My kind of fun !

[Rich P. Bingham]

Cleaning up an original condition 1914 steering column, I find it's a lot of fun to note details of manufacture. This steering gear was provided by Dodge Bros. as evidenced by the "D" stamped on the underside of the spark/throttle quadrant. The round stamping seems to say "Detroit" but I can't make out much more. Maybe someone has seen this stamp and can tell us ?

I find it fascinating that the column tube was closed by a brazed joint. It runs the full length of the column.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Hey there Rich B! Now I need to go out and look at the two earlier ones I have to see if I can find any remnant of makers marks on them. I know I looked at both of them years ago, but do not recall finding any stampings of the sort on either of them. My two are in terrible condition, but 1912 or 1913 with the earlier style firewall base mounting.
Brazing was a fairly new technique at that time, had only been around for a bit over ten years if I recall correctly. However Ford in his quest to build the best used it a lot at the factory, regardless of who's factory it was in those pre-in-house days. Especially on critical structures like engine pans, rear axle housings, and steering columns.
Yours is looking good!
Maybe some day one of mine can look that far along for one of the two project cars I have that should have them?

[Don Demio]

Rich,

The stamp on the opposite side from the capital letter "D" has the word Detroit curving down so that only the top of the letters "I & T" are impressed. Up and to the right of that word Detroit are the letters "S, O, & R," curving upward.
If you reverse these letters they are the last three letters of the abbreviation for brothers as in Dodge Brothers. Arching upward there may be the slight impression of the letter "D". A "SWAG" - Scientific Wild A** Guess would be the circular stamp "Dodge Bros." Detroit. Enjoy!

[Rich Eagle]

What a fun subject. I too thought I should go out and look at mine. As often happens, it raised some questions. I have the other side of the stamp on these three. The first has both the D and the circular Dodge Bros Detroit.

The second has a 5 instead of the D.

And the third has no D or 5. The arrangement was at the whim of the stamper.

I'll bet Royce has studied these and knows what year each is. It's just one more quirk as time went on.
Thanks for bringing it up. It was a good trip to the garage.
Rich

[TWrenn]

Ha Ha and now I'M gonna have to make a trip out to the barn with a mirror and look underneath Clara's quadrant!!

I'll do it tomorrow. Movie time!

[Rich P. Bingham]

Thanks for the response fellows ! It's great to share the thrill of discovery with like-minded folks.

Wayne, I believe you're right. Oxy-acetylene welding was new technology in those days, and although modern welding methods have superseded it, it remains that for certain processes, it has no peer. I had the pleasure of a friendship with an old Union Pacific machinist who told me one time of a crew who put 500 pounds of bronze into repairs for a steam locomotive in one shift !

Rich, great pix from your collection ! Thank you ! Makes me wonder if the craftsmen were somewhat stymied by the difficulty of stamping the quadrants ?

Tim, can't wait to see what Clara's quadrant adds to the picture !

Yup. Fun !

[havnfun]

Rich, very interesting thread and educational to booth, yep fun to research these joys for originality!

[Rich Eagle]

Here is some more info FWIW:
https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/3 ... 1357821970
https://www.2040-parts.com/_content/ite ... 76/002.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/RWUAAOSw ... -l1600.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/1noAAOSw ... -l1600.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ZQUAAOSw ... -l1600.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/pVMAAOSw ... -l1600.jpg

[Rich P. Bingham]

Here's another one :

No "D" stamp, just a partial of the round one

[Rich Eagle]

Cool! Looks like part of a B below Bros. Second try? Do you suppose they did these before or after riveting them?

[Rich P. Bingham]

Rich, I think they were stamped after riveting, makes sense to me the shank of the gear case and the steel column would be a "safe" backup for striking the stamps and avoid deforming the quadrant. The letters and numbers all appear to have been given a good, hard smack !

The second link you posted (parts) is interesting, shows a "2" and looks like all of the round stamp. It's also put a bee in my bonnet about the steering wheel acorn nut ! That one is of a profile I haven't seen on early steering gears (but I've led a fairly sheltered life ! )

This one came on my '13. It appears to be cast, not machined from billet stock, and doesn't take a "pretty" polish like the other parts do.

This one is on the '14 column I'm working on, it is "billet" brass. Even less of a return curve from the crown.

[George House]

All your fault Rich. Causing a bunch of old men eagerly turning their phones on selfie and ‘flash’ only to discover wonderful inscriptions on the underside of our ‘14 brass quadrants. Thank you for the thrill of discovery ! I also found the D and semicircular DODGE BROS on mine