steering wheel spinner knobs

[Egon]

Back to Pat's question on the type of steering.

The recirculating ball type would have been used on heavier harder to turn vehicles or tractors etc. where a mechanical advantage was really required.

Rack and pinion was used in situations where the steering effort was not as great and faster response was desired. In past days sports type cars would have had the rack and pinion.

With the advent of power steering the rack became the preferred choice of cars. Most trucks will still use the recirculating ball type of steering box.

An opinion that may/may not be correct.

 

[patrick_g]

The recirculating ball type would have been used on heavier harder to turn vehicles or tractors etc. where a mechanical advantage was really required.

Rack and pinion was used in situations where the steering effort was not as great and faster response was desired. In past days sports type cars would have had the rack and pinion.

With the advent of power steering the rack became the preferred choice of cars. Most trucks will still use the recirculating ball type of steering box.

An opinion that may/may not be correct.

I know that larger sedans before PS became de rigeur often used recirculating ball. All my sports cars were rack and pinion and none had or offered PS.

Regarding steering wheel turning speed as assisted by a knob... It is unlikely that I could spin the wheel faster with a knob. I just stick the first two fingers next to a spoke and spin away. If turning is really easy (higher RPM with decent forward motion) I can let my fingers rotate closer to the center of rotation (shorter distance per revolution) and if really low RPM and no forward speed then there is more force required and my fingers are trained to slide out to the rim of the wheel for more leverage. Worst case, my hand travels about the same distance as a rim of the wheel mounted knob but most of the time swings through an arc with less radius and turns the wheel faster than a knob would (rim mounted.)

With some wheel designs you could opt to attach the knob on a spoke, intermediate to the inner or outermost position and get faster spinning, albeit at a loss of leverage you may regret in many circumstances.

Please note that I have absolutely nothing against anyone using a knob. This is not the equivalent of color wars. It is my personal preference to not use a knob as I don't see its advantage for me.

redbug said,

"I have power steering and hydrostatic transmission on my tractor. But with a spinner added, you clutch the ball of the spinner instead of holding the steering wheel. It is a very efficient way to turn a steering wheel and fast. You can spin the wheel lock to lock probably 3 times faster. That means you can turn faster, (with one hand doing the manuvering and the other working the FEL), with only one hand. Backing up and turning is a breeze, since it is easy to clutch the ball and turn, while twisted around looking backward and the other arm hangs on and supports you. "

I don't hold the steering wheel, per se, when maneuvering quickly. I just use a finger or two to spin the wheel. I think I get the same benefits he ascribes to the knob when I use a finger or two to spin the wheel. Apparently the gain in speed and ease is approximately equivalent when using the knob or a finger or two vs gripping the wheel or dong the hand over hand wheel turn. The main difference I see is I don't ever have a knob in the way, no compromise, just the performance boost.

Pat

 

[gemini5362]

Pat while your post is technically correct. I dont know why but I did notice after this post got started that I use the knob on my Kubota every time I drive it. Not really sure why but evidently it makes enough of a difference that I unconsciously grab it when turning the wheel.

 

[RobJ]

I don't hold the steering wheel, per se, when maneuvering quickly. I just use a finger or two to spin the wheel. I think I get the same benefits he ascribes to the knob when I use a finger or two to spin the wheel. Apparently the gain in speed and ease is approximately equivalent when using the knob or a finger or two vs gripping the wheel or dong the hand over hand wheel turn. The main difference I see is I don't ever have a knob in the way, no compromise, just the performance boost.

Pat

In my case without PS the ball is faster. Perhaps the ball was invented betore PS to. Dunno. Hand over hand would only work while mowing, otherwise I've got the right hand working the 3pt. I think if I had PS I'd still have one, not for speed, just easier to hang on to.

 

[Runner]

My grandpa had a spinner knob on his riding mower that had a "girlie picture" in it. As an 8 year old, I always enjoyed cutting his grass for him....

 

[wushaw]

I used to do the finger method also till I got blisters developing, also got blisters on palm.
I like my spinner on my Kubota. I will not put one on the Mitsubishi since it has no powersteering, no fel and it does not need it.

 

[patrick_g]

Pat while your post is technically correct. I dont know why but I did notice after this post got started that I use the knob on my Kubota every time I drive it. Not really sure why but evidently it makes enough of a difference that I unconsciously grab it when turning the wheel.

Just to clear the air... I really don't care one way or the other if someone does or does not use a spinner. I do fine without one. At first I could make my fingers tired or sore on the surface when doing a lot. Gloves fixed that till I toughened up and didn't need them.

If I thought I needed a spinner, I'd gladly put one on, probably one of the fold down type so I could chose to have it available or out of the way and if I could find one short of paying big bucks to a collectible dealer I'd definitely want one of the one's I too recall having the girlie pix in them.

Pat

 

[Redbug]

I've never seen one with a girlie pic. I want one! And mud flaps with the girlie silhouettes on the bottom!

 

[patrick_g]

I've never seen one with a girlie pic. I want one! And mud flaps with the girlie silhouettes on the bottom!

Those spinners were popular about the same time there were mechanical pencils that had a picture of a girl in them and when you turned it over her clothes fell off.

Pat

 

[SnowRidge]

My grandpa had a spinner knob on his riding mower that had a "girlie picture" in it. As an 8 year old, I always enjoyed cutting his grass for him....

Hey, I remember those.

Spinners knobs are handy on articulated machines, especially Power Tracs. Virtually everyone on the Power Trac forum has a spinner kob on his machine, since PTs come with the world's most uncomfortable steering wheels. They are rock hard and very thin.

Operating a PT without a spinner knob can actually be painful. Until I installed the knob, my hands would hurt after less than an hour on the machine.

I wonder if the "girlie" knobs are still available......