Contributions from Drivers and Mechanics.
Page 19
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Ten Shillings Weekly for the Best Communication Received, and One Penny a Line of ten words or anything else published.
Driven of commercial motors, and mechanics and foremen of garages or shops, who are engaged in any branch of the industry, ar, invited to contribute short, personal experiences, ohm ions, or suggestions, on subjects which are likely to prove of interest to our
readers. We shall be glad to hear of anything interesting that has come under any driver's or mechanic's notice, either in the shops or on the road. Long arid successful runs ; services with no " lost journeys" ; workshop tips and smart repairs : all are suitable subjects. Send a Post-card, or a letter, or a sketch to us—no mailer how short, or how written, or how worded. We will " knock it
into shape" before publication. When writing, it is as well to mention your employer's name as a guarantee of bona fides (not for publication), and to state whether you w;sh your own name, or initials only. to be published. Payment will be made immediately after publication. Address your letters to The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL Moron," 7-15, Rosebery Avenue, London, E.C.
A Broken Steering Arm.
[432] S. (Widnes) forwards to us an account of a temporary repair which he made to a brake steering arm " I mu sending you a record of a roadside repair which made recently on a motorbus that I have been driving in this district. As my vehicle is the only one running on the service, I take every pains to keep it on the road. The other day it was an misfortune to have the ball end break off the steeringtritt. Naturally, this seemed to be a difficult job to repair, but I turned over the contents of my tool box and luckily found an old brass nut which was about the stone size as the broken ball. I went to work on the nut with a He and at last succeeded in tapering the bore out, so that it would lit on to the broken end of the arm. I then drove tlie nut on to the arm, until there was about 4-inch protruding, and this I burred over thoroughly and so effectually fixed it ; I then tiled the nut into the shape of a ball. I ,% as not delayed more than half-an-hour altogether and the job seems almosl as sound as the original piece."
To Withdraw Gunmetal Bushes.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the ros. prize this week
f.4.33] A device that displays considerable ingenuhy and which has been found considerably to facilitate the removal of gunmetal bushes, which have been driven in to gearbox and oher castings ernp:oyed in the construction of automobile chassis, is described in a letter from " A.E.W.L.” (Notting Hill, W.) :—" The fact that I take a considerable interest in the tips you give each week in the Drivers ' column of THE CONIMERCIAL MOTOR,' has prompted me to send to you a sketch [reproduced on this page.--Eo.I of a Huh! tool, which on many occasions, I have found very useful for the withdrawal of bushes from differential and other cases. By its use I have been enabled to avoid the employment of a drift and a slogging hammer; I can draw a reasonably tight bush without burring it, as the toot, which I will &scribe, has a direct: pull on two opposite sides of the brass.
"I had a differential gearbox to overhaul recently, and as the bushes were to be used again, after remetalling and boring, I was. anxious not to damage the ends by driving them out. I therefore made a special tool which answered its purpose very satisfactorily. I found the various parts in the scrap box. The two pieces (A, B) were originally the ends of two gib-headed keys, and I joined these at the top hy links which had previously done service as parts of a driving chain. These small parts were riveted at the joints in such a manner that the pieces (A, B) could work (vile freely, and so that a :1-inch bolt could be passed through the links in the manner shown in the sketch. I filed notches in the heads of the pieces (A, B), and I made the washer (C) of such a size that it served ta keep the toggles apart sufficiently to take proper
hold of the edges of the bush. As a matter of fact, I used an old ball race as a washer. The plate at the end requires to be stiff enough to screw against without buckling.
" By tightening up the nut on the end of the bolt, the washer (C) drops into the notches of the pieces (A, B), and it thus forces them apart to just such an extent that they catch under the bush. If the nut is now further screwed up the hush will gradually be withdrawn from the casing."
A Refractory Pump.
14341 " T.G.G." (Hull) recounts the trouble which he has had recently with a boiler feed pump :---" The other day I had an annoying experience with my boiler feed pump, which seemed to me to be rather unusual, and for an account of which, therefore, I think yau will possibly care to find a corner in your drivers' page. My wagon had been running very well during the day on which the mishap occurred, when I suddenly noticed a loud knocking in the neighbourhood of the pump, and water commenced to squirt in all directions. I, of course, stopped immediately, and got down to look for the trouble. Front the outside there was very little to be seen, and there was nothing to indicate what the trouble was, with the single exception that water was leaking through the gland and through both valve covers. The pump was of the ordinary circulating type, which constantly pumps water either into the boiler, or back into the tank. At the moment when the knocking first asserted itself, I had the pump at work feeding the boiler, so I shut it right off and ran the engine very slowly out of gear, but this did not reduce the noise. The next thing I did was to shut off at the boiler, and to examine the valves, I also tried all the pipes, but found everything quite clear, and apparently in proper working order. I was just on the point of disconnecting the pump eccentric, and of running home on the injector, when I discovered that the valve seating in the second valve chest was not solid with the pump casting, but was a separate screwed-in fitting; this had apparently come loose, and as it had gradually worked itself up, it had almost cut off all lift from the valve. It will be realised, therefore, that the pump could lift its normal supply of water, but as it had a very reduced opening for delivery, the natural result was that the joints were burst and knocking was set up. I did the only thing possible, and that was to screw down the seating and pack it up tight. This was a difficult operation, as the valve was by no means in an accessible position, and the only tool I could get to bear on the job was a piece of wood. This incident has persuaded me that the idea of a removable seating is very good in its way, but sufficient care is not always taken to ensure that the method of fixing is satisfactory. There is very little to prevent such a fitting from breaking foose as a rule, and if this happens very serious consequences are liable to result."