Johns-Manville company

Discuss all things Model T related.
Forum rules
If you need help logging in, or have question about how something works, use the Support forum located here Support Forum
Complete set of Forum Rules Forum Rules
User avatar

Topic author
Corey Walker
Posts: 592
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 11:46 am
First Name: Corey
Last Name: Walker
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1914 runabout, 1921 homemade truck, 1921 Speedster
Location: Brownsboro, TX
MTFCA Number: 51502
Board Member Since: 2007

Johns-Manville company

Post by Corey Walker » Sun Sep 29, 2019 11:41 am

I walked into a shop to get a hydraulic hose made and the first thing I noticed when I walked in was the Johns-Manville insulation. I wonder if it is the same company that made speedometers?
Attachments
1969EB71-5984-49A9-AC05-411185D74128.png
7F56EAEB-CA13-48ED-8B5D-C4870C3DA448.jpeg
Corey Walker, Brownsboro, Texas


Burger in Spokane
Posts: 2251
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2019 2:05 am
First Name: Brent
Last Name: Burger
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 TT closed cab flatbed
Location: Spokane, Wa.
Board Member Since: 2014

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Burger in Spokane » Sun Sep 29, 2019 11:52 am

Johns-Manville has been a jobber/distributor for over 100 years. While I cannot speak
to who actually MADE the speedo, it may have been that they had them made and sold
them under their name. J-M sold everything from speedos to roofing to powerline insulators.
More people are doing it today than ever before !

User avatar

Topic author
Corey Walker
Posts: 592
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 11:46 am
First Name: Corey
Last Name: Walker
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1914 runabout, 1921 homemade truck, 1921 Speedster
Location: Brownsboro, TX
MTFCA Number: 51502
Board Member Since: 2007

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Corey Walker » Sun Sep 29, 2019 12:56 pm

Ok. It’s interesting to me the variety of things different companies made. I’ve got a couple International trucks, 1947 & 1973, but the also had International Harvester refrigerators. I thinks Standard Speedometer also made the Standard horns.
Corey Walker, Brownsboro, Texas


BobD
Posts: 276
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 3:08 pm
First Name: Bob
Last Name: Doris
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 Runabout, 1930 Sport Coupe
Location: Prescott, Arizona
MTFCA Number: 32538
Board Member Since: 2017

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by BobD » Sun Sep 29, 2019 2:59 pm

Old Johns-Manville building on Magazine Street in New Orleans. (2016)
Attachments
jm.jpg


Burger in Spokane
Posts: 2251
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2019 2:05 am
First Name: Brent
Last Name: Burger
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 TT closed cab flatbed
Location: Spokane, Wa.
Board Member Since: 2014

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Burger in Spokane » Sun Sep 29, 2019 3:43 pm

Hard to get good asbestos anymore !

About 20 years ago, I was removing the asbestos/cement shingles from a house I had
bought. I had a ready market for all those I removed in good condition, as many home
owners have broken shingles and replacements were unavailable. I took care to get them
pulled, and was getting $5 a piece for them. One buyer enthusiastically exclaimed "You can't
buy good asbestos anymore !" My mind played with that, thinking only second rate asbestos
was available ... all the good stuff was gone.

Broken ones and the few that broke during removal required special disposal, and being the
prankster that I am, I thought I might have a little fun with this stuff before I did ....

I decided to get a rise out of the nation's mom's, and as a joke, made a mobile, like one
might hang over a baby's crib, out of the various bits of broken shingles. I took some nice
pictures and wrote a typical sales pitch/hyped up text about being fireproof, made of
recycled materials, and how any good parent would forego the brightly colored and potentially
fireprone mobiles. Instead, turning on their safety and environmental sense and buying this
dull grey and pastel painted beauty. And then I put it on eBay. I did not forget to sing the
virtues of lead paint, either !

The auction was pulled down in about 30 seconds and I got a scalding email about selling
toxic materials. :lol: I still get a good laugh, visualizing the people who thought this might
be serious, and think about that guy who said you could not get good asbestos anymore.

Ah, for the old days of good asbestos !
More people are doing it today than ever before !


noelchico
Posts: 191
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:42 pm
First Name: Noel
Last Name: Chicoine
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1920 roadster, 1923 Touring, 1926 Coupe
Location: Pierre, South Dakota
MTFCA Number: 25420
MTFCI Number: 22686
Board Member Since: 2005

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by noelchico » Sun Sep 29, 2019 4:56 pm

Burger, I love your sense of humor. I've had patients die of mesothelioma, including a local priest and friend, and understand the concern about both good and bad asbestos, but still appreciate your story and humor. Keep it up!


Dallas Landers
Posts: 2786
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 12:26 pm
First Name: Dallas
Last Name: Landers
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 26 Rpu, 23 TT, 24 coupe,
Location: N.E. Indiana
MTFCA Number: 49995

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Dallas Landers » Sun Sep 29, 2019 5:10 pm

Burger, its fireproof, cheap to make and lasts foever much like lead base paint. Now we cant have a product like that on the market! :D


Burger in Spokane
Posts: 2251
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2019 2:05 am
First Name: Brent
Last Name: Burger
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 TT closed cab flatbed
Location: Spokane, Wa.
Board Member Since: 2014

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Burger in Spokane » Sun Sep 29, 2019 5:27 pm

Asbestos is no laughing matter. As a contractor, I deal with it often enough.

The humor is in our overly "feelgood" culture, where people and our media think absolute
safety is not only attainable, but a fashion trend all should strive for, and giving them a rise.

Another time, I placed an ad in a local paper, poking fun at the trash people tried to sell.
My ad was selling soiled mattresses and other yucky junk.

Lightly stained, minor smell - $25
More noticeable staining and stinks - $10
Heavy stains and vomit inducing stench - $5

Naturally, I put a friend's phone number as the point of contact ! :lol:
More people are doing it today than ever before !


Burger in Spokane
Posts: 2251
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2019 2:05 am
First Name: Brent
Last Name: Burger
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 TT closed cab flatbed
Location: Spokane, Wa.
Board Member Since: 2014

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Burger in Spokane » Sun Sep 29, 2019 6:23 pm

A few Johns-Manville items around the shop. Click on the image to see it upright.

A J-M marked U-249 porcelain "signal" insulator:

59148751062__4169715D-79C0-4B2D-B4C0-7CCA7B27EC2D.JPG

And a nice, raised profile porcelain sign:

59148722462__54794F76-C34B-4EC2-B3FD-55D6C3636B2F.JPG
The insulator was mf'd. by the Pittsburgh High Voltage Insulator Co., of Pittsburgh, Pa. FOR
J-M, and sold thru J-M as part of their line of electrical hardware and equipment.
More people are doing it today than ever before !


Original Smith
Posts: 3284
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:43 am
First Name: Larry
Last Name: Smith
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 13 Touring, 13 Roadster, 17 Coupelet, 25 Roadster P/U
Location: Lomita, California
MTFCA Number: 121
MTFCA Life Member: YES
MTFCI Number: 16310

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Original Smith » Tue Oct 01, 2019 11:00 am

Good speedometer. I ran one for years. Very nice unit if you have a 1915, or a very late 1914.


Moxie26
Posts: 1314
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 8:20 pm
First Name: Robert
Last Name: Jablonski
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 Runabout
Location: New Jersey
MTFCA Number: 407
MTFCA Life Member: YES
Board Member Since: 1999

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Moxie26 » Tue Oct 01, 2019 5:02 pm

The Johns Manville corporation was responsible for starting to town of Manville in Somerset county New Jersey, the town was incorporated in 1929. Started with the factory and a hotel for people to stay then the town grew around. Needless to say quite a few people came down with the condition called asbestosis from working at or living near the factory and or The dumping grounds. Speaking from experience I have family that was affected by the asbestos.


Joe Reid
Posts: 248
Joined: Thu May 23, 2019 12:21 pm
First Name: Joe
Last Name: Reid
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1919 Coupe, 1920 Roadster, 1923 Touring, 1924 Roadster, 1913 Racer
Location: Almond WI
MTFCA Number: 52067
MTFCI Number: 22088
Board Member Since: 2007

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Joe Reid » Tue Oct 01, 2019 5:49 pm

Johns Manville is the reason for that big lawsuit on asbestos related diseases by the Sokolove law firm from Massachusetts. They went in bankruptcy in 1982 and reorganized. They have paid a bunch in claims.


Loftfield
Posts: 223
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 1:26 pm
First Name: Thomas
Last Name: Loftfield
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1912 Touring, 1912 Express Pick-up
Location: Brevard, NC, USA
MTFCA Number: 49876
MTFCI Number: 24725

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Loftfield » Wed Oct 02, 2019 8:26 am

There are almost 125 different kinds of asbestos in the world, only three or four of them cause health problems. Asbestos in roofing and siding shingles is essentially innocuous, won't harm you at all unless it is shredded, like drilling or sanding, and even then it isn't all that bad. The asbestos used in steam pipe lagging, on the other, is lethal. So, one must ask just what kind of asbestos was used in any given application, all asbestos is not the same. The asbestos siding mobile would have been of no concern in the real world, as opposed to the politically motivated world beloved by lawyers and removal "experts" who have made fortunes from the misfortune of Johns-Manville brought on by the misinformation presented to juries of our peers, i.e.not at all qualified to evaluate the data. I will continue to carry the 1910 Hawkeye drinks picnic cooler insulated by a layer of asbestos between the galvanized interior and the woven basket exterior when touring with the 1912 Model T, and I suspect that I will continue to use Round-Up as well.

Tom Loftfield
Brevard, North Carolina


Joe Reid
Posts: 248
Joined: Thu May 23, 2019 12:21 pm
First Name: Joe
Last Name: Reid
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1919 Coupe, 1920 Roadster, 1923 Touring, 1924 Roadster, 1913 Racer
Location: Almond WI
MTFCA Number: 52067
MTFCI Number: 22088
Board Member Since: 2007

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Joe Reid » Wed Oct 02, 2019 10:12 pm

As long as asbestos is in an inert form it is not dangerous. The individual fibers are the problem. It was not the product which was usually the issue but the manufacturing process. Most of this was before proper face masks were available and then of course the issue of getting someone to wear it. Same with Round Up. Don’t ingest it.


Craig Raynor
Posts: 105
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2019 7:28 am
First Name: Craig
Last Name: Raynor
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1915 touring
Location: Southampton NY
Board Member Since: 2017

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Craig Raynor » Thu Oct 03, 2019 8:18 am

While growing up with my three brothers we lived next store to a older guy who was a family friend as was most every one in our neighborhood.He was a retired plumber, we would run around his property and play hid and seek in his barn. In the barn was all of his plumbing supplies including a wooden barrel full of a white powder that we would use to “make it snow”.Years later at work one day we were planning a asbestosis abatement job at one of the schools where I was the electrician.The facilities director as me to meet with abatement foreman and after some conversation I learned about the steam pipes in the boiler room and how the fittings were packed years ago with asbestos.At that instant I remembered my brothers and I playing in that white powder. I will never forget thinking the worst and now that it was 40 plus years later I would not be long for this world 😳I decided to have tests done and all results were negative for any asbestos related illness. That was 17 years ago now I feel very lucky to be in good health,for now.


Burger in Spokane
Posts: 2251
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2019 2:05 am
First Name: Brent
Last Name: Burger
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 TT closed cab flatbed
Location: Spokane, Wa.
Board Member Since: 2014

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Burger in Spokane » Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:31 am

Maybe your plumber neighbor kept barrels of cocaine in his barn. Have you
had any addiction issues ? :lol:
More people are doing it today than ever before !


Joe Reid
Posts: 248
Joined: Thu May 23, 2019 12:21 pm
First Name: Joe
Last Name: Reid
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1919 Coupe, 1920 Roadster, 1923 Touring, 1924 Roadster, 1913 Racer
Location: Almond WI
MTFCA Number: 52067
MTFCI Number: 22088
Board Member Since: 2007

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Joe Reid » Thu Oct 03, 2019 1:17 pm

Well one good thing, I don't think Henry used it in Model T production.


Joe Reid
Posts: 248
Joined: Thu May 23, 2019 12:21 pm
First Name: Joe
Last Name: Reid
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1919 Coupe, 1920 Roadster, 1923 Touring, 1924 Roadster, 1913 Racer
Location: Almond WI
MTFCA Number: 52067
MTFCI Number: 22088
Board Member Since: 2007

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Joe Reid » Thu Oct 03, 2019 1:22 pm

But really like anything else if used properly it presents no issue, in a hardened form like a shingle or siding it is inert, even the wrapped pipes are safe if you don't break the seal covering them. I think we all grew up with the stuff everywhere. Long term exposure by those using it was the problem.


Craig Raynor
Posts: 105
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2019 7:28 am
First Name: Craig
Last Name: Raynor
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1915 touring
Location: Southampton NY
Board Member Since: 2017

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Craig Raynor » Fri Oct 04, 2019 7:49 am

Joe , that is correct about asbestos “just leave it alone and no one gets hurt “ were his exact words.Its when is “friable” or air borne that it becomes a problem.

Burger, yes to the addiction issue it seems to be a big problem for my wife - the model T


Burger in Spokane
Posts: 2251
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2019 2:05 am
First Name: Brent
Last Name: Burger
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 TT closed cab flatbed
Location: Spokane, Wa.
Board Member Since: 2014

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Burger in Spokane » Fri Oct 04, 2019 2:02 pm

Get her a barrel of cocaine and see if her attitude changes. :shock:
More people are doing it today than ever before !


John Codman
Posts: 1182
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 10:27 am
First Name: John
Last Name: Codman
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1927 Youring
Location: Naples, FL 34120

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by John Codman » Sat Oct 05, 2019 11:17 am

I spent 23 years spinning wrenches on cars for a living. Back then (1960 to about 1975 with a couple of short gaps) we thought nothing about blowing the dust out of drum brakes with compressed air. We knew the dust was asbestos, but the asbestos companies never said anything about the dust being especially toxic. If I die of lung disease, I will know why. BTW: Painting asbestos shingles encapsulates the asbestos, and is an acceptable way of dealing with it's toxicity.

User avatar

Ruxstel24
Posts: 2345
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 11:25 am
First Name: Dave
Last Name: Hanlon
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 24 Touring car
Location: NE Ohio
MTFCA Number: 50191
Board Member Since: 2018

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Ruxstel24 » Sat Oct 05, 2019 11:54 am

I’ve been working on cars since I was a kid and 35 years for a living. Lots of asbestos has been floating in the air since the beginnings of my existence.
Played with the pipe wraps in the neighbors chicken coop... And I smoke, only a pipe, gave up cigarettes about 6 years ago.
Still here, not bragging or not recommended, but here.
My dad’s T buddy was a Buick mechanic since the 50s...smoked for a while. After he retired (still working at home), feeling tired, had a bypass surgery, then complications and finally a stroke.
Don’t think anything asbestos related.
Everyone’s body and DNA are different and react to hazards unpredictably IMHO.

User avatar

Mark Gregush
Posts: 4956
Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2019 1:57 pm
First Name: Mark
Last Name: Gregush
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1925 cutdown PU, 1920 Dodge touring, 1948 F2 Ford flat head 6 pickup 3 speed
Location: Portland Or
MTFCA Number: 52564
Board Member Since: 1999

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Mark Gregush » Sun Oct 06, 2019 10:58 am

Re; I don't think Henry used it in Model T production
Yes there was some on a Model T. The wrap on the muffler.
I know the voices aren't real but damn they have some good ideas! :shock:

1925 Cut down pickup
1920 Dodge touring
1948 Ford F2 pickup

User avatar

DanTreace
Posts: 3298
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 10:56 am
First Name: Dan
Last Name: Treace
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: '23 cutoff, '25 touring, '27 touring
Location: North Central FL
MTFCA Number: 4838
MTFCI Number: 115
Board Member Since: 2000
Contact:

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by DanTreace » Sun Oct 06, 2019 11:07 am

...and transmission band linings ;)
IMG_0001 (2).JPG
IMG_2558 (425x700).jpg
The best way is always the simplest. The attics of the world are cluttered up with complicated failures. Henry Ford
Don’t find fault, find a remedy; anybody can complain. Henry Ford

User avatar

Rich Eagle
Posts: 6789
Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:51 am
First Name: Richard
Last Name: Eagle
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1909 TR 1914 TR 1915 Rd 1920 Spdstr 1922 Coupe 1925 Tudor
Location: Idaho Falls, ID
MTFCA Number: 1219
Contact:

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Rich Eagle » Sun Oct 06, 2019 1:02 pm

Lots of great information here. I'm reminded of an old friend who always call it John-Mansfield. I thought it was charming so I didn't ever correct him.
Thanks for the enlightenments.
Rich
When did I do that?


Chaffins
Posts: 329
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 5:44 pm
First Name: Herbert
Last Name: Chaffin
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1909 touring, 1911 touring, 1913 roadster, 1914 touring
Location: Corona, California
MTFCA Number: 227
MTFCA Life Member: YES

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Chaffins » Sun Oct 06, 2019 2:01 pm

Sure we all know now that asbestos is a bad thing but Johns Manville took the rap because it was the manufacturer. However, the Federal government was the largest customer for the product and took no responsibility. That was just plain wrong.

User avatar

Susanne
Posts: 1045
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2019 6:06 pm
First Name: Susanne
Last Name: Rohner
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: Late '15 touring, "Angel".
Location: Valfabbrica, (central) Italy
MTFCA Number: 464
MTFCA Life Member: YES
Board Member Since: 1999
Contact:

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Susanne » Sun Oct 06, 2019 3:46 pm

Not quite sure what that last bit about pot shops etc. has to do with the price of Salt Pork in Portland... we're talking about asbestos.

My granddad died of what was then called "Mechanic's Lung", probably meso or asbestiosis. So did my uncle Buck. Both were mechanics for decades, Granddad died in pain with less than 20% of his lungs in his early 70's, Uncle Bucky in his mid 60's od Meso. We used to blow out brake drums with compressed air, grind linings to feather them in (and wear them in), heck, even those awesome raybestos linings we used for T transmission bands got the treatment. Hell, I volunteered to reline brakes (at a buck a shoe) because for a kid it was fast, easy money. When I was 16, one kid at a work project I was "assigned" to was cutting 4x8 sheets of asbestos fireboard (for behind furnaces and fireplaces) with a radial saw, dust everywhere...

A couple decades ago I worked in a building that people thought was corrugated metal... no one realized it was actually pressed corrugated asbestos sheeting until they ran radio antenna wires into it, punched a hole in that long painted over white fluffy stuff.

Those were the good old days. Ya know... I don't fear asbestos like some, I just respect it for what good it does, and what bad it can cause if you forget to be careful with it. The old car still has an asbestos blanket around the muffler, and a sheet under the floorboard at the exhaust pipe. It's fine where it is.


Burger in Spokane
Posts: 2251
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2019 2:05 am
First Name: Brent
Last Name: Burger
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 TT closed cab flatbed
Location: Spokane, Wa.
Board Member Since: 2014

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Burger in Spokane » Sun Oct 06, 2019 10:34 pm

Susanne wrote:
Sun Oct 06, 2019 3:46 pm
Not quite sure what that last bit about pot shops etc. has to do with the price of Salt Pork in Portland... we're talking about asbestos.
==============================

Actually, I am talking about a public whose interest in health threats or all the other BS
our culture gets up in arms about is just trending fashion. It has been widely accepted
that sucking burnt, tarry crap into our lungs is a pretty bad idea too. Not just asbestos.
But since it now creates a massive tax revenue stream, talking about the health threat of
smoking pot is fashionably taboo. Only asbestos and tobacco cause lung problems, right ?
Gotta keep up on who our villains are !

:lol:
More people are doing it today than ever before !

User avatar

Susanne
Posts: 1045
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2019 6:06 pm
First Name: Susanne
Last Name: Rohner
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: Late '15 touring, "Angel".
Location: Valfabbrica, (central) Italy
MTFCA Number: 464
MTFCA Life Member: YES
Board Member Since: 1999
Contact:

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Susanne » Sun Oct 06, 2019 10:54 pm

So how does this have to do with keeping our cars running, or keeping the hobby alive?


Burger in Spokane
Posts: 2251
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2019 2:05 am
First Name: Brent
Last Name: Burger
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 TT closed cab flatbed
Location: Spokane, Wa.
Board Member Since: 2014

Re: Johns-Manville company

Post by Burger in Spokane » Mon Oct 07, 2019 12:45 am

One dimensional living gets pretty dull. Must we ALWAYS talk about keeping our
cars running or keeping the hobby alive ? There are LOTS of threads all about
one facet or another on both.
More people are doing it today than ever before !

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic