

@Satanic Panic Fun and Games merely sands on the beaches of time.

[@Driver-dg9lw]

@@wrenchpony9735 Sherman tanks were better than any counter part maybe not in armor and fire power but in the fact they actually worked a tank shot dead or a tank destroyed by crew because it broke down are the same in the end useless and German tanks were built to such a fine point they were perfect yet almost impossible to field repair and soviet tanks were well very shit but they pumped them out so fast it didn't matter if one broke down cause they just built three more in its place

[@musafawundu6718]

This is not just assembly, this is vertical integration of all the synthesizing and fabrication processes that are metallurgically based: casting, forging, and machining in various different way.

[@dcwebb1]

The making of that crankshaft is absolute awesome!

[@itsjustnopinionok]

You can bet that operation wore out many a good men over the years in that department

[@alonsomajikal3158]

Best part. I was like "what the hell are these guys making a sword for? Then bam! Out comes a crankshaft.

[@jeffdrum5541]

That was crazy. Took me a second to figure out what they were doing but holey moley... that was amazing. Been a mechanic for 30 years, if it matters.

[@captainsouth4460]

@@itsjustnopinionok No wonder the factory workers went straight to the bar after work! When our town had a lot of blue collar workers the bars were full! Factories here are mostly gone now, along with 95% of the bars and three bowling alleys that have closed in the past 15 years. Blue Collar drove our economy.

[@expseeker9438]

They don't make em like they used to!

[@rhess107]

Really cool to watch. I cant help but notice the craftsmanship those men put in their work and also that they were able to fully support and provide well for their wives and children with their wages.

[@tomgunn8004]

@Xenu Da Pimp You, sir, are a bung hole.

[@michaelquinones-lx6ks]

Better than that Chinese EV Made shit that blows up.

[@kwikRT]

All my respect to these men, so much manual labor under grueling conditions. I will never complain about my job!

[@TEBerrigan]

Imagine doing the same task over and over, all day every day for 40+ years. These guys worked their a**es off.

[@jeffdrum5541]

...and they got shit done.

[@dntlss]

Back in these days if you worked in a place like this women would fall at your feet wanting to marry you,you were considered quite a catch if you had steady work, these days that just drives women away,these days the more worthless you can be the more of a ladies man you are, ha ha ha ha ha

[@sonicdewd]

They did trade off to vary their tasks. They were tougher back then than us, but they needed variation - that hasn't changed.

[@Kevin-jb2pv]

I'm always blown away at how much _fire_ heavy industry uses. And when it comes down to it, it still does. We've just gotten a lot better at keeping those fires bottled up to capture more of its energy.

[@USAutoIndustry]

Updated 4K scan of this classic film.

[@middleclassbogan9741]

It's insane how many people worked to make cars, to think that not even a third of the components are covered in this is just crazy. Thank you for the videos!

[@davidcanada4056]

Thank you!!

[@nyceyes]

Brilliant! Thank you for this video uploader. 🤗❤️☺️

[@nyceyes]

All of those workers were able to purchase a home, raise families, put their children through college, and retire with dignity. No college degree or debt needed, no coding interviews, none of that.

[@akradical1344]

Please start uploading once again,I know the golden period of car industry is gone but then also.

[@gilzor9376]

I could watch this countless times and notice something new each time. I love it. Thank you.

[@josephg41]

More than 80 years later and the assembly lines of back then I still marvel at. It still boggles my mind how they made all these very task-specific huge industrial machines, then within a few months designed entirely new ones for completely new cars.

[@doriftuh7331]

Illuminati

[@josephg41]

@@doriftuh7331 Seems about right

[@thatguyuntiedshoes6921]

They say some of the best engines were made on a Wednesday

[@hud86]

People used to accept that toil was a part of life. I would give just about anything to have people with half the fortitude and character of these old timers. People today are lazy assholes with no morals or work ethic

[@expseeker9438]

@@thatguyuntiedshoes6921 I feel like there's a joke in there somewhere but I can't figure it out. Wednesday?

[@charleslowe522]

Those engine blocks strolling along the time and the ominous music make it kind of scary, LOL. Love watching manufacturing videos. Great stuff.

[@jaunteraudi817]

Music is straight out from Tom&Jerry series, but this is amazing, i have never thought that in 1936 there was such a factories with so sophisticated machinery - amazing. And working ours and temperatures those man had to work through.....man thats hard!!

[@tj-co9go]

Yeah it is called classical music in case you didn't know. Specifically, from late Romantic period, from late 1800s and early 1900s. I recognised Wagner's Ring at least. Which is the kind of music was Tom&Jerry often use, though that series aired in the 1940s. It uses the kind of music that was common to use in films and programs at that time, but has now been replaced by more modern music. I think it fits the video quite well

[@arielnyc2005]

And this was pre WW2 1936, the advances in manufacturing in the next nine years would be immense.

[@LarsonFamilyFarm-LLC]

@15:10 whoever spent all day every day adjusting valve lash....my heart goes out to them. It's tough & rough to fine tune valve lash on just one engine...let alone hundreds a day for years and years.

[@AstraWerke]

The image quality is simply astonishing. What a great movie!

[@wrenchpony9735]

Really was super clean.

[@dehoedisc7247]

It is made from 35mm original film, Kodak's best at the time.

[@mikezylstra7514]

@@dehoedisc7247 And Jam Handy. Detroit's "Hollywood". film producer, an arm of GM.

[@antoniohosino145]

I WORKED AT A PIPE FOUNDRY FOR A BRIEF TIME , THE PROCESS IS VERY SIMILAR !!!!! YOU GAIN AN IMMENSE RESPECT FOR WHAT THESE DEDICATED MEN DO AND THE EXTREMES OF HEAT AND SMOKE THAT THEY HAD TO INDURE !!!!! AMERICA AT ITS FINEST !!!!!

[@keysautorepair6038]

Sad thing is you don't see much of this in America anymore all you see is fast food restaurants banks and gas stations.

[@Cr125stin]

Awesome! Thanks for the video! The 1936 Chevrolet Master Deluxe was one of the best selling cars in America at the time. Chevrolet was on top of their game despite the Great Depression.

[@thegoodthebadandtheugly9920]

Thats still a great car, and sells for 15k plus on today's market.

[@j-rod3718]

Not much great names for the models though. 🙄. “Master Deluxe” sounds like a Kirby vacuum

[@tjlovesrachel]

I have a 37 master deluxe … love that car… nothing like it

[@InflatablePlane]

@@j-rod3718 oh there were worse names out there. Chevrolet had one called the Confederate and Studebaker had the Dictator.

[@liberman0]

Спасибо!С удовольствием посмотрел все этапы производства той эпохи!Очень много людского труда в каждом автомобиле!

[@pablopicaro7649]

Thank you! I watched all the stages of production of that era with pleasure! There is a lot of human labor in every car!

[@liberman0]

@@pablopicaro7649 Thanks for translating my comment.😄

[@musonchick]

поэтому у старых авто есть душа

[@stevebell6454]

What impressed me the most is the strength of men to work that hard day in and day out with few brakes. The lines never stop. You work when you’re sick or not. Dangers everywhere one mistake and your injury may cost your life or the guy next to you. I’m very respectful. Where I work the men are soft and complain about everything just a bunch of ungrateful spoiled children.

[@cosmicfish1000]

Just amazing to watch, so glad they thought to film this back in the day. The crazy thing is the tools and machinery they’re using for the job were also designed and made. Just as they’re making the engine, someone had to make every nut and bolt of those machines. Truly amazing stuff.

[@rev.randall2292]

I love these historical documentary films. Mundane, Repetative factory jobs , each live body a well oiled machine himself in the process , but jobs none the less. Think about how many have been lost due to automation and robotics. These were good jobs that made America what it once was not long ago , and would afford one to provide for his family proudly. And men still wanted to work a fair job at a fair wage.

[@imeakdo7]

Yeah let's forget all the people who got injured in factories.

[@bobbobson4990]

Dude really grow a pair liberal nazi

[@j-rod3718]

Was it a fair wage? Really?

[@josephgaviota]

Somewhat OT? I remember as a teen, working in an ashtray factory (imagine that today!) ... and thinking "is this what work is really like"? The first couple weeks, pure terror, as the ashtrays (and glasses, and tumblers, etc.) came rolling out of the back of the kiln conveyer belt ... but after a couple weeks, B-O-R-I-N-G ... I was _way_ faster than the conveyer belt, and could let my mind wander and even if I was a bit behind, I could catch up in a matter of minutes.

[@JohnJohn-zn8ib]

Our country Australia doesn’t make cars anymore, typical government.

[@Adriaantjuh7]

Amazing how they did it in the 30's. The pioneers in the auto industry of today! Thanks for this video. 😊😊

[@michaelbytner9346]

This documentation is by far one of the most valuable treasure on KZbin.

[@mikezylstra7514]

There is a similar one, also GM, Flint Assembly Plant on Prelinger Archives. I don't recall the title. It's great.

[@timvandenbrink4461]

My Grandfather was a tool maker for G.M. at this point in time. Just about everyone in know (except for this younger generation) has worked for the auto industry in some shape or form here in Michigan.

[@bluegrassdna5572]

It was scanned in 4k. Thanks to OP for giving the credit. Professional in every manner. Dress. Clean cut. Great work ethic. There was way more class in those days even lower incomes had class. This era of time was a proud time to be an American.

[@wagonron]

Wagner performed by Detroit Philharmonic. Outstanding photography and editing.

[@deborahanderson5508]

What a difficult freakin job! Much respect.

[@ddiver2200]

a beautiful symphony, like watching machines orchestra

[@502Chevy]

Seriously hardcore foundry operation.

[@douglas518]

These magnificent men and their beautiful machines. Show!!!

[@georgeloyie7456]

Wow the cranks on those old GM Stovebolt 6s were well made, no wonder those old engines lasted so long.

[@InflatablePlane]

Easily one of my favorite straight sixes out there.

[@keno77]

Amazing that they managed with such high precision those days, very nice movie.

[@DineshSharma-ou9rf]

wow lots of machines are working at perfect timing without any computer program thats amazing

[@siyad9993]

Simply amazing, there were toughest people who designed each parts of the 🚗, designed each machine to produce the parts. Awe 🤯

[@criscollins6999]

I marvel at the inventors and machine makers that make the production machines/tooling

[@ilya0073]

Hellish work

[@rotaxtwin]

A relentless pace for sure. You earned your money.

[@anhad7001]

Beautiful cinematography

[@BrunoVentura22]

man I love this channel, please don't let us waiting so long!

[@USAutoIndustry]

Just been really busy. I'm catching up on it!

[@BrunoVentura22]

@@USAutoIndustry I understand and appreciate that you're taking some of your time to share some old videos s2

[@fahrrurrozi686]

I support this channel with 3 subcribe

[@jamesb.9155]

12:23 Got to love the amazing drama of the drop forge pounding out those heavy old crankshafts!

[@keevagrace8695]

God bless.,,.

[@drstevenrey]

I like how theses guys measure stuff with micrometers, when in my experience in restoring American cars, these were built to the nearest foot, sometimes even to the nearest yard.

[@jeremymenchaca]

Yes, I watched the entire video.

[@jeffdrum5541]

me too

[@timothyroatenberry1274]

When plastic come in, quality went out ! This video was when they made things that would last 100 years ! Good video ! Thanks !

[@Kuessemir]

The production of the crankshafts is incredible. Amazing metalergy.

[@SvcGlobal]

Outstanding factory with skilled workers!

[@violet.senderhauf2187]

what gets me is the hot metal flying every which way and the workers with their sleeves rolled up or the holes in their uniform.

[@7000fps]

thank you - J A M H A N D Y smarter and more-better than most modern entertainment!!!!!!

[@oliverrodrigues676]

Incredible art of craftsmanship without use of robots

[@neco1562]

bak bu üretimlerin bu teknolojinin taa o zamandan ibret olacağını bilmişler bide kameraya çekmişler filme almışlar bravo.

[@mikezylstra7514]

An excellent Jam Handy production..

[@demenACE]

At the beginning of this film it showed 1.4 million workers plus. Today: 167,000

[@norbertrivera]

WOW! that is AMAZING. For that year the video is super clear and detailed. Thanks for share.

[@francisouellette5938]

This is fabulous. I work in a place where anything weighing more than 25 pounds must have a lifting device... These guys would laugh their ass off at that. How times change, sometimes for the best.

[@johnstudd4245]

I would have to lmao right now. My place of employment, to get in the door, you are expected and required to be able to lift 75 lbs.

[@InflatablePlane]

For sure. How many of them guys in that film probably had blown out backs and arthritis after slinging engine blocks, cranks and heads around for a few years like they show in this?

[@mikezylstra7514]

And notice? Only 1 or 2 fatties.

[@megacap55]

was an car at that time an piece of art pure and simple

[@paulbrown1585]

And everything was so clean !

[@krabby4456]

something satisfying watching old videos like this and watching how easy/simple life was back then

[@boostjunkie2320]

Just under 10 years later this manufacturing skills from American's saved the world from Hitler and the Nazi's. I realize we could not have done it without Britain and Russia but we also supplied both countries nearly 1 million aircraft, tanks, trucks and jeeps during world war 2. An amazing achievement. Make America Great again!!!

[@canadagood]

Beautiful Black and white photography. One gets so used to seeing things recorded on videotape or badly scanned transfers that it is refreshing to see such crisp images capture 85 years ago.

[@gizzardlicka]

The quality is amazing!

[@wildcat64100]

Fantastic! Thanks for making it available.

[@jjarredondo6130]

1936 by wheel design . crank shaft making was incredible something that requires so much precision

[@rotaxtwin]

I had been sitting on an old 327 crank for years and finally sold it a few weeks back. I pulled it out of the box to take some photos and man, it was an absolute jewel.

[@InflatablePlane]

I like those designs of wheels. Seemed that the pressed steel 'artillery wheel' was a popular design in the mid 30's.

[@raywood8187]

I never cease to be amazed at the mother of invention, and combine this with the father of automation and millions of baby cars are born. The dramatic music in the background could fit with the construction of Darth Vader's suit. I wish everyone in the US could see this and be inspired to bring back our manufacturing!

[@colvinator1611]

Superb video. The expertise that went into the machinery was phenomenal. Thanks a lot. Colin, UK

[@bartdereu9267]

This is truly awesome. They had sort of a welding robot mechanism in 1936, wow !

[@brendang673]

I'm glad this got restored. Amazing how film can be restored to HD quality.

[@goncalogalhoz3833]

Amazing historical vídeo...!

[@dntlss]

Thank you much for the video,the good ole days.

[@timfranko8354]

I hope this style of narration comes back.

[@charlescroney2742]

Would definitely love it

[@DineshSharma-ou9rf]

obviously

[@Bramon83]

Amen. Felt like I was watching fantasia.

[@collisiontech_nick399]

These are the real men of genius that the bud light commercial was talking about.

[@tridbant]

They took the art of making great films to making these artistic documentaries

[@carlschroeder6811]

Even the credits were displayed on a one-off cast bronze plaque.

[@adalessandrot]

Que hermoso video!!! Impresionante la tecnología que tenían para esa época...👏👏👏👏👏

[@Sam_Eassa]

Excellent film. Thank you for uploading!

[@tsukki_amv2848]

Would love to have a factory fresh original 1936 Chevy in 2021!

[@cameronmurie]

1936 - 5 million employed making cars. 2021 - 1,7 million employed making cars. That's Progress for you.

[@winstonmichaels407]

Car imports are good or what? Ultimately, the car owners decide what's progress for them.

[@yutufyourselable]

And that's why you, young people, may keep and preserve these like if they were gold. No spoils with stupid rims or agresive customs. They are a piece of art itselfs.

[@NYC1927]

That was really cool. So much went into that. And to think, they had to change it for the NEXT season and reconfigure ALL of that! Wow. Those men REALLY worked...from the all aspects of building a car.

[@boscoalbertbaracus1362]

They change forms, molds, and settings but not like they're changing the entire assembly line regularly. And that'd all be setup by another shift, they'd have a shift of men maintaining all of this equipment when the line isn't running, I'm certain they'd also be setting up the line or changing it as they'd also be adjusting and replacing worn out machine components or anything out of tolerances.

[@tj-co9go]

Couldn't imagine that a factory documentary from the 1930s could better than 99% of modern movies, but here we are. The plot and the characters were much better than in present stories, and the score is just brilliant

[@DamonGarfield]

Really makes you appreciate vehicles as well as the process of automation, and how much safer and quicker it makes the process of creating machines.

[@rotaxtwin]

Yeah they didn't mention how many master hands ended up on the shop floor.

[@DamonGarfield]

@@rotaxtwin When people care more about money than safety, accidents will happen.

[@mikezylstra7514]

Oh, WW II will take care of a few.

[@victorjudice9540]

I wish they made cars like this today. So much dedication to their work.

[@boodro2122]

The general population was much smarter back then! Dumbed down exponentially since these times.

[@vinmangob8555]

That is so true.

[@raybin6873]

Try out creating software....takes brains. The work seen done here is mostly automated today.

[@MADARA200]

💯

[@MADARA200]

It’s honestly sad how far we’ve degenerated since then. Even the way people spoke back then was much clearer and with a lot more candor. The old world was more advanced than today in many ways.

[@iamthemedici]

America is Great!

[@carlschroeder6811]

What an incredible amount of skilled hand labor that has all but been lost to history. We've all heard how difficult it would be to manufacture a Saturn 5, F1 rocket engine today. The reason being, is that there were no computers or CNC machines and that most of the design, testing and manufacture techniques were by hand with most, if not all the skilled know-how, personal notes, documentation, drawings, machines, tooling, QC and testing methods being lost to history.

[@sonicdewd]

Hand-involved manufacturing processes, yes, for the most part because of automation. Prototype and some tooling development - there are still skilled folks around to do that. Much of that is hand-done, but with some automation in tools used, which takes a chunk of the drudgery out of prototype making. I have no doubt that if an EMP or something went off and all electronics were destroyed for example, all of this would be relearned in short order.

[@reisenlieber]

my god! i want to work at this factory! Amazing!

[@ronch550]

The parts were pretty crude but you gotta hand it to them for making stuff with what they had. And remember only a few countries were capable of this level of industry.

[@1991tommygun]

Now usa is the under dog and places like india and china took over, America sold out

[@trr5291]

@@1991tommygun Corporations sold out. GM started laying off and shipping jobs to Mexico to save money in the 80's under Roger Smith. Its all corporate profit now not were it's made.

[@michaelb7437]

Machining tolerances even in the mid 30s could be measured at the level of a millionth of an inch. In fact as early as the 1840s there were machining processes that could be measured down to the millionth. Materials science has improved. The motors running CNC machines are more powerful. Various things like laser gyros improve accuracy now, but those old school machine tools are still wicked accurate and there are lots factories still running machine tools from the 50s and 60s today. In the 90s you could still find stuff from the 30s on factory floors but its basically all worn down to nothing now but stuff from the immediate post-war period is still around in places....

[@DC_ABC_123]

@@michaelb7437 well.. Thousandth. Let's be fair.

[@ronch550]

@Bill Sbac yeah. They would probably just sit on a chair and smoke a pipe!! 😜

[@milindkamble9086]

legends were making toughest machine.

[@Artsalloverone]

Makes you proud to be an American because that's all top notch in its 36th year manufacturing cars along with roughly 40 yrs or so of making movies and six years before WW2 kicks off. We were something 😊😊

[@hillarious2393]

Thanks for your job! Such interesting to see how it's been made 90 years ago!

[@ilikepushrodv8s210]

I love the history of automotive engineering!

[@InflatablePlane]

I too am greatly fascinated by old automobiles and the factories that built them. Go to Detroit and find some of the old abandoned factory buildings that are still standing, those silent decayed walls will tell you an important story.

[@johnmccallie2889]

My grandfather worked for Buick in the foundry in Flint Michigan right about this time, through the war. I'm sure it was very similar to this. Thank you for sharing.

[@johnmc67]

And close, as this was filmed in Flint, pretty much right before the big Sit Down Strike.

[@dntlss]

The greatest generation,those folks back then got the job done, PERIOD

[@funkyoldmedina4232]

That was a master piece of labor💯

[@evilasiorodrigues8393]

Grande documentário fiquei encantado parabéns para a GM e quem organizou esta obra prima uma maravilha

[@RailFanRob]

Very well preserved footage! Awesome!

[@onestopfabshop3224]

Those big flywheels are so precise, you can't even see the slightest wobble. They don't even look like the whole thing is spinning. If they were built today, you'd definately see the imprecision while running. It's a shame things got worse instead of even better 80 years later. Thanks for sharing this. I could watch mechanical history all day.

[@wrenchpony9735]

I thought that at first but noticed there is actually a shield around it. If you look at the top of the wheel you'll see the gap between them. Still doesn't take away from how impressive everything there is though.

[@dntlss]

Back in those days everything was top shelf, you bought a set of wrenches they were forged not like this china shit today,you bought parts for your car they were top of the line,now you buy a alternator at the parts store and it doesn't even look like the old one,i bought some socks the other day,wore them once and they had a hole in the bottom when i took my boots of at the end of the day,lol, headed for disaster slowly but surely.

[@onestopfabshop3224]

@@dntlss It's a sad state of affairs.

[@marcelolinhares8233]

Great film! Thank you!

[@jairsoriano6295]

magnífico esses homens não existem mais. parabéns tempos de ouro