By
MikesRJ
I am going to start a topic here and ask for inputs from all users with specific knowledge or comments concerning the same. I will use the encompassing information in a presentation of the topic both here and in "other" publications. BuckRancher and I repaired our steering wheels, but we used two similar but different methods to accomplish it. There are certainly a number of ways you could go about it, but then that is the point of this post. To investigate the ideas of the members here, and see if there is a better way, or faster process, to go about it.
The RJ 58 I restored a few years ago presented may interesting problems to work out in order to finish a complete restoration of the machine. One of these problems was the steering wheel. The original steering wheel, in its "as found" condition, could not be used with the restored tractor due to several fairly major splits and cracks present in the rubber handle. The metal of the steering wheel was in very good condition, but the rubber had just seen better days.
Above is an image of the original wheel as it existed on the machine when it was brought home from TN. The rubber hand grip material at the intersection point between the spokes and the underlying steel rim was cracked on all three points around the wheel. There were also several splits in the area between these intersections.
Given damage of this sort, and knowing you are performing a 100% original restoration, my questions to you are this; 1) Do you replace the wheel outright, or 2) Repair the wheel? Choosing number 1 is the easy way out. The problems with choosing #1 are; a) Can you find a usable replacement?; How much time will you save you vs. fixing it?; and c) How much is it going to cost you?
Choosing #2 is almost certainly going to cost you less in the long run, but how would you go about it? Here's where I'll make this thread interesting. Now I will ask the members here the simple question: "How would YOU fix it?"
By Workin_Horses
By MikesRJ