WAYS AND MEANS.
Page 69
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Useful Contributions from Our Driver and Mechanic Readers.
Recutting Damaged Threads on an Axle Sleeve.
ONSIDERABLE trouble is found IL/in some vehicles through the threads on the ends of the axle sleeves becoming stripped, and in some cases this has resulted in the wheel coming off on the road and causing considerable delay and obstruction. A correepondent, of "West Bromwich, sends us a description of a very useful tool which he has made for dealing with stripped or partly stripped threads on axle sleeves.
The particular make of lorry which has given him most trouble has a sleeve with a bore of 2 1-32nd in. diameter, so he turned a long plug to fit the hole and formed with an extension on which he cut a thread of the same pitch as that on the axle sleeve. A hole was bored right through the plug and the end which entered the sleeve was bored out taper, and was split up in three Or four places with a slitting saw. An inner plug with a taper head at one end and a thread at the other was fitted so that the outer plug could be expanded to fit tightly in the sleeve.
A east-iron disc with a rather long boss for steadyment was screwed to fit the end of the plug, and an arm extending from it held the cutting tool. A lever for turning the disc round and a means for adjusting the cutter completed the apparatus.
"H.M." tells us that he can re-cut the worst of threads in about three-quarters of an hour while in position. He suggests that a separate sleeve might take the place of the thread on the end, sothat threads of different pitches for various Makes of vehicle could be dealt with.
To Prevent Oil Leaks from the Tell-tale.
No doubt many drivers are troubled with leakage of oil from the tell-tales or indicators of the oiling system on teir vehicles. A correspondent, " G.H.H.," of Islington, Ni, suggests a remedy which he has found entirely to stop this trouble and enable him to keep his dash clean. His plan is to fit a rubber washer, as shown in his sketch ; this he cut from an old air tube, and the best way he found of making the hole was to burn it through with a hot wire, taking care that it was a snug fit in the plunger. He then cut off as many coils off the spring as necessary to make up for the thickness of the washer, so that the 'effect of the spring should not be altered.
He tells us that he has had this working for a month and not a drop of oil has escaped.
Rubber does not appear to be a material one would choose to come in contact with oil, but, in all probibliity, being 'protected from air, it may have quite a useful life.
A Useful Holding-down Plate.
,WHEN work has to be held on a faceplate, or the table of a shaper or • planer, it often happens that it is of such a form that it cannot be secured in a
chuck or machine vice, even if one be available, which is not always the case. In such circumstances holding-down plates have to be used These plates are mostly made or flat bar iron with a hole for the bolt somewhere about in the middle, but there are objections to this form of plate, as the hole may be in the right place for one job and not another, which involves drilling other holes, and these weaken the plate, especially if it has to be of any length.
A far better plan is to make what Is known as a: loop plate, as shown in the sketch, for it is free from the above objections and, as will be seen, it has no hole to weaken it, whilst it can elide along the bolt to any position that may be required.
These plates can he easily and quickly made by taking a bar of iron of the required section, making it hot at the required distance from the end and then folding it over another piece of iron, the thicknessof which is equal to the diameter of the bolt to be used.
Benefits from an Improvized Extra-air Inlet.
AN M.T. driver, " of Portsmouth, tells us that he recently improved the mileage per gallon of a 3-ton A.D.C. lorry by fitting a hand
operated extra-air inlet. He tells us that the result of his improvement was carefully checked over a journey of 88 miles, Chatham to Deal and back.
His method was to drill a hole in the inlet pipe and to iix a length of flexible tubing to a tap on the dash near the steering wheel. The bore of the tube was g in. He claims that the advantages were most marked, resulting in improved consumption and smoother running, especially when running downhill, and using the engine as a brake with the throttle closed and the air inlet fully open. After such a run he could pick up instantly. He accounts for this by the fact that owing to the open air inlet he was not drawing oil up between the piston and the cylinder walls. He considers that an even larger bore of tubing might be an improvement.
The plan is by no means new to us, but, although in most cases an extraair inlet is not looked upon with favour, provided all other things are correctly adjusted, such a device may prove of use in some cases.
A Useful Towing, Tip.
ONE of our readers, "JIB.," of Lin coln, tells us that when driving over a narrow road with sloping, soft banks. he came upon a large Ford bus which had broken its rear axle and was, consequently, blocking up the whole road, thus preventing him from continuing his journey.
There was nothing for it but for him to help to get the bus out of the way. As it was resting on its brake plate, which only offered a very small beariug surface, it was impossible to tow it out of the way without tearing up the road, and when on the grass it would have sunk in SO much that it would not have been possible to move it.
• He procured a two-inch plank ; by -jacking up the bus he was able to place this under the brake shoe and lash the front end of the plank to the front step. The plank acted as a skid pan, and by its help he was able to tow the bus completely clear of the road, leaving it on the• grass until a new axle could be fitted.