Contributions from Drivers and Mechanics.
Page 22
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Ten Shillings Weekly for the Best Communication Received, and One Penny a Li of ten words for anything else published.
Drivers of commercial motors, and mechanics and foremen of garages or shops, who are engaged in any branch of the indus are titvit,d to contribute short, Personal experiences, opinions or suggestions, on subjects wh'ch are likely to prove of interest to readers. We shall be glad to hear of anything interesting that has come under any driver's or niethanic's notice, either Hi the sl or on the road. Long and successful runs ; services with no "lost journeys" ; workshop tips and smart repairs ; all are suit, 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 "knoci snto shape" before publication. When writing it is as well to mention your employer's name as a guarantee of bona fides for publication). and to state whether you wish roar own name, or initials only, to be Published. Payment will be made immedia . alter publication. Address your haters to The Editor, THE COMM E RCI A L Mo roe," 7-15. Rocehery Avenue, London, E.C.
A Repaired Composite Wheel.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the los. prise this week.
4467] It is aillIOSE unnecessary to point out how shortsighted is the policy which allows machinery of any kind rapidly to depreciate owing to the fact that no care is taken to ensure that small repairs and adjustments are effected immediately they become necessary ; the need for extensive and costly replacements invariably follows such negligence .of " running " repairs. In the letter from " T.D." (Victoria Docks, E.) which we publish below, an example is given of a case in which proper attention in the first place would have saved a great deal of trouble and expense.—" I send the following letter in the hope that it may prove to be a suitable contribution for inclusion in the columns of your
Drivers' and Mechanics' page :— " The policy, which permits any motor vehicle to be kept at work, after more or less serious repairs have been reported as necessary, has always seemed to me to be a very foolish one. 1, personally, have proved from long experience that an hour or more spent, before the commencement of each day's journey, upon small adjustments and, if necessary, upon repairs, is often the means of avoiding serious breakdowns and, maybe, days of idleness.
" A case, which recently happened in my own experience, has confirmed this conclusion. The fitting of a few new bolts and nuts, just when they were wanted, would have saved a wheel from subsequent complete wreck and would have avoided the standing of the wagon in the yard for several days until a new wheel could be made. IA spare wheel in sjc,* would have avoided this delav.—ED.] " One of the hind wheels of a steam wagon that I drive had been showing signs of distress for some time, as, after every journey, "I had to report that several of the bolts, which normally hold together the tire, the felloes and the cast-steel centre of the wheel, had sheared off below the nuts. So long as these bolts were renewed before the next journey all went well, but one morning I found that no attempt had been made to put new bolts in the place of the broken ones, and I was told that these continued replacements were a waste of both time and material, and that no harm could happen to The wheel as it was. I was therefore instructed to keep the wagon running until such time as the wheel could be sent to the makers, but 1, per sonally, bad grave doubts as to whether the wheel wool, many journeys without a breakdown. My doubts tul out to be well founded as only two of the eight bolts intact at the end of the .day's run. As reports had no e I determined' to watch the behaviour of that wheel carefully during the next journey which was one of tw miles. When I had reached halfway I got down and k that the two remaining bolts had sheared and that the centre casting had started on a roving commission rounc inside of the felloes. If I had had the necessary bolts witl I could not have fitted them, as the old broken ones had over at the ends and they could not easily be driven There was nothing for it but to attempt to complete journey without any repair. When J arrived at the er the trip I found that the whole wheel was in a stai collapse; the rim metal of the centre casting had hr through between every other pair of spokes, at the se, where grooves had been made to allow for the contra. after casting. The wooden felloes had so worn that, N the wheel was stationary, there was half-an-inch of E between the felloes and the spoke casting. One sceth the felloe had broken and was protruding from the w " When the load was shifted I set about the devish some means to enable me to patch up sufficiently tt [night get home. I discovered a blacksmith's shop nc off. I took the dimensions of the gaps in the rim and the smith to make some plates to fit the gaps, and SOME bolts like those that had sheared. I next drove out a: broken bolts and carefully fitted the plates into the and pulled them up light to the felloes ; this prevente independent turning of the felloe and tire, althougl plates took no grip of the steel centre. I then move wagon until the damaged felloe was on top. I burnt through the felloe with a red-hot poker; this enable to insert two long bolts and to clamp the broken felloe two special plates I had also had made by the smith. matters easily on my way home and I went .up all du on the slow gear and SO reached home safely. I mai in conclusion of what I fear is rather a long account the same wheel fitted with new felloes and rather s plates, of the same pattern as mine, is still doing wor The Saurer Bus.
[4681 Prompted by an enquiry as to the efficiency Saurer omnibus which was dealt with in our issue of th of November, " T.W." (Peckham) volunteers some int tion about these machines which he thinks may general interest :—" With reference to a certain e about the Saurer omnibus which appeared in a recent of THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR,' 1 should be glad if ye allow me to give you my view on this make of mz Some people, by whom I was recently employed, bough of the Saurer machines from the Mersey Railway Co somewhere about last May, and from that time until over two months ago I was driving one of the v( During that period I experienced no out-of-the-way and had very little to do other than the quite ordinary ments which are necessary on every type of machir my opinion a better all-round machine will take a go. of finding either for van or bus work. Every detai simple as possible and all parts are accessible. Oth( features which came under my notice were quiett running and economy of consumption. I was alwa to average between /2 and 14 miles to the gallon c which was of .76 gravity."