Steering

“ I could steer my car with two fingers upon the roughest road. I could bring her up, all standing, in twice her length. My lights, as you know, made darkness a thing of nought.... I cannot answer for its headlights, nor for its brake-control, but the backlash in the steering of that two-ton van was terrible to behold. ”

“ The independent steering, the impossibility of capsizing forward or sideways, the position of the rider over his work, the absence of any little wheel with its mud throwing and vibrating tendencies, combine to make a machine which ought to be superior in almost every desirable quality to any other ”

“ When well under way throw the reverse lever into the last notch, and give your attention to steering.
Q. How should you steer a traction engine?
A. In all cases the same man should handle the throttle and steer the engine. Skill in steering comes by practice, and about the only rule that can be given is to go slow, and under no circumstances jerk your engine about. Good steering depends a great deal on natural ability to judge distances by the eye and power by the feel. A good engineer must have a good eye, a good ear, and a good touch (if we may so speak) . ”

“ Personally I prefer, and I think most men prefer, to steer with the outside foot. The captain of a Four should always look carefully to his steering-gear to see that the wires and strings are taut, and that they move properly and without jamming over the wheels. I have seen more than one race lost by accidents to the steering-gear that might have been avoided by a little preliminary attention. ”

“ My steering compass was aft, in the cockpit, near the wheel. When the steering compass pointed west-by-south three-quarters-south (the steering course) , the standard compass pointed west-one-half-north, which was certainly not the steering course. I kept the Snark up till she was heading west-by-south-three-quarters- south on the standard compass, which gave, on the steering compass, south-west-by-west.
The foregoing operations constitute the simple little matter of setting a course. And the worst of it is that one must perform every step correctly or else he will hear "Breakers ahead!" ”

“ It is for the corresponding reason that the steering of a front-steerer is so excellent; the more the machine is checked by obstruction, by back treading, or by the brake, the greater is the weight on the front wheel. ”

“ For two expert tandem riders, connected steering is slightly more pleasurable than fixed handle grips for the rear rider, but on the other hand, divided control may lead to disaster at a critical moment. ”

“ For the heavier and higher speed cars the locked steering will probably continue to be preferred, the steering connections being relieved to some extent of the severity of shocks by the interposition of spring buffers in the rod ends, thus securing the advantage of fixity of position of wheels and direction of running under any circumstances. ”

“ The Steering Column.—This is a very important mechanical element of the car. Its direct useful functions are to carry or hold the mechanism for steering the machine, and for the motor control, controlling the air supply for the fuel, as well as for regulating the sparking mechanism.
Motor Control.—Some machines are provided with a foot lever mechanism (accelerator) as well as the throttle lever on the steering wheel. This is advantageous, because in moving through crowded streets, where frequent and quick changes are necessary, the foot is the most convenient for controlling purposes. ”

“ I used to watch the man steering, and observe him move the wheel so as to keep the compass card steady. I told Captain Jenkinson I should like to learn to steer, and he would often let me hold the wheel, and for fun give me orders. ”

“ Steering Gear.—The loss of a ship's rudder is a small loss comparatively with that of the breakage or carrying away of an essential part of the steering gear of a motor carriage, especially of a high-speed car. The ship will continue to float and in most cases the stopping of the engines removes immediate danger from collision. With a broken steering arm or connecting-rod a car with its occupants may be hurled into a ditch, or ravine, or river before the driver has realised what has happened, and long before the brakes could do any good. ”

“ Fig. 46.—Steering Mechanisms. A, Worm and worm-wheel steering gear; B, nut and screw steering gear.
The stationary part of the front axle of an automobile is usually a forging, and must be of considerable strength in order to support the weight imposed upon it by the engine. It is usually bent down in the center, in order that it may be the lowest point of the mechanism, [Pg 167] thus to receive possible blows of stones or other high points of the road that would cause serious damage should they strike the crank case or fly wheel. ”

“ The steering gear is a bent iron rod, also found in the waste pile of the junk shop, and is bent to right form by heating and bending over on a rock or any solid matter. The steering rod is marked E. It fits into a socket in the shaft of the forward wheels. ”

“ We are told by experts that seventy-five per cent of the driver's steering efficiency is lost the moment the arm is extended outward from the side of the car. By the use of this device the hands of the driver are upon the wheel when the corner is actually being rounded. ”

“ We found the car beneath a tree.
"The steering knuckle broke," said he;
"The driver's dead; they say his wife
Will be an invalid for life.
I wonder how the man must feel
Who made that faulty steering wheel."
It seemed a curious thought, and I
Sat thinking, as the cars went by,
About the man who made the wheel
And shaped that knuckle out of steel;
I tried to visualize the scene—
The man, the steel and the machine. ”

“ If the foot-brake had burned, as possibly it might, the compression of the gas in the cylinder could have been made to act as a brake. The steering-gear was in perfect order, which was the most important consideration in the circumstances, and I felt that I was undertaking a responsibility which the car and I together were well able to carry out. But as I thought that amateurs were likely to be alarmed if they knew what had happened, I naturally kept my knowledge to myself. ”

“ Steering and Turning Ability. —It has been mentioned several times that steering is a matter of importance in the prevention of accidents. Designing engineers should, therefore, take that into account. It was formerly thought that turning ability is a function of the length of wheel base, but there are other things to be taken into account and some late designs with reasonably long wheel bases are able to turn in half the radius that was required for some of the older designs with shorter wheel bases. ”

“ It is so particularly in the case of an automobile driver. The steering wheel is a sort of antennæ, which imparts a vibratory intelligence to him, that cannot be grasped or understood by others in the car.
At first the matter of driving is a feeling of intensity in doing certain things, and in trying to anticipate the conditions. This state of mind continues until driving becomes a reflex action. The throttle, or the pedals are instinctively moved; the throwing in of a gear is proceeded with in an easy, natural fashion, and the starting movement is brought about without a perceptible jerk. ”

“ The steering-head had broken short off at the inside of the hub. We were not going very fast at the time, and the heavy metal mud guard which caught the wheel, acting as a huge brake, saved us from a bad smash. ”

“ I. I mean that the motor-omnibus driver, sitting as he does in front of his vehicle and manipulating his steering-wheel like this, can do little or no harm to the apparatus. On the other hand, the steam-roller mechanic, standing inside the body of the vehicle, and having the steering-wheel in this position—
He. On the sofa? ”

“ Be gentle with the steering gear; it is such a long connection that it doesn't respond as readily as the old one, and I guess I've made the rods a trifle too light. I mean to rig up a more substantial device as soon as I get time, but this will do you all right if you don't jerk it. Put a little more strength to the wheel and turn it gradually, that's all. ”

“ The mechanism of the front steering gear is shown at Fig. 3. A 3/4-in. steel rod makes a good steering rod. Flatten the steering rod at one end and sink it into the wood. Hold it in place by means of an iron plate drilled to receive the rod and screwed to block X. An iron washer, Z, is used to reduce friction; bevel block K to give a rocker motion. Equip block X with screw eyes, making them clear those in the front runner, and bolt through. For the rear runner put a block with screw eyes on the baseboard and run a bolt through. ”

“ Steering Gear Care.—Steering gears should be closely adjusted. The housing should be packed with a medium hard oil or graphite grease at least once in every thousand miles that the car is driven. All bolts and nuts connecting the different parts of the steering gear should be regularly inspected and kept in a perfectly tight condition. ”

“ STEERAGE. The act of steering. (See Nice Steerage.) Also, that part of the ship next below the quarter-deck, immediately before the bulk-head of the great cabin in most ships of war. The portion of the 'tween-decks just before the gun-room bulk-head. In some ships the second-class passengers are called steerage passengers. The admiral's cabin on the middle deck of three-deckers has been called the steerage.
STEERAGE-WAY. When a vessel has sufficient motion in the water to admit of the helm being effective. ”

“ But until the manipulation of the levers and the steering gear has become second nature, this must be done. It is best to go very slow in the beginning. Skipping along the ground will teach a driver much. When one first gets up in the air it is necessary to keep far from all obstacles, like buildings, trees, or crowds. There is the same tendency to run into 165 166 them that an amateur bicycle rider has in regard to stones and ruts on the ground. ”

“ To the foremost end we attached the steering rope, just a set of man-harness with a long trace, and to the after end of the shaft we made fast the towing lanyard or span according to whether we hauled sledges abreast or in single line. Many doubts were expressed as to the use of the despised motors—but we heeded not the gibes of our friends who came out to speed us on our way. They knew we were doing our best to make the motors successful, and their expressed sneers covered their sincere wishes that we should manage to get our loads well on to the Barrier. ”

“ Thermoid-Hardy fabric universal joint.
adopted the plan of mounting the steering post on the left side, realizing that in a country where the "right-hand" rule of the road obtains the balance of advantages rests with the left-hand drive. Left-hand steering fits in well with brake and gear-shift levers mounted in the centre of the car, as the driver can use his right hand to operate them. In Great Britain, where the rule of the road is to "keep to the left," right-hand steering has the same advantages as left-hand steering in other countries. ”

“ The novice should bear in mind that cars are not designed for steeplechasing, and a broken horn of the front springs leads to the displacement of the steering gear, and possibly a sudden swoop across the road, into a wall, a ditch or—Eternity. ”

“ A bent steering rod may be pulled straight without much trouble, a broken one is a more serious matter. A good plan is to tie the head of an umbrella or walking stick, if of a suitable shape, to the spanner fitted on the head or the arm of the steering head, and steer in the Bath-chair fashion. ”

“ On taking a position in the driver's seat with one foot on each side of the steering column, each foot lightly resting on the two driving pedals, it will be found that the left pedal when pressed down disconnects the engine from the driving mechanism, whilst the right one also does this, but at the same time applies a powerful brake to arrest the motion of the vehicle. ”

“ An Indian of an Iroquoian tribe.
Ir`re*vers"i*ble steering gear. (Mach.) A steering gear, esp. for an automobile, not affected by the road wheels, as when they strike an obstacle side ways, but easily controlled by the hand wheel or steering lever. ”

“ As far as you have observed, is the injury done to the roads by the passing of the Carriage, greater or less than that by a Carriage drawn by horses?—I think, taking the horses into the account, the injury must be much less; the tire of the wheels is three and a half inches wide, whereas many of the Stage Coaches are as heavy as the Steam Carriage, and with narrower wheels; and I think it is only fair to take the weight of the horses into the account, which I have found to be from eight to ten hundred weight each horse, consequently, four horses would weigh from a ton and a half to two tons. ”

“ They are grown-up baby perambulators upon two wheels; the driver sitting up behind, where the handle would be, and drawing the reins of interminable length over the top of the vehicle. Picture it in your mind, and then wonder, as I did, what power of attraction keeps the horse upon the ground; what prevents his flying into the air when the driver settles down into his seat. A pair of low, folding doors take the place of a lap robe; you dash through the street at an alarming rate without any visible guide, experiencing all the delights of a runaway without any of its dangers. ”

“ Eastern horse would break his neck and yours, too. The driver jams on brakes; and you drop down a terribly steep grade in a series of switchbacks, or zigzags, to the Bridge. It is the most spectacularly steep road I know in America. It could not be any steeper and not drop straight; and there isn't anything between you and the drop but your horses' good sense. It is one of the places where you don't want to hit your horse; for if he jumps, the wagon will not keep to the trail. ”