For DRIVERS, MECHANICS & FOREMEN.
Page 27
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TEN SHILLINGS is paid to the sender of any letter SHILLINGS to the sender of the one which we select as published. Mention your employer's name, in confidence, Commercial Motor," 7-15, B which w3 publish on this page, and an EXTRA FIVE being the best each week. All notes are edited before being as evidence of good faith. Address, D., .31. and F., "The osebery Avenue, London, E-C. I. '
Lamps Alight.
. On Saturday, July 17th, light Your lamps at 9.37 ml London, 10.17 in Edinburgh, 10.4 in Newcastle, 9..59 in Liverpool, 9.49 in Birmingham; 9.47 in. Bristol, and 10.42 in Dublin.
Putting the Trailer Before the Tractor.
The sender of the following communication. has been awarded the extra payment of 5s. this week.
[2,112] "AG." (Hove) writes:— " 'Night, and a broken steering gear, Three miles from home, and no smithy near,' Was my position a few weeks ago, my conveyance being a steam tractor, with attendant trailer. My. -mate and I decided to make a real effort to get moving, and in the mid we decided to Make the trailer steer the engine, and succeeded in doing.so by adopting the following expedient.
"We put the trailer, which was empty and therefore easily manageable, in front of the engine. The
rigid push pole we used as a coupling between the front of the engine and the rear of the trailer, putting, so to speak, the cart before the horse. We then made fast a -sling chain to the bar, at a point about three feet from the engine end of it. The ends of the chain were secur'ed to the front axle of the engine, as near to the wheels as poasiLle. The idea N4e had was that my mate would walk in front, holding the drawbar of the: trailer and steering it, the engine following in its wake. When we started out to do this, however, we found that the weight of the drawbar was more than it usually 'appeared—it got veryheavy after a short time—so we balanced it by ttaehing a rope to its end, a stone being fastened to the other end of the rope, which was led over the front of the trailer so that it practically took the -whole weight of the bar -off the hands of my mate, who was then able to continue the steering of the outfit without any unnecessary fatigue. We got home quite safely without any further mishap."
An Awkward Predicament.
[2,113] "..J.G.P." (King's Lynn) writes:— " In a recent issue of the Weekly Dispatch I saw an illustration of a Char-h-banes which, making way for another vehicle to pass by on a narrow road, had become wedged against the wall, to such an extent, I understand, that before it could proceed on its journey a portion of the wall had to be taken down. The incident reminded, me of an experience of my own while on home service with the M.T., R.A.F. Iwas engaged carting coal from -the railway station to the qa..mp, and on arriving with a load on one occasion, I discovered that another lorry was already in the yard, which was not large enough to allow of twb vehicles being in at. one time. Thinking to get on
with the job. quickly, I looked around, and found that by running -alongside the wall ofthe yard, outside it, I was able to arrange for the-fatigue party to throw
the -coal into the bunkers without any difficidty.'. • "Everything went well until the lorry was .empty and I Started to try to 'run out again. I then found that the machine was wedged tightly against the wall, and no manipulation of the steering would free it. It appeared that while the load was being taken off, the wheels near eat. the wall had been slowly sink. ing into the soft ground,' thus tipping the body nearer and nearer to the walleuntil it was fast there. In the end I got away by jacking the wheels-up a little, putting planks under them, and-driving backwards little by little until, the body lifted away from the wall. The total darnage done-amounted to a few scratches on the bodyWnrk."
Reboring Connecting Rods by Hand.
[2,1141 " (Chiswick) writes :--" Some time ago I had a set of big ends in for remetalling. I ran them in all right, but when I came to-put • the rods in the lathe discovered that I could notswing them. _Even with the gap taken out of the lathe:4 had not enough room, nor could I make use of anyone else's tool. Time did not permitof my waiting while someone else machined' them for Itne. Eventually I had to bore them by. hand, and used a rig as shown in the sketch—{which we have had redrawn.—En.] by Means of which the iob was done satisfactorily. '1 took-a-piece of flat bar, marked A on the sketch, ins, wide and & in. thick ; this I bent at right angles ta form a .frame for the machine. I found an old starting handle which had a long spindle. Along about -half the length of this I turned a fine-thread screw, and to the outer end I secured a small boring tool, fastening it by means of a, screw in the end of the has (see sketch). I mounted the spindle in a pair of old nuts which I -clamped to the frame. One of the nuts had the thread turned out of it to make a plain bearing that was td be near the starting handle. The other nut was tapped to fit the screwed part of the spindle-, and was placed neat' the angle of the frame.
"I mounted the connecting rod so that the true centre of the big end was in line with the spindle, and careLully marked off on the frame the position of the small end. The rod was then clamped in position so that the big end would he in line with the small end. I made a suitable spigot for the gudgeon pin end, and mounted each rod onthis to ensure the centre distances being all alike. I used a roundnosed tool for the boring, and the time taken was little longer than would have been the case had I used a lathe."