The Motor Drivers News.
Page 31
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Ilnskilled Labour.
" A.C.M." (Greenwich) writes :—" I was interested to read the letter from A.M.W.' (Sussex) in your issue ot 22nd August, and I quite agree with him that a steam wagon requires careful and intelligent handling. I find, from actual experience, that it is not only those unqualified men who apply for the position of driver, but the owners themselves, who think that anybody will do for a steam wagon driver. I have been in the employ of a Sussex firm for the last eighteen months, and, having to undertake very long journeys, I like to give some of my own time to overhauling the wagon. For my pains I am ridiculed by the chief engineer and by the owners, so it is no wonder that unskilled men apply when care and attention to details are discouraged in this way."
The Use of the Hammer.
" T.D." (Canning Town) sends the following letter During the recent overhauling of a steam wagon by a fitter, I could not help being impressed by the numerous uses to which he put his hammer. The usual idea is that .a hammer is merely a tool for driving nails or wedges, and cotters, but, in this man's hands, I saw that it can be put to many uses other than those for which it is primarily intended. For instance, large nuts that cannot be ' started ' in the ordinary way by a spanner can generally be quite easily removed if they are previously tapped on one or two of their ' faces ' with a hammer; a few nuts upon the wagon in question, although they had been put to soak for two days in paraffin oil, could not be unscrewed until the services of the hammer had been requisitioned. Some drives may say that the nuts will be damaged if they are struck in the manner referred to, but this is not the case if a thin piece of bar copper is fiest of all laid over the portion of the nut which is to be hit. Pipe fittings can also be loosened by a few light taps, and, generally speaking, c.ylinder covers, and the covers of steam chests can be easily removed by hand if they have been tapped all round their -edges. This method obviates the necessity for using steel wedges, and thus enables the joints to be used over again. It also saves the joint faces from being bruised. The strains which are put upon the flanges of vertical boilers, when they are opened up for cleaning, can be greatly minimised by attaching the portion to be removed to an overbead block and tackle, and, while a man hauls on the rope, a second fitter can rap all round the edge of the flange with a hammer.'' Row to Adjust a Klinger Gauge.
" A.G." (Olney) writes :—" I have read with interest the letter from G.G.' in which he asks for an explanation of the fact that his Klinger water gauge does not show the water level in the boiler distinctly. He says 'the top half of the klass is all right, but the bottom half is discoloured.' I think, if IG.G.' will remove his glass from its casing, he will find that the lower portion beneath the normal water level is eaten away, as it were, and, really, under these circumstances the only practical means of correcting the ,error is to fit a new gauge glass. Speaking generally, a gauge glass ought to be replaced by a new one once in twelve months, although the gauge ought to be examined ,periodically to see that the set screws that hold the cover in position do not become fixed immovably in their places, and also to ascertain that the packing is not leaking. When fitting a new glass, clean the case out thoroughly— the complete gauge should be removed for this purpose— and. then cut out a joint from a thin sheet of Klingerite or some similar substance to fit the recess in the casing at the back of the glass. Next, place a sheet of asbestos over the front of the glass and then put the cover in position and screw up the set screws ' hand ' tight. The screws must then be gradually tightened up on alternate sides of the glass, very little at the time. It is highly important that this method should be adhered to, because otherwise the glass will, in all probability, fracture through uneven bedding the first time a fire is put under the boiler. When the screws are all tightened up equally, the portion of the asbestos-packing covering that goes over the gauge glass can be removed with a sharp penknife. I consider that, at this stage of the operations, the complete gauge should be placed in hot water and the screws further tightened up to consolidate the jointings. When using the new glass for the first time, open the steam cock slightly and allow the steam to pass behind the glass to warm it gradually for about five minutes, then turn both top and bottom cocks full on. It sometimes happens that, even if the greatest care has been exercised, the set screws may want a final individual adjustment to equalise the pressure. I hope the foregoing remarks will be of assistance to G.G.,' and will put him upon the right track to get rid of his difficulty."
A Water-tank Repair.
" E.S." (Plaistow) writes :—" In response to your invitation to drivers to send their experiences upon the road, I send the following account of an incident which puzzled me considerably at the time. I started some days ago to take a to-ton load on a steam wagon and trailer from a point in North Woolwich to Enfield, a distance of roughly fifteen miles. I started out from our yard at 6 a.m. and the wagon went splendidly for about three miles, when, on trying to replenish my boiler, I found that my pump would not act at all. Then I tried the injector, with the same result. There was only one thing for it, viz., to 'draw ' the fire, and this I did at once. I did not wonder so much at the injector going on ' strike ' because it always refuses t..) work if the water in the tank is warm, but the pump was a very different matter. I then examined the pump, but first of all I had a look at the check valve to find out whether, by chance, it had stuck on its seating. The check valve was in perfect order, so I then looked at the delivery pipe and the pump plimger, both of which were also in 'good order. I next glanced at the water gauge on the tank, and, to my astonishment, saw that there was not a drop of water showing. As a matter of fact it ought to have been nearly full of water, so there was evidently a serious leakage scvniewhere. I hunted round and at last found that there was a large crack in the bottom of the tank, just above one of the wooden stays that hold the tank in place. How the crack came there is a complete mystery to me. Surmises were no good, however, so I set about repairing the damage, and was lucky enough to find a piece of 1-inch thick rubber in my box, and just about the right size to completely cover the crack. I placed the rubber between the stay and the bottom of the tank, and then screwed the stay up as tightly as possible, thereby forcing the rubber into the opening. I then put a few buckets of water in the boiler and relit the fire, after which, when suffieient head of steam was raised, I went to a neigh_ bou ring yard and replenished the tank. The repair held good for a fortnight."