Nom Drivers &Mechanics TEN SHILLINGS WEEKLY is paid for the
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Light Up Your Lamps At 4.53 on Thursday ; 4.64 on Friday ; 4.55 on Saturday; 4.56 on Monday ; 4.57 on Tuesday ; 4,5B on Wednesday.
Making a Weather Screen.
[1046] " J.L.B." (Harringay) writes:--" No doubt many drivers will be interested to read of how they may construct a cheap form of weather screen for use during the winter months. The one I made and fitted cost very little time or money, and its effect is all that can be desired, it being a perfect boon in had weather.
" To make the screen, first of all measure the length of the dashboard and the distance from the canopy to the top of the dash. A piece of American cloth about 2 ins, larger all round than the measurements found is then procured, the extra 2 ins. being to allow for turning the edge over, to prevent the cloth fraying out.
" Purchase a piece of celluloid about 15 ins, in width and about 12 ins, shorter than the length of dashboard. Place this on the American cloth, arranging it as near the centre as possible, and mark round the edges. A rectangular hole should then be cut in the cloth 1 in. inside the four lines marked ; this will allow sufficient border on which to machine the celluloid.
'The cloth should then be nailed to the top of the canopy, or, if it be decided to make the screen detachable, it should first be nailed on to a strip of wood and screwed in position. The bottom ends of the cloth can be fixed by means of a couple or three straps to suitable brackets fitted to the dashboard. "The straps will also serve the purpose of keeping the screen rolled up to the top of the canopy when it is not required to be used.
" Celluloid of suitable thickness may be purchased from any india-rubber goods stores."
Practical Tail-lamp Bracket.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the 10s. prize this week.
[1407] " H.M." (West Bromwich) writes :—" There is nothing more troublesome to a driver when out with his machine on dark nights, than to experience the tail-lamp light being jarred out .through vibration of the machine, and, considering that there is generally a lot of overhang with many forms of lamp brackets, this is a disadvantage which many drivers probably experience, especially when returning home with the van empty. I got over this trouble myself by rigging up a lamp bracket of simple construction, on which I used a coil spring for a shock absorber, " I enclose a sketch [We have had this redrawn.— ED.] showing the outfit. The bracket portion I made out -of a piece of flat iron 11 in. by in., and bent it to shape, as shown in the sketch. I then made two small brackets to enable me to fix the main bracket vertically to the rear number-plate. As shown in the smaller figure, these brackets were filed out to fit the main section of the bracket in such. a manner as to allow it to slide up and dawn. One end of the II in. strip was forged round, to enable me to screw a in. diameter Whitworth thread.
" I then made a couple of guide washers for the coil spring, turning the smaller diameter to the same dimension as the inside diameter of the coils and drilled them in. clearance.
"The gauge of the spring is 10 S.W.G., and it had six coils, whilst the free length was 4i ins.
"It will be found that this kind of bracket. will relieve the lamp of a very considerable amount of vibration. It is very cheap to make, and drivers will have no difficulty in constructing it themselves.
"Moreover, the trouble taken in making it is more than balanced by the safety from the risk of travelling at night with the tail lamp extinguished."