Why lever steer on early tractors?

[SylvanLakeWH 25,608]

Just now, WHX24 said:

Ahhh sorry Silvia but the  don't need no inspiration other than maybe getting an eye test fer bein color blind. 'Sides what's he been going on that colonostrum project for what like 30 years now? .....What ever happened  to a good old fashioned  mechanical  refresh and a fresh can of regal red or original patina ?!?!?! 

[ebinmaine 67,703]

23 minutes ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

taking so long

You're asking MEE that??!!??

 

I'd answer but this could take awhile....

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,703]

11 minutes ago, WHX24 said:

Ahhh sorry Silvia but the  don't need no inspiration other than maybe getting an eye test fer bein color blind. 'Sides what's he been going on that colonostrum project for what like 30 years now? .....What ever happened  to a good old fashioned  mechanical  refresh and a fresh can of regal red or original patina ?!?!?! 

 

colonostrum

 

 

And it's only been 25 years so quit rushin' me. 

[RandyLittrell 3,884]

3 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

 

 

You may remember that I'm using a custom built axle that someone had put together and then I modified.

There is an angle to the ends that hold the spindles and it appears to be close to Wheel Horse specs. 

When I get ready to fab up the spindles I may start a thread or just come back to this one but I'd like to get fairly close on caster, camber, Ackerman and scrub angle. 

I do realize that this tractor is only going to be doing three or four miles per hour most of the time but I wouldn't mind having it fairly close to correct...

 

I am just talking about the caster possibly helping with lever steer if you did that. I think the reduction in normal steering helps with feedback through the wheel. Most garden tractors don't have correct ackerman, so it don't matter much. 

 

 

 

Randy

[AHS 1,443]

The lever steer.. it could make you scratch your head! I mean, if you think about it it about the same as a stand up mower.. except you do turning on the rear wheels.

[ebinmaine 67,703]

12 minutes ago, AHS said:

The lever steer.. it could make you scratch your head! I mean, if you think about it it about the same as a stand up mower.. except you do turning on the rear wheels.

It would take a bit of getting used to. 

 

Rh foot brake. 

Lh foot nothing. 

 

Lh hand clutch. 

Rh hand shifting and steering. Never at the same time. 

 

 

Might do one in the future. Not right now though...

[Pullstart 62,922]

5 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

Might do one in the future. Not right now though...

probably a wise choice...

[SylvanLakeWH 25,608]

11 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

It would take a bit of getting used to. 

 

Rh foot brake. 

Lh foot nothing. 

 

Lh hand clutch. 

Rh hand shifting and steering. Never at the same time. 

 

 

Might do one in the future. Not right now though...

Maybe use a twister board for your dash...? 

 

Just trying to be helpful... 

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,703]

7 hours ago, pullstart said:

probably a wise choice...

As much as I'd love the idea, Colossus is a challenging enough build without introducing the design and addition of lever steer. 

I'm changing soooo many minor aspects of the tractor and each one is a project by itself. 

I love the thought processes behind all of it but I'm also trying to make it user friendly so it'll be a good worker. 

 

I've collected a bunch of parts and materials for it and I'd like to have it going by around May 1st. 

 

Time to start twisting wrenches!

 

 

[Maxwell-8 4,277]

25 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

As much as I'd love the idea, Colossus is a challenging enough build without introducing the design and addition of lever steer. 

I'm changing soooo many minor aspects of the tractor and each one is a project by itself. 

I love the thought processes behind all of it but I'm also trying to make it user friendly so it'll be a good worker. 

 

I've collected a bunch of parts and materials for it and I'd like to have it going by around May 1st. 

 

Time to start twisting wrenches!

 

 

Can't wait for some more pics!

 

Why lever?: 

-little know how, those steering-gears were fragile

- a farmer far from a dealer could easily fix the steering at there farm

Edited January 2, 2021 by Maxwell-8

[ebinmaine 67,703]

2 minutes ago, Maxwell-8 said:

Can't wait for some more pics!

Might get a bit done today. Snowing til noon so we'll be in the basement workshop. 

[wh500special 2,188]

Elmer and Cecil were fundamentally quite cheap and were blacksmithing the early tractors together in their garage on nights and weekends.  The lever arrangement was simple and cheap for them and didn’t require outsourcing any labor operations.  
 

I’ve heard that the early tubular levers used on most of the Lever steer tractors were Ford car radius arms from the junkyard.   Some tractors got flat stock steering levers, I guess when the junkyard was out of donor parts.  
 

I never found the Lever hard to drive unless it was bumpy since there isn’t anything solid to hold on to. 
 

steve 
 

 

[ebinmaine 67,703]

1 hour ago, wh500special said:

Lever hard to drive unless it was bumpy since there isn’t anything solid to hold on to. 

That's a legitimate concern here. Most of the time I'm on rough ground. 

[Lee1977 6,673]

On 12/31/2020 at 10:10 AM, ebinmaine said:

No implements on this one. 

Only for pulling stuff in and out of the forest. 

rOr for confusing people at shows. 

How many trees are you going to climb before you get use to a lever clutch. Yes, add lever steering too, this is going to get interesting.

[Lee1977 6,673]

Double post

Edited January 3, 2021 by Lee1977

[ebinmaine 67,703]

19 minutes ago, Lee1977 said:

How many trees are you going to climb before you get use to a lever clutch. Yes, add lever steering too, this is going to get interesting.

I'd had the same thought!!

 

No guarantees on accuracy or absorption of self training on the lever clutch!

[Pullstart 62,922]

10 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

I'd had the same thought!!

 

No guarantees on accuracy or absorption of self training on the lever clutch!

I have dreams for a custom motorcycle.  It’ll have a hand clutch and suicide shifter.  That’s been done before, but I want to use an old piston/wrist pin rocking for the clutch.  Not sure how it’ll play out, but that’s what is in my head.

[ebinmaine 67,703]

5 hours ago, pullstart said:

I have dreams for a custom motorcycle.  It’ll have a hand clutch and suicide shifter.  That’s been done before, but I want to use an old piston/wrist pin rocking for the clutch.  Not sure how it’ll play out, but that’s what is in my head.

AWESOME

[953 nut 55,336]

On 1/2/2021 at 7:28 AM, ebinmaine said:

Time to start twisting wrenches!

 

 

[C-85 686]

I have some thoughts on this too.  In the way past my family was an Ariens dealer and we sold a lot of rear engine riders. In the begging they had a steering bar like this.

 

 

Then a lot of the manufacturers and Ariens thought these riders would look more sporty if they had a steering wheels.  It was true that they looked better, but customers that traded from the swing bar to the steering wheel type soon discovered that there was now a lot of steering!  In most cases we steer our lawn equipment more than our vehicles.  On lawn mowers we steer around trees, fences and all kinds of obstacles, on cars it's most just slight adjustments and turns.  The swing bar was much easier to just move back and forth!

 

That's my 

 

C-85

 

[Handy Don 12,250]

1 minute ago, C-85 said:

On lawn mowers we steer around trees, fences and all kinds of obstacles,

I have a snapper rear engine rider and the front tires wear out every 10 years--and this is on grass! First time thought it was cheap tires but finally realized there is quite a lot of friction involved.

[ebinmaine 67,703]

@C-85

That Ariens rear engine rider is what I learned how to drive on, so to speak, when I was 6 years old back in the summer of 1977.

I don't want to become a collector of any sort but I would absolutely buy one of those!

[WHX?? 48,834]

11 hours ago, pullstart said:

Custom motorcycle.  It’ll have a hand clutch and suicide shifter.

It's properly called a suicide clutch with a jockey shift.... very popular mod on early Harleys and factory on very earlies  ... @Achto knows! 

Suicide clutch - Wikipedia

Edited January 4, 2021 by WHX24

[Lane Ranger 10,968]

8 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

@C-85

That Ariens rear engine rider is what I learned how to drive on, so to speak, when I was 6 years old back in the summer of 1977.

I don't want to become a collector of any sort but I would absolutely buy one of those!

 

My brother David and I mowed two lawns and the Scout Hut and community park every weekend for about five or six years ( before graduating from high school).   We used Ariens mowers ( made kind of like the Snapper riding mowers ) with a vertical mower in back behind the seat.   Mower was smaller than 40 inches - don’t recall exactly.   We ended up wearing out the first Ariens and getting a second .   I don’t recall much about them other than the steering mechanism in front was different on each and one had a crank recoil starter you wound to start snd the other a more traditional pull starter.  They were an orange and cream color.  They sat lower than a Wheel Horse as I recall.

 

 

They  were great almost trouble free tractors.  Dad was President of the Community Park board and the Scout Hut Board so we became the “volunteers”! 

The attached photos of Ariens “ Emperor” are like the ones we mowed with. 

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by Lane Ranger

[ebinmaine 67,703]

1 hour ago, Lane Ranger said:

 

My brother David and I mowed two lawns and the Scout Hut and community park every weekend for about five or six years ( before graduating from high school).   We used Ariens mowers ( made kind of like the Snapper riding mowers ) with a vertical mower in back behind the seat.   Mower was smaller than 40 inches - don’t recall exactly.   We ended up wearing out the first Ariens and getting a second .   I don’t recall much about them other than the steering mechanism in front was different on each and one had a crank recoil starter you wound to start snd the other a more traditional pull starter.  They were an orange and cream color.  They sat lower than a Wheel Horse as I recall.

 

 

They  were great almost trouble free tractors.  Dad was President of the Community Park board and the Scout Hut Board so we became the “volunteers”! 

The attached photos of Ariens “ Emperor” Ard like the ones we mowed with. 

 

That's the one right there mister. That's what I remember ours looking like.

I don't remember the mowing deck being quite as wide as the one in those pics though. Could have been. I was a tad younger at the time and I can't even remember what I ate for breakfast much less 40 plus years ago.