Historic film footage of workers in the US making M1917/P17 rifles during World War I

[mkrnel]

I don't know if other members have posted this before or have seen this video I found on the web, so I thought I would share it here for others to see how they made these great rifles, enjoy -

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/6...guns_workers-work-on-machinery_guns-assembled

 

[Kevin M.]

Fascinating. Don't know who they are kidding asking $200 for the footage though.

 

[mkrnel]

Fascinating. Don't know who they are kidding asking $200 for the footage though.

Yeah, no way I would buy them at that price either, also they say the workers are making browning machine guns but nearly all of the video clearly shows racks of 30-06 M1917 Enfields, and them assembling this rifle. I wonder which factory it is at, Winchester, Remington or Eddystone?

 

[sigtactical]

woaw.a long time ago. captivating.

 

[Nabs]

Look how the worker mounts the barrel to the receiver at 2 mins.

 

[Magellann]

Neat video, they could really crank those guns out quickly.

 

[Cdn303]

I am amazed at how fast the assembler was cranking in the screws. I have a set of good screwdrivers and I've never been able to get a slot screw to go in that fast.

 

[Kevin M.]

I am amazed at how fast the assembler was cranking in the screws. I have a set of good screwdrivers and I've never been able to get a slot screw to go in that fast.

I usually stab myself multiple times with slot head screws. I curse the manufacturers of stuff who still use them.

 

[mkrnel]

Here is the film of them doing the sighting in of the P17 rifle, very interesting -

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/6...l_fire-rifle_check-accuracy_targets-on-ground

 

[silverfoxdj]

Very neat thanks

 

[BadgerDog]

Fascinating. Don't know who they are kidding asking $200 for the footage though.

I've spoken to this outfit about helping out collectors...

They obtain expired government copyright and other "public domain" footage, re-package it and sell it at rates that I have no idea who could afford them. The claim "our clients include the world's leading production companies, broadcasters, filmmakers, advertisers, publishers, museums, and online education companies", but it's certainly not priced at levels that research not-for-profit organizations could afford.

They don't own this content and simply re-purpose it for their own revenue gain, getting a buyer to sign onto the licensing agreement, which indemnifies them from everything and anything.

Regards,
Doug

 

[lyman54]

Notice that in those days there was always some burly boss walking up and down the line watching your every move. Must have been stressful.

 

[purple]

These workers would get a real chuckle watching me and others spend a great deal of time re-barreling a Garand or M1903 Springfield with TLC. You really have to marvel at how accurate and functional these pieces were when assembled in minimum time. The M1917 Eddystones have a reputation for really tight barrels which will take 2 men and a boy to remove.

 

[Sharps '63]

What struck me was the total absence of eye and ear protection for the workers, particularly the test firers!

As for quality control, no wonder there were government inspectors at the arsenals doing critical checks before stamping.

 

[m1grand]

Cool thanks for sharing

 

[m1grand]

Gotta wonder how many eye injures they had back then .

 

[smellie]

Something to remember is that the silent films were shot at a theoretical rate of 16-2/3 frames per second and projected at 18 or more. Motion was speeded-up a little.

But the cameras were hand-cranked and so very versatile. For a film such as the Keystone Kops, the camera operator would crank extra-slowly, speeding up the motion when the film was projected and adding to the comic effect. For proper motion, you cranked the camera precisely 2 turns per second: something our King learned when he took a turn at operating a Canadian newsfilm camera during his 1937 Royal Visit.

Modern equipment operates at 24 frames per second and there is not much which can be done about that.

The result is that motion from old films is speeded-up by close to 40%.

Look at WWI films of soldiers marching: they appear almost to be using one of Monty Python's "silly walks". In actual fact, they are marching at exactly the same pace as used in the Canadian Army today: 120 30-inch paces to the minute.

Those guys in the factory are working true and fast.... but just not THAT fast.

Still, it's a helluvva lot faster than I could do it!