It's a device to reduce shock transmitted to the driver.
http://www.greenmagazine.com/articles.asp?id=13 The Kosch Steering-Aid, as it was known, was designed to take the shock out of tractor steering systems. Anyone who has driven an older tractor without power steering through or across fresh furrows knows what the "shock" is. The front wheels get pushed one way and then the other by clods, furrows, rocks and even ditches. This sudden turning of the wheels can be quite violent and can even wrench the steering wheel right out of the operator's hands. Those who manage to hang on usually get their hands banged up for their trouble.
Kosch advertised that the Steering-Aid would lessen steering fatigue and would hold the tractor's wheels in any position the operator set them in. Kosch also stated "No more fighting the wheel. Holds the steering wheel positively stationary, regardless of 'kick back' caused by the front wheels striking obstacles or going over rough ground." Sounds good, doesn't it? No more wrestling with the steering wheel to keep the tractor headed where you want it to go. Just what is this miracle? Read below.
"WHAT IS IT? The Kosch Steering-Aid is a steering wheel with an automatic clutching device built into the hub. It replaces your present steering wheel. Contains no hydraulic or electrical mechanism. WHERE CAN IT BE USED? The Kosch Steering-Aid is manufactured for use on all tractors which are tiresome to hold when driving over rough ground or on side hills.
WHAT DOES IT DO? The Kosch Steering-Aid holds the steering gear stationary, no matter how much 'kick-back' the front wheels get from hitting washouts, ruts or shoulders. The Steering-Aid automatically releases as you turn the wheel so that you can steer the same as always-but without shock!"
Now, although we all know that our beloved John Deeres are the most perfectly designed tractor ever built (!), the fact is that they must have had a problem in this area like other tractors. Kosch built kits for IHC tractors and combines, Ferguson, Ford, Oliver, Minneapolis-Moline, Massey-Harris, Case, Coop, Cockshutt and Allis Chalmers...AND John Deere! Hard as it is to believe, kit number 351 fit the John Deere "A," "B" ('30 to '46-sure wish I could find a '30, '31, '32 or '33 "B"!) and "G" ('39 to '52). Kit number 353 fit the "A" and "B" ('46 to '52). Kit number 354 fit the 50, 60 and 70 and kit number 361 fit the "R." John Deere combines were also covered with kit number 371 for the model 55, serial number 1001 to 12050, and kit number 372 for the later 55s.
These Kosch steering wheels are not difficult to locate. If you study the picture of the wheel itself, you can readily see that it has a very large hub. This was necessary to contain the clutching device that is what the Steering-Aid is all about. The words "Kosch Steering-Aid" were also stamped right in the center of the wheel hub. Two of the three steering wheels pictured in the pamphlet have different spokes, one has straight steel spokes and the other has spokes with a dip built into them. I suppose this varied with application.
I imagine quite a few of you are familiar with these steering wheels and I assume are still in daily use, doing what they were designed to do years ago. As always, I would love to hear of your experiences with the items I write about. Did it work as advertised? Were they rugged and durable? Does anyone have any more information on it? If anything interesting turns up, I will include it in a future column. Until next month!
Stop the presses! After I had finished this column, I was able to contact the Kosch Manufacturing Company. They are still located in Columbus, Nebraska. Gordon Kosch graciously agreed to talk with me regarding the Kosch Company and the Steering-Aid that they manufactured. Gordon related to me that the company began by converting IHC horse drawn sickle mowers to tractor mounted. One thing led to another and soon Kosch was busily manufacturing its own design mower. Today, Kosch continues to built its mower and recently introduced a pitman-less model. Future plans include a hydraulically driven model and even one built especially for today's popular compact tractor market. Surprisingly, Gordon told me that Kosch had built the Steering-Aid up until five years ago. Of course, the product had changed quite a bit since it was originally produced. In the early 1970s, the large center hub that contained the clutch mechanism was downsized and made quite a bit smaller. The majority of the tractor applications had also been discontinued by this time since the tractors the Steering-Aid had been made for were getting older and power steering on the newer tractors had made the Steering-Aid unnecessary. The application of the Steering-Aid was not centered solely on the forklift industry. Apparently the Steering-Aid was in great demand by factories for their forklift fleets. Sadly, even this market was not enough to justify continuing production of the Steering-Aid and when sales continued a slow decline, the decision was made to stop production. And so another innovative productive, after enjoying a successful run, was finished and was retired.
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