The Purchase Department.
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Where to Buy your Supplies.
You Can Get It At ” M.S." (Luton).—The " Premier " oxy-acetylene welding plant for which you inquire is marketed by the Premier Acetylene Co.,, 17, Craven Street, Strand,
" RH." (Birmingham).—The type of radiator about which you ask is manufactured by Spiral Tube and Components Co., 61, .Northdown Street, King's Cross, London, N.
A Rapid Car-washer.
We have received from Brown Bros., Ltd., Great Eastern Street, London, E.G., interesting details of a device for the cleansing of industrial and other vehicles. The " Duco " rapid ear-washer, as it is named, is capable of directing a supply of water upon the brush and the machine at the same time, thus enabling the operator to loosen the dirt and wash it away with one action. The vehicle can be washed rapidly with little labour, and moreover the brush does not damage coachwork.
The tap, as will be seen from the illustration, regulates the amount and the force of the water which can be directed upon the vehicle. The body of the device is made of strong polished brass provided with a circular bristle brush and hard-wood handle. The brush fittings are all interchangeable, so that a new brush can readily be attached when necessary.
• To get the best results from the " Duco " washer the makers suggest that before using the brush a. sway of water should first be directed on to the machine. This of course will quickly soften the dirt, after which it can be easily removed without andue pressure.
This accessory should prove a useful acquisition to repair shop or garage where a fleet of machines has to be attended to daily before being sent out.
Ferodo's Increasing Business.
Herbert Frood Co., Ltd.. in advising us of its continued and, indeed, increased activities, again emphasizes the fact that the company was liquidated on the 31st December, 1913, in order to reconstruct in the form of a new company under the same title E2
and with the same premises, but with a capital several times larger, dating from the 1st January, 1914. Rapidly-increasing business in connection with the " Ferodo " friction-surface specialities was found to necessitate a large increase of capital, in order to provide for extensions of plant, premises and stock, and to maintain prompt deliveries.
Aluminium for Industrial Machines In the early days of the automobile industry aluminium was, of course, but little used in the building up of a chassis, Nowadays, however, this metal figures very largely in the specification of all types of machines. In the matter of bodywork also makers are incorporating aluminium in their structures, par ticularly in the case of chars-a-banes. In order to meet the ever-increasing demand for this metal the British Aluminium Co., Ltd., 109, Queen Victoria Street, London, EC., has found it necessary largely to increase the scope and extent of its factories, and is now equipped for turning out this metal in the form of ingot, plate, sheet or tube.
There are undoubtedly many points in favour of aluminium which directly concern the industrial
vehicle manufacturer, the main one being, without question, that of weight. When it is considered that steel weighs three times as much as aluminium, it will be realized that the latter metal plays an impor tant part in the reducing of weight where stress is but a secondary factor. Apart from the reduction of weight, aluminium also possesses advantages over other metals for many of the structural parts of the vehicle ; for instance, on a strength-for-weight basis the metal is twice as strong as cast-iron.
In the illustration which we reproduce are shown some typical castings made by Sterling Metals, Ltd., Coventry, comprising crankcases, gearboxes, clutches, radiator head, and other component parts for which purpose the product of the British Aluminium Co., Ltd., has been used. This company also produces special aluminium alloys, which are admirably suited for crankcases, gearboxes and other castings. Parts which are made of this alloy can be easily machined. and will take a very high polish.