Old IH Tractor Fitted With “Ring Gear” Steering Wheel
Catherine Anderson, Blaine, Wash., was looking for something to replace the steering wheel on her 1959 IH 140 tractor. The one she found doesn’t have a special spoke pattern, or custom spoke covers, or even custom painted grips. But it was practical and cheap, because she used an old starter ring gear she found in her shop.
Anderson welded the 15-in. dia. ring gear to the tractor’s original steering wheel spokes, keeping the steering knob. She cut the original steering wheel off at the spokes, and then welded the ring gear onto the spokes in its place.
“The outer metal rim that supported the original rubber steering wheel had rusted out, so the first thing I did was buy a new steering wheel as a complete replacement,” says Anderson. “However, after adjusting the tractor seat forward to a comfortable position I realized my knees were hitting the steering wheel, which made it uncomfortable to operate. I returned it and started looking around for something I could use to make a smaller wheel.”
The ring gear’s teeth may appear to be uncomfortably sharp to hold onto, but Anderson says gripping the wheel isn’t too hard on her hands. Anyway, most of the time she uses the steering knob to steer. “I plan to coat all the teeth with a thick layer of clear epoxy that will fill in the gaps between the teeth to make the ring gear wheel feel smoother. Yet the teeth profile will still show through clearly,” says Anderson.
“The ring gear is made from hardened steel and caused a lot of splatter while I was welding it onto the spokes. I had to be careful,” says Anderson.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Catherine Anderson, 3533 Haynie Rd., Blaine, Wash. 98230 (ph 509 859-2373; Catherine2373@gmail.com).
Click here to download page story appeared in.
Click here to read entire issue
Old IH Tractor Fitted With “Ring Gear” Steering Wheel TRACTORS Miscellaneous Catherine Anderson Blaine Wash was looking for something to replace the steering wheel on her 1959 IH 140 tractor The one she found doesn’t have a special spoke pattern or custom spoke covers or even custom painted grips But it was practical and cheap because she used an old starter ring gear she found in her shop Anderson welded the 15-in dia ring gear to the tractor’s original steering wheel spokes keeping the steering knob She cut the original steering wheel off at the spokes and then welded the ring gear onto the spokes in its place “The outer metal rim that supported the original rubber steering wheel had rusted out so the first thing I did was buy a new steering wheel as a complete replacement ” says Anderson “However after adjusting the tractor seat forward to a comfortable position I realized my knees were hitting the steering wheel which made it uncomfortable to operate I returned it and started looking around for something I could use to make a smaller wheel ” The ring gear’s teeth may appear to be uncomfortably sharp to hold onto but Anderson says gripping the wheel isn’t too hard on her hands Anyway most of the time she uses the steering knob to steer “I plan to coat all the teeth with a thick layer of clear epoxy that will fill in the gaps between the teeth to make the ring gear wheel feel smoother Yet the teeth profile will still show through clearly ” says Anderson “The ring gear is made from hardened steel and caused a lot of splatter while I was welding it onto the spokes I had to be careful ” says Anderson Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Catherine Anderson 3533 Haynie Rd Blaine Wash 98230 ph 509 859-2373; Catherine2373@gmail com
To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click
here to register with your account number.
