Noin Drivers &Mechanics
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TEN SHILLINGS WEEKLY is paid for the best communication received, and one penny a line of ten words for anything else published, with an allowance for photographs.
Send us an account of any special incident of your work or experience. If suitable, we will edit .your notes, sup)* a sketch when required, and pay you for everything published. Mention your employer's name, in confidence, as evidence of good faith. Address to The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR, Rosebery Avenue, London, E.C,
Light Up Your Lamps At 9.13 on Thursday ; 9.14 on Friday ; 9.15 on Saturday; 9.16 on Monday ; 9.16 on Tuesday ; 9.17 on Wedn osday.
A Blacksmith's Repair to a Broken Eccentric-strap.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the Ws. prize this week.
[1517] J.T.L. (Manchester) writes :—" A short time ago, while I was some distance from the works with the steam wagon which I drive, I had the misfortune to have one of the eccentric straps break across, as shown in the sketch which I enclose. [We have had this re-drawn.--En.] "To save the trouble of getting a breakdown wagon to effect a repair, I removed the broken strap and took it to a blacksmith's shop which was near by. Here I had a plate made, in. thick and ,1 in. wide, and this I bent to fit neatly over one of the strap bolts on the piece which was broken off, and round the strap to the connecting-rod stud, holes being drilled to snit the bolt and stud.
"To make the repair still more secure I drilled three setscrew holes through the plate into the strap and put in in. setscrews.
"I then put the part back on the engine and found it worked in a perfectly satisfactory manner ; in fact, it ran quite well for some days until a new strap was -obtained and when it was taken off it was found that lh repair still held good."
How to Increase the Compression of Valve Springs.
[1518] " (Strathdon) writes : —"The machine which I drive recently commenced to blow badly past one of the inlet valves, causing a great loss of power in that cylinder. When I took the valve out. T found that the blowing was caused by the valve-guide being badly worn, allowing the valve to rock upon its seating, thereby losing compression. " It would have caused considerable inconvenience to me to have taken the cylinder off and sent it away to have the valve-guide rebushed, as there was no garage within a considerable distance where a repair of this nature could be effectually carried out. However, I got over the trouble by simply cutting another cotter-pin slot about 1 in further up the valve-stem, and upon replacing the valve and spring there was a great deal more compression put upon the latter.
"I was pleased to notice, on starting up the engine again, that all signs of blow past had disappeared. A stronger spring might have answered the same purpose had it been at hand, but I believe, by cutting another cotter-pin slot further up the valve stem and replacing the old spring, the valve has less tendency to rock on its seating than if a stronger spring, but one of the same length as the discarded one, had been used.
"In conclusion, I may mention that I have used many of the hints and tips published in your 'D. and M.' pages from time to time upon the care and upkeep of motor vehicles, and I have found that, by paying attention to them and to the vehicles themselves, I am more than repaid for the extra time spent, by the .atisfaction which I have given my employe% owing to the condition of the machines."
A Neat V-pulley Repair.
[1519] " A.H.H." (Cardiff) writes :—" While I was 1A-orking at my bench the other afternoon a grooved cast-iron pulley was brought to me to be repaired. It had been used with a Whittle belt, and somehow or other a piece of one of the flanges had been broken right out, causing the belt to be cut about rather badly and preventing it from being used. As the pulley was required for a vehicle which was wanted in a hurry I effected the repair as speedily as possible in the following manner :— " I first put the pulley in the vice and filed off the broken rough edges to the shape shown in the sketch, [We have re-drawn this.—En.] filing the side of the flange down to the bottom of the pulley groove. I then forged a piece of steel to the correct shape and fitted this in place, tapping it home lightly with a hammer, the sides of the cut acting as dove-tails and preventing the piece from flying out. " To make the repair still more secure, I drilled and tapped three holes in. diameter, half into the filling piece and half into the pulley, and into these I screwed three grubscrews; these I filed off flush with the pulley.
" Taking a small half-roundfile, with the -point' filed out a small groove all round the joint, both inside the pulley groove and on the outside.
" I then mixed a strong solution of sal ammoniac and water with a small quantity of iron filings, and ran this into the groove which I had cut out with the file, letting the mixture stand in it for some hours.
"After cleaning this off I found that the rust had penetrated right into the joint and had fixed the whole affair securely together."
Another Gudgeon-pin Removing Tool.
[1520] " R.T." (Bedford IfilI) writes :—" I enclose description and sketch [We have had this redrawn,— Ii).] of a gudgeon-pin withdrawing device, which I consider to be an improvement on one which I saw illustrated and described in your paper some considerable time ago.
Most tools ot this type have a tendency to distort the piston, and this may cause serious trouble. To avoid any such risk, the jig can be made in two pieces, consisting of a hard-wood block and a stiff forged bridge, the latter being drilled and screwed to receive a tightening screw.
"The bridge is provided with slots at its feet, the object of doing this being to make it possible to use one of the bridge pieces for two or more blocks of different radii, to suit various sizes of pistons.
"Two bolts are used for holding the blocks and bridge together, arid as the piston receives adequate support at points near the gudgeon-pin bosses, there is no possible chance of injuring the piston by distortion.
"In practice it is often found desirable to tap the top of the tightening screw as soon as some degree of pressure has been applied, as this greatly facilitates the removal of any extra-tight gudgeon-pin. "A further advantage of the device, lies in its easy construction. Sometimes, in cases where steel straps are used, the mechanics who are making the tool use the piston as atemplet for constructing it, a procedure which is not to be commended."
The C.M.U.A. Parade. A Typical Comment horn the Provinces.
The following cutting from " The Manchester Guardian" will be of interest to those commercialvehicle drivers who participated, in the 0.141,17.A.
it-Monday Parade.
It will be noticed that the writer, after seeing the Parade, returned with a splendid opinion of the efficiency of the many drivers whose vehicles were included in it.
This care and efficiency were counter-reflected in the personalities of the drivers. Just, as the horse had bred its type, the motor is in prooess of doing so—in fact, the type is already evolved. He does not chew a wisp of straw, but the garage does inherit something of the apostolic traditions of the sia,ble, The " 'Enery Straker " behind the steering wheel, to-day has other ideas than mere speed. You can see in his nervous hands and in his look as he faces the judges the s,,It-reliance of a man who is conscious that, he knows his jell), lie should do so, tor the writter paper sot him by the Society would auor many qualified en;,:ineers. They asked him as one of twenty questions—" Alvnat horse-power would be requiredto-drive a motor-van along the level road at 20 miles per hour if the total weight of the van and its load be 2* tuns, and the road-reSistalice amounts t,0 95 lb, per tan of load! Such is the standard of his training that he answered such questions out of hand. Or if he doesn't know, he makes a shot, as one accustomed to emergencies. To-day's show gave evidence of the high standard cif skill and care that is required of the commercial motor-driver. The skill was apparent when ccol-louking men came up on high-powered liJavily-engincd lorries at a smart speed, and backed them with a turn of the wrist into six feet of chalkedout space at a word of the parade marshal, and again when the snow was over and the cars were free with a roar and a hurtle to tear away along Abingdon Street and up Whitehall without a scrape of anybody's paint. Care was seen . everywhere when the judgcs, after casting an eye over the general bodywork of the ears, had the bonnet up and inspected the glistening array of polished copper tubes round the cleanly cylinders and shilling cranks. Itm. could sce your face in any dusteap; you could eat your dinner off the floor of any driver's cab, The coach-work of the Royal luggage van laid ) high a polish on its panels that the children of Milbank and Pimlico stopped in their games to make faces at their own reflections. The King gut an honorary prize of two guineas for that. Prominent among the heavy cars were motor-vans of the Royal. Mail, some belonging to the service between London and Birmingham, and others to that between London and Bournemouth—a night drive in either case of over a hundred miles, described by one of the drivers as "like roiling up an everlasting. carpet." Side by side with the heavy steam or motor lurry, used for shifting anything from a houseful of furniture to a ton of beer, were the light, fast, nippy delivery vans that have revolutionized the life of the suburbs by bringing the big shops to their garden gates.
Do Not Score Your Valves When Grinding Them.
[1521] " M.G." (Streatham) writes : —" The grind Mg of valves, though it appears quite a simple operation to those who are experienced, is somewhat more difficult than might be imagined, as it is quite possible to score the valve face badly. A few notes on the subject may be of interest to those who have to deal with this operation. " To begin with, the grinding compound should be of the. finest quality, and very little should be used at one time. Before beginning grinding a light spring should be placed on the valve head so that it automatically raises the valve from its seat.
" By the aid of a screwdriver or other suitable tool, the valve should now be worked backwards and forwards in its seat, lifting the tool every now and again to allow the abrasive material to flow equally round the face, as this prevents any tendency to score. After grinding, the cleaning shuild be very carefully done, first with rags and afterwards with paraffin."