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6 min read
Let a Hundred Mechanisms Bloom.
Spencer Wright on antique apple parers, and how an old tool can force you to confront a problem anew.…
Spencer Wright
Spencer Wright is the (mostly accidental) founder of Scope of Work, which he started writing (as The Prepared) in 2013. Today he serves as its editor-in-chief and chief dilettante.
351 posts
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7 min read
Ford and Macadam.
It used to be rare that more than a couple of sentences at a time were cut from drafts of…
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A More Fun Ride
Jan Heine on the physics of pneumatic tires, the rise of gravel cycling, and his role in the bike industry.…
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Cars.
Since the introduction of the Model T, the rubber industry has evolved in tandem with the automobile industry – and American car culture.…
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On Pneumatic Tires.
Pneumatic tires were invented (and then promptly forgotten) in 1846. Then, they became perhaps the quintessential twentieth-century transportation technology.…
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On Gravel.
Spencer Wright on the National Forest System's staggering quantity of unpaved roads.…
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Notes, 2023-08-14
Spencer Wright on workshop time with kids.…
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On Hevea.
How the Brazilian rubber tree made Manaus – and then left it behind.…
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On Naphtha
How naphtha -- one of the first fossil fuel derivatives ever made -- played a key role in the commercialization of rubber.…
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On Vulcanization
On Charles Goodyear and the unlikely discovery of the vulcanization process.…