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Grandfather Says: A Lesson on the Benefits of Working Smartly

By RD Blakeslee

Grandfather says he has some experience working hard and working smart.

In 1949, he worked for the Ford Motor Company on the 8N farm tractor assembly line. The 8N had a transmission cover that a hoist operator lowered onto the transmission as the tractor moved along the line. It was Grandfather’s job to set pins in the transmission bolt holes to align the cover as it was lowered, then pull the pins out and put approximately a dozen bolts in the holes, where they were tightened with an air wrench by the next assembler down the line. (These days, this is all done by automation.)

The pins and a supply of bolts were in a tray behind Grandfather who, working smartly from his point of view, saw that if he put the pins in his pocket and the bolts on the conveyor chassis below each tractor at the point each bolt was needed as the tractor approached, then he saved enough time to sit down before the next tractor arrived.

So, Ford laid off the man in the workstation before Grandfather’s. That way, Grandfather’s sit-down time could be used for Grandfather to do the laid off man’s job — but modifying it by placing the muffler hanger bolts on the conveyor (Grandfather’s method).

The United Auto Worker’s Union rep didn’t think Grandfather was very smart.

Grandfather guesses he was smart enough to figure out that if you want maximum personal gratification and benefit from hard and smart work, devise a way to be self-employed.

***

About the Author: RD Blakeslee is an octogenarian from West Virginia who built his net worth by only investing in that which can be enjoyed during acquisition and throughout life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, like stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here.

Original oil painting by: Grandfather’s wife

6 Comments August 30, 2017

Comments

  1. 1

    Sam I Am says

    The self-employed (and small businesses) are the backbone of our country, and there’s plenty of people out there who have skills and talent needed to earn a good income. I’m self-employed. I have no college degree. I’m considered an expert in my field and there’s plenty of work for me. I earn six figures. Still, the government needs to get the hell out of our way, and lower taxes.

    Reply
    • 2

      RD Blakeslee says

      Grandfather understands your frustration with government. If you think about it, most of its functions consist of telling us what we cannot do, which oftentimes hampers self-reliant people who don’t need the one-size-fits-all constraints

      Reply
      • 3

        Sam I Am says

        Very true. I enjoy your writing, sir.

        Reply
        • 4

          RD Blakeslee says

          Thank you. For my part, I enjoy hearing from you-all.

Trackbacks

  1. Black Coffee: Drowning In a Sea of Red Ink - Len Penzo dot Com says:
    September 16, 2017 at 4:16 am

    […] reading about RD Blakeslee’s experience working on Ford’s 8N farm tractor assembly line way back in 1949, Barbara R. shared […]

    Reply
  2. Grandfather Says: Remembering Grandfather’s Grandfather – Len Penzo dot Com says:
    December 27, 2018 at 4:15 am

    […] Miller worked with Henry Ford from the earliest days of what became the Ford Motor Company. Mr. Miller was a foundryman, and together they built the foundry which produced the cast iron […]

    Reply

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