Contributions from Drivers and Mechanics.
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TEN SHILLINGS WEEKLY for the Best Communication Received, and One Penny a Line of ten words for any
thing else published.
Drivers of commercial-motor vehiees and tractors, and mechanics and foremen of garages or shops, are invited to send short contributions on any subject which is likely to prove of interest to our readers. Workshop tips and smart repairs ; long and successful runs ; interesting photographs: all are suitable 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 " knock it into shape" and prepare sketches, where necessary, before Publication. The absence of a sketch does not disqualify for a prize. When writing use one side of the paper only and mention your employer's name as a guarantee of bona fides. Neither your own nor your employer's name will be disclosed. Payment will be made immediately after publication. Address your letters to The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR, 7-15, Rosebery Avenue, London, E.G.
To Detect a. Leaky Cylinder.
[870] "PEntrAwybD" writes :—" When .water is leaking from a water-jacket into one of the cylinders of a multi-cylinder internal-combustion engine, it is often a difficult matter to ascertain which is the offender.
" The quickest way of discovering where the trouble lies, in my opinion, is first of all to fill up the radiator to its top and then to turn the engine slightly, noting which cylinder is compressing. If for instance the leak is in No. 1 cylinder, the water will flow out of the radiator when No. 1 is compressing. The reason for this is that the gas in the cylinder will blow through the leaky place and so will force the water out of the jacket into the radiator ; thus causing an overflow. By watching the compression of each cylinder, the offender will then be readily detected."
A Tool-holder Made from a Cycle Crank.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the 10s. prize this week.
[871] " A.C." (Peckham) writes :—" I am sending to you a few notes with regard to the use of tools, made of round high-speed steel, in conjunction with a suitable tool-holder. Many mechanics prefer to use a tool-bolder with suitable removable tools in preference to the older forged pattern, hut they often cannot spare the time to make one, and therefore they did not get further than wanting.
"I may perhaps describe, in a few words,. one that I have had in use for a good many years with excellent results, and as it costs practically nothing to make, some of your readers may be glad to know hew to provide one for themselves. The body is made from an ordinary cycle crank, cut off near the large end ; the pedal-pin end is the one that I use for the tool-holder. Through the pedal-pin hole is loosely fitted a shackle bolt with a good thread and nut. A thick washer is slipped over the bolt after a groove has been filed across its centre, and this groove must be of such a nature that it will comfortably seat a piece of 1-in, round cast steel. The bolt is cut off to a convenient length and is drilled with a 1-in. hole ; enough thread is left to enable the tool to be tightened up well after it has been passed through the hole in the bolt ; the tool, of course, must also take its seat in the groove of the washer. For packing up the tool to the required height, thin washers may be placed under the grooved one which carries the tool. "Now the variety of work which may be done with this little holder is quite surprising, as, of course, the tool post can be turned to any angle, suitable tools for centering or for boring may usefully be employed in this way, and a small steady rest for use with a drill may also be held. "Another advantage that I have found with the use of this holder is that when a number of small parts has to be made alike, a piece of packing can be placed on the top of the holder, so as to form a stop for the various tools that are used, roughing, finishing, etc. Then by callipering the first piece that is made and by marking with scratch lines the sliderest screws, all subsequent parts can he machined without measuring each one for size. " The holder is meant for the use of round tools only, as those are found to be so very useful, owing to the ease with which they can be turned to any position. The cutting angle with regard to the work can be varied in any manner desired. Pound tools too can be made from the stumpy ends of drills, and it is not necessary for them to be a good fit in the holder. "One more use for this little fitting I would relate, and that is in connection with the winding of
springs The mandril on which the wire is to be wound must be drilled across with a hole near the chucked end. The holder is then placed in a, convenient position on the slide-rest. The wire for the springs is fed through the tool-hole ; the first end of the wire is passed through the hole in the mandril and twisted over in such a way that it will be firmly held whilst it is being wound. The nut is tightened down in order to get a grip on the wire, and it is then fed along with the slide-rest as desired."
Warming the Steering Wheel.
[872] "Tony" (Cardiff) writes :—" A recent letter in your journal from a driver, with regard to the discomfort that he had experienced owing to the coldness of a steering wheel, reminds me of a little device which I rigged up on a steam car about ten years ago. That winter it was bitterly cold, and I suffered severely from cold hands ; to such an extent, in fact, that I made up my mind to improve matters somehow. The steering wheel which I had to use was made of steel tube ; I therefore drilled and tapped a hole in each side of this wheel and screwed in two small brass unions ; to one of these I connected i small flexible metallic pipe, which was attached to the exhaust pipe of the engine, and to the other I fastened another piece of similar pipe, the end of which I carried away to the rear of the car. A small tap was inserted in the pipe leading from the engine to the wheel, in order to regulate the amount of exhaust that should be allowed to leak through into the tubing. The result was highly satisfactory."
Magnetized Pliers and Toothless Saw-blades.
[873] " H.H.S." (Luton) writes :—" I have found the following tips very useful to me in the course of my work as a fitter, and I therefore beg to offer them to you, so that you may publish them for the benefit of my fellow-mechanics. "I have in my kit-bag a pair of ordinary pliers, the ends of which are magnetized. I find these very useful when I want to extract split pins from bolts which happen to be placed in awkward and cramped positions, for instance, out of the big-end bolts where the split pins are liable to slip out of the jaws of the pliers and so to drop down into the crank chamber or other inaccessible position. Since the ends of the pliers are magnetized, split pins and other small parts of course have a great tendency to stick to them, even if the grip be slightly relaxed. I have also i a short length of in. round steel rod or wire, and this s also magnetized. I have found by experience that, when drilling blind holes into jobs, there is, as a rule, a difficulty in cleaning out the drillings ; if these latter be left in, it means broken drills, as they bind in the holes. I simply drop my magnetized rod into the hole and the drillings, of course, stick to it, and I can then extract them without any trouble whatever. I got a chum of mine, who is in the electrical line, to magnetize my pliers and rods, and no doubt any mechanic wishing to make use of this tip will have no trouble in that respect.
"Having sometimes to cut thin brass and cooper tubing, I have found that the ordinary hacksaw has a great tendency to bite into the walls, especially when the tubing is very thin. I have got over this difficulty quite easily. I procured an old hacksaw blade which has outlived its period of useful.
ness, and I ground down the teeth of this blade on an emery wheel until only very-small projections remained, and it was then possible to cut clean through the tubing without the trouble I have indicated."
When White-Metalling Bearings.
[874] " P.E." (Tunbridge Wells) writes :—" I have noticed in recent issues of THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR several suggestions with regard to the overcoming of difficulties that are met with in connection with remetalling brasses. I particularly noticed one hint [In letter No. 852.—En.J, in which it was recommended that the parts of the brass or of the core to which it was desired no metal should adhere, should be coated with soot. I now beg to submit to you a recipe for a composition which is more suitable for the suggested purpose. The metal, which it is desired to keep clear of the white metal lining, should be soiled with a mixture made up as follows : a halfpennyworth of lampblack ; a halfpennyworth of size and a pinch of grated chalk. Of the size, take in bulk an amount equal to twice that of the lampblack ; place these, together with the chalk, in an old tin or other suitable vessel with a little water, in order to prevent burning. Heat this mixture altogether until it boils, and then continue to allow it to simmer until it attains the consistency of thin cream ; it will then be ready for use, when cold the mixture should solidify. For use it should be applied with a soft brush as in the manner of painting, care being taken first of all that all grease be removed from the parts which it is desired to soil.' The mixture need not be reheated for every application ; all that is necessary is to add a small drop of water to it and to work it up to a consistency that is sufficient to produce a solid black, much as in the way that is adopted for stencil work. Used in this manner the composition will only need to be warmed up at long intervals. When the parts are properly soiled in this way they should be dried by the application of
heat. Care should be taken that the blackened parts do not come. into contact with other objects while the composition is still wet, otherwise the latter will flake off at the point of contact. When properly dry it will be found that nothing short of scraping will remove the black ; while the white metal will not adhere, however large the amount of it, and whatever the class of flux that may be used. Ordinary blacking, of the Day and Martin type, may be used in place of the lampblack. This method of soiling ' metals may be used for preventing solder from adhering where it is not required."