, Curing Uneven Pulling.
Page 27
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The sender of the following communication has been awarded the Ws. prize this week.
[1272] " J.N." (Holborn) writes :--" I had a peculiar experience quite recently. I had been seeking for a good second-hand car, which I could convert into a delivery van. After looking around for a few
weeks, I ran across quite a goad — machine, which appeared to be very little worn. After an examination, I bought it, and had a new body built and fitted. For a month or so the van ran like satisfactory clockwork. Afterwards she seemed ta lose power, and pulled very irregularly, one cylinder seeming to miss altogether. A further curious fact was that any one cylinder fired regularly, as did any two. All the connections and plugs were in good order. The valves and compression were all right, and the lift and clearance in satisfactory condition. The manifold had a central intake, and each arm fed two cylinders.
"When running slowly I found that No. 3 apparentlydid not fire, but on cutting out the others, it seemed quite all right. There was Il0 obstruction in the intake, and I was quite puzzled. On taking out the valves of No. 3 cylinder, I found that the cage of the inlet valve—which was of the overhead type—had turned almost completely round, nearly closing up the port. This was quickly adjusted, and since then the machine has given .very little trouble. The .job Was so unusual that I thought many drivers might like to bear it in mind. Many of use have seen valuable time wasted while the driver is dismantling the engine looking for some simple but well-concealed trouble.
"A great many emery wheels are spoiled by mechanics' grinding aluminium castings on them. The soft metal clogs up the abrasive material, and takes away the cutting powers. To avoid' this a piece of paraffin wax should be held against the wheel. This does not reduce the efficiency in any way. The wax can easily be melted out when required. Small cutting tools, drills, taps, etc., should be plunged into a cake of soap or wax when being cooled down after hardening. This will prevent their becoming brittle, and will save a great many of these small but costly tools' being scrapped before they have done work equal to the value of the tool itself."
How to avoid a broken arm when starting. To Avoid Mishaps When Starting.
[1273] " 11.1'." (Bedford Hill) writes I enclose
a sketch showing two ways of holding a starting handle. The first figure depicts the most common manner cf holding by gripping the handle with the thumb and fingers. Should a backfire occur when the handle is held in this fashion, the thumb is bent backwards and is dislocated, or even a broken wrist can result. Quite a number of drivers have experienced this mishap at some time or other, and whenever they start engines unfamiliar to them evince quite a considerable amount of dread. " lithe handle is gripped hi the manner shown in the second illustration,there is little chance of
sprained wrists, even when starting engines which are liable to backfire. The reason is that the handle, when flung in the wrong direction, simply forces open the fingers and swings harmlessly away. In these days, when almost everybody drives a motor of some kind or another, it is almost unnecessary to devote time to stating the importance of overcoming the compression when starting by pulling the handle upwards, and not in using the weight of the body to press it down. I merely mention this fact because a fortnight ago I noticed a fireman on a motor-driven escape endeavouring to start up the engine in this way ; evidently he was not the driver, but a volunteer who was trying to save time. The upshot of the affair was that he was thrown clear into the air, and in falling broke his leg in three places. If this letter nrevents one such accident, its purpose will have been served."