Movie on the making of Ford Model-T wheels- lots of ancient machining and machines

[Frank S]

After watching that I don't understand why they didn't just make them from steel. I can't imagine it being more difficult or time consuming.

There were a few reasons. the automotive industry was still in its infancy for one. There were numerous wainwrights (wagon makers) who also were wheelwrights (makers of wheels) who had only recently begun incorporating steel hubs with bearings in their wagons or carts made by Cartwrights. adding inflatable rubber tires to bicycles had been around since the mid 1800s, invented by William Thompson. It wasn't until 1026/27 that ford started making welded steel spoke wheels for his model T moving away from the wood artillery wheel about this time other manufactures were converting to steel spoke wheels probably made by the Dayton wheel company. which began making automotive style wheels in 1916 . Chevrolet went to the stamped steel riveted center artillery wheels for a couple years around 1936