Shopsmith Forums

I got this linkyesterday and wanted to share, especially with those who have a lot of snow.

i think that something like that revamped with new tech would be some thing that would work
its just in the same idea like a snow cat
pretty kewl

That is awesome.

After watching the video, I'm trying to figure out why the driver kept turning the steering wheel. There's a section detailing the turning, and it appears to use independent power to each side to turn, similar to a tank tread. Makes sense, but the guys on the tractor and the car keep using the steering wheel. I don't get it.

GREAT VIDEO! Thanks Tim!

I'd be ready to trade in one of my shopsmiths to get one.



Some of you farm heartily folks, wasn't that the tractor with steel real wheels that would climb right over itself, i.e. widow maker style.

Ed

i seen that too
im sure that the turning is related to a braking the gear box
if you have ever seen a skid loader in action or driven one you could set it up with a steering wheel ( skid loader will do rev and forward with out chaning anything) on this you must change gears, that makes the drum one directional, unlike a skid loader
i think that there must be a linkage to adjust the breaking power to each side
cause if you watch youll see that in some turns that both drum will spin and one is slower
now you could incorporate this design in to a new one while usein some thing like a skid loader hydrostaitc system and make it better
you can also see him shifting too

My dad would have loved this thing! I watched the whole thing, and it is steered with the steering wheel. On either side of these old tractors there was an arm that pushed or pulled a long rod connected to a sort of bell crank that turned the front wheel. The video shows this arm connected to the "transmission" on the rear of the machine. Turning the wheel caused one side to turn faster and the other to turn slower. That pushed it around in the turn.
I though it had to be the brakes as well, but I think not now. If you ever drove one of these old tractors, you know that steering was often as much a function of the brakes as the steering wheel. On some types, it was pretty much all brakes, especially if you had to turn around quickly. It is not surprising that that would be our first assumption, and the tank style braking second. Cool link, thanks!!

And Yes, those older tractors would climb the ring gears in the rear end and flip over. You had to be very sure that your load was hooked up well below the rear axle. The fordson and later ford 8N were not as bad as some of the others, but you still had to watch them. My guess is that even modern tractors would climb the ring gears.

Check out the video with the guy and the flag on top of the car.. Some of that driving reminds me of my high school daze...

Neat thing about it was unlike today's snowmobiles it doesn't sink into deep snow when you stop. In light fluffy snow if you can get stuck on today's snowmobiles if you stop yet this thing seemed to handle it well.

i just found this
refer to my last post
its about half way through the page it shows the Snowmobile as a tank