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Contributions from Drivers and Mechanics.

24th February 1910
Page 38
Page 39
Page 38, 24th February 1910 — Contributions from Drivers and Mechanics.
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TEN SHILLINGS WEEKLY for the Best Communication Received, and One Penny a Line of ten words for any thing else published.

Drivers of commercial-motor vehicles and tractors, and mechanics and foremen of garages or shops, are invited to send short contributions on any suf)ject winch is likely to prove of interest to our readers. Workshop tips and smart repairs ; long and successful runs ; interesting photographs : all are suitable subjects. Send a post-card, or a letter, or a sketch to us—no matter how short, or how written, or how worded. We will "knock it into shape" and prepare sketches, where necessary, before publication. The absence of a sketch does not disqualify for a prize. When writing use one side of the paper only and mention your employer's name as a guarantee of bona fides. Neither your own nor your employer's name will be disclosed. Payment will be made immediately after tublication. Address your letters to The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL Moros, 7-15, Rosebery Avenue, London, E.C.

A regular reader of these pages, who is a drivermechanic, would be glad of any information which would enable him to decide as to the possibility of securing suitable employment in Buenos Aires. He is anxious to go out there.

Yearly Bonuses to Regular Contributors.

A bonus of two guineas will be awarded to the contributor who secures the weekly ten-shilling prize for the largest number of times during the twelve months ending 1st December, 1910_

A bonus of one guinea will be credited to the contributor who has the largest number of individual contributions inserted during the same period.

A Tobacco Pouch, a Nail File, and a Scarf Pin.

[663] " HIT." (Birmingham) sends the following account of an ingenious repair to a jet :—" Some While ago, I was hung up on the road, at midnight, in the pouring rain, with a choked jet. When I had dismantled the carburetter, which was a Longuemare, I took out the jet and proceeded to unscrew the nipple. This was a very tight fit, but, after heating it in the headlamp flame. I managed to unscrew it. I then promptly dropped the nipple in the mud and could not find it Owing to a passenger treading around, it must have got buried in the ground. After a frantic search, without success, I determined to get home without it. I had practically no kit on the car, so, after a little thinking, I cut a piece off my tobacco pouch and stretched this over the jet collar, and secured it by means of a bit of copper wire. I then made a hole in the cientre with a scarf pin, and, after a few experiments, I got a good mixture and was able to drive home some 80 miles. My pouch was, of course, made from very strong material, so that the suction on it did not affect it. I may say I filed a nick round the collar with a nail file."

Joining a Chain.—The Advantage of a Rope.

[664] A simple chain-joining method is described in the following letter from " E.B." (Dartford).—" I have read, in -the D. and M.' columns, two or three descriptions of devices for coupling up driving chains on lorries, in which CASO they are very heavy and clumsy to handle, as we all know. The quickest and cheapest way to do the job is to use a piece of light strong rope [shown diagrammatically in the illustration as a thick black line.—En.], but not to use it as a tourniquet, as did the writer of letter No. 613 [issue of 18th November, 1909.—En.]. I, first of all, slack out the radius rod and so draw the road wheel in a bit closer. I hook one end of the rope on to a roller, and then bring it back past the gap, over another roller and back to the one next to that to which I have already attached the hook. I then get an increased pull on the rope like that you get with a simple pulley block ; the rollers let the rope slip readily, and it is quite easy to pull the chain up tight The radius rod can then be suitably tightened up."

Joining a Chain. -A Simple Screw Clamp.

[665] " H.B." (Sandbach) writes.—" I read with interest the letters [Nos. 659, 640, 630 and 613] which have recently been contributed by various readers, on the subject of joining a driving chain. With reference to the chain-and lover arrangement, described by R.R.' (Surrey), I think this is a good device, but something simpler is likely to be just as effective. In case of emergency, it is not likely that there will be such uncommon articles lying about as the hooks, small chains, or even the lever and crossbar which are shown in the sketch from `11..R.' I think it is much wiser to use a 'joining tool ' which can be easily prepared by using everyday odas and ends. I always employ a simple device which consists of two in. screws about 9 in. 'Ong and two plates about in. thick and 4 in. long. The method of using this simple clamp is quite obvious. The plates are inserted behind links close to those which are to be coupled. The screws are then gradually tightened and the ends of the chain are thus pulled together.”

Joining a Chain.—Use the Sprocket.

[666] " E.B." (Forest Gate) writes, on the same subject, —" On three occasions, I have read in the CM.' of simple methods of joining a driving chain. I have had four years of experience and have never required the help of ropes, chains, levers or straps. If the chain is so tight that you cannot join it without the aid of a lever, it will put too much of a pull on the sprockets when it is running. The simplest possible way to do the job is to couple the ends

while they are resting on the small sprocket wheel. The chain should, first of all, he wrapped round the chain-ring on the road-wheel. The tw o ends can then be brought up onto the small sprocket, providing the radius rod has been shortened enough to slacken the chain. By means of a suitable punch and drift, it is then quite simple to insert the necessary pins."

[We have reason to believe that " E.B." has had most of his experience with chains of the silent type, which grip the top of the teeth on the sprockets. The devices suggested by other correspondents have had reference to roller chains and, as a rule, can be used when the sprockets are much worn. " E.B.'s " method would be difficult then. In many cases, it will be found that there is not room to insert the coupling pin while the joint is on or near the sprocket.—En.] Renewing a Worn Journal.

The sender of the following cononunicatio-n has bven awarded the 10s. prize this week.

[667] " TOBY " (Cardiff) writes.—" I offer the following tip for competition in your D. and M.' pages. " Many of your readers have, no doubt, at some time or other, had a shaft or spindle that required to be made a better fit in its bearings. In the majority of cases, a new bush will set matters right. But there are times when the shaft is working direct in the actual casting, and when the walls around the hearing are not thick enough to permit the hole's being bored out sufficiently to take a bush of the necessary thickness without considerable weakening of the whole structure. Again, it may be that the shaft itself is worn as shown in the sketch [We have had this redrawn.--ED.], so that it is impossible for the end of the shaft to be turned down further and for a new bush to be fitted. In either case, if a piece of mild or cast steel wire he carefully cleaned and then wound closely around the shaft on the worn portion. the whole thoroughly brazed, and the shaft afterwards re-turned in a lathe, it will make a perfectly sound and satisfactory repair. The wire used should be twice ths thickness that it is required to replace, so that, when it is turned down in the lathe, we shall have a practically-solid steel surface for the wearing portion, as shown in the sketch. The easiest way to braze the wire on the shaft is to pop over with it

to the brass foundry, and to put the whole thing in a crucible for a few minutes ; of course, the shaft must be allowed to get hot right through."

[This ingenious method would probably be satisfactory for lightly-loaded small shafts, but we aoubt its efficacy for larger hearings. The presence of specks of spelter in the bearing surface of the brass is almost sure to cause local heating. A crankshaft, for instance, which has picked up gunmetal from an overheated bearing, is sure to give trouble again, unless this be ground out.—En.]


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