Share
David Wilson
Wilson’s world
David Wilson is editor of Engineeringtalk and Electronicstalk and associate editor of The Engineer
Design for life
Because she lived through the exigencies of rationing during the Second World War, my mother threw away very little during her long lifetime. Indeed, many of her possessions are still tucked away in a variety of nooks and crannies in the house where I now live.
One of the more interesting items that I discovered secreted in one such hideaway this past bank holiday weekend was her old hairdryer, a fine piece of memorabilia from the 1950s that was clearly crafted with care from one of the newest materials at the time — Bakelite, the world’s first synthetic plastic.
What struck me immediately about the 520W hairdryer was its rugged construction. Its thick casing, which had been made in two main sections held together by numerous screws, was complemented by two heavy plastic switches on the handle used for operating the dryer and for controlling the temperature.
Typical of products from that era, there’s also a metal manufacturer’s identification plate screwed onto the side inscribed with the name Ormond Engineering Company Ltd. Underneath it, in somewhat smaller letters, is the phrase ’Made in England’.
My own new polypropylene hairdryer, by contrast, is not only three times as powerful but much lighter too. Not only that but the plastic subsections that comprise it have all been designed to snap fit together. Only a few key components are screwed together in a move that has undoubtedly helped slash the cost and reduce the assembly time of the unit.
But there is another important difference. While my mum’s hairdryer proudly displays the name of its creator, my modern-day unit simply displays the name of the retailer from whom the unit was bought. I assume that should the name of the actual manufacturer be placed on the unit that it would comprise a rather long set of Chinese characters.
Aside from its value as a curio from the 1950s, my mum’s old hairdryer still works well, even through the motor and the heating element are now more than 50 years old. And the numerous screws that hold it together should make it easier to repair should something ever go wrong with it — that’s if I could find any replacement parts for it.
I doubt very much whether my own new-fangled hairdryer will have such a long life though. In fact, it’s unlikely that it has actually been designed to. Indeed, I’d put money on it that every component in it has been engineered solely for cost purposes, rather than to ensure that it provides a lifetime of service for the customer. Maybe that’s one reason that the manufacturer is reluctant to put a nameplate on it.
One thing is for sure though. When the new lightweight model does inevitably break down, I still have a back-up. That’s right. It’s the trusty old model from the Ormond Manufacturing Company that I’ll be relying upon to keep what’s left of my own hair nice and dry.
David Wilson
The Wilson’s world blog also forms part of the Engineeringtalk, Electronicstalk and Manufacturingtalk newsletters. To subscribe, go here for Engineeringtalk, here for Electronicstalk and here for Manufacturingtalk
Readers' comments (7)
Terry Pilfold | 5 May 2011 11:30 am
Oh happy days!
I still have my clockwork Hornby train, 'O' gauge bought for me by an uncle during the war (from somewhere unknown!).
But I do like to take apart the irons and toasters and sandwich makers from the far east when they break. Once you get yourself a set of the secret tool bits to open the special security srews, it's facinating to work out where the little tags are that hold the parts together. I can often fix the item with a little thought or ingenuity!
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Ian W | 5 May 2011 11:41 am
As an Engineer with a few more years to the possibility of retirement as opposed to unemployment its a thought that Ormond Manufacturing Company went out of business a long time ago after selling everyone a hair dryer that never needed replacing. Lets also guess that the Chinese Engineers responsible for the design (or re-engineered) 21st century hairdryer were educated in Western universities.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Ian Thain | 5 May 2011 2:13 pm
Is the Ormond's wiring still ok? I recently re-wired an elderly neighbour's pre-war single bar fire because the old rubber-covered stuff was falling apart and had become positively lethal. How she hadn't killed herself years ago still beats me.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Stuart C | 5 May 2011 4:17 pm
I remember my Aunt having one of those Hair Dryers in the late 50's.
Apparently Bakelite items e.g. light switches and lightbulb holders etc. are becoming valuable, and sought after by collectors.
Unfortunately I didn't know this fact a few months ago, when I cleared my father's property of a large bagful ! Engineers' luck !
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Tom Vivian | 5 May 2011 5:29 pm
I wouldn't be too sure that the Chinese engineers were educated in western universities. Back in 2003/4 I traveled in China on business and visited a city not far from Shanghai called Ningbo. Stretching for miles out of the old city was a new 4 lane highway (dual carriagway) with roads going off every few hundred meters some of which were already under construction with new manufacturing sites and many still to be developed. The interesting thing is that the first part of of the development was new schools, universities, colleges and halls of residence.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Denis | 6 May 2011 8:47 am
...but what about the safety and EMC standards for this hair dryer ? Such old electric appliances would probably not comply with any recent standard.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Paul Minty | 11 May 2011 0:48 am
As much as I admire the craftsmanship and the artisan pride in this anecdote, I have to disagree that the longevity of the old hair dryer is a good thing. It is no longer as efficient as newer models, and the materials have not been effectively recycled. This may also be a failing of the new hairdryer - my point is that making devices long-lived with no regard to making them cheap enough to replace with more efficient models is not a good thing.
In my opinion, devices such as this need to be updated to make better use of energy all the time, and any component that lasts longer than the time it takes to bring more efficient models to the market has been over-engineered.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment