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 vehic.es 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. Work. shop 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 li,zu short, or how written, or !vat) worded. We will " knock it into shape" and prepare sketches, where necessary, before publication. The absence of a sketch dues 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 COM a ERCIA i. MOTOR, 7-15, Rosebery Aven lie, London, E.G.
Quite Time, Too!
[820] " A .E." (London) writes Many thanks for publishing my contribution in THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR. I have been a reader of the ' CM.' from No, 6, and I have derived considerable benefit from its pages. It is the storehouse of information relating to the commercial motor. I have had very-interesting experiences with horses ; I have been bolted with three times in nine years. I think it's time that I took to motors! "
Paint Your Steel.
[821] " TODIC " (Manchester) writes :--" I offer you the following tip for your D. and M. pages, in the hope that it will be of service to my fellow-mechanics and to such of your readers who are store-keepers. Every mechanic knows that careful choice of a particular grade of steel or iron is necessary for very many repair jobs. Unfortunately the arrangements that are made in many shops for stocking such material, do not assist in any way the, identification of the various classes of steel. Some mechanics, it is true, take the trouble to test a sample of the steel of which they are going to make use others, and I rather fancy that they are in the majority, take it for granted. Of course, there are a number of mechanics ( ) who have not the slightest idea as to what is the best class of steel to use for any job. At the hands of such men, I have seen gudgeon pins made of cast steel and hardened—with the inevitable result, of course. Again I have seen taps, dies, etc., made with considerable care from mild-steel bar ; halts have been made for gear rings out of such soft steel that they have sheared after a short time in use.
" It was to obviate troubles of this kind and to assist the fitter to take care what class of material he used for certain jobs that I arranged with our storekeeper that he should mark every bar of steel that we kept in stock, with a line of paint from one end to the other immediately he received it from the makers. Each class of steel was distinguished by a particular colour and the classification that I adopted was as follows: east steel• red, and the different qualities of it were painted in different shades of that colour; shear steel—green ; bessemer steel—white ;
mild steel for vase-hardening—blue; mild steel for bolls, etc.—yellow ; Low Moor iron—black ; etc., etc. As a key to this arrangement, I had cards prepared with a simple list of the various steels that were kept in stock, with an indication of the colours that distinguished them, and these cards were so exhibited that they could be inspected by workman and storekeeper. The method of marking right through the length of the bar ensured that there could be no mistake so long as there was a piece of the bar left."
I The method of distinguishing various brands of steel and suchlike stock by careful and distinctive marking with paint is quite a usual one in stores of any sire, but care is not always taken to mark Wong the whole of the bar, only the two ends being painted. This system is of such importance that it is useful to publish " Toby's letter, as a reminder to many of our readers, who think they are not liable to Con
fusion because their stocks are small—Ed.l
Tongs for Piston Rings.
The sender of the followiny communication has been awarded the Ws. prize this week.
[822] " W.P." (Walthamstow) writes:—'' I submit for the ' D. and M.' columns, a very-rough sketch [We have had ibis redrawn. En.] of a useful pair of pliers, which I have recently made for the removal of piston rings. The nose of the pliers has to be made so as to suit the bevelled ends of the rings. When it is desired to take off a ring, it should be pushed home into its groove at a point opposite to its joint. This causes the joint to stand proud and enables the pliers to be inserted easily. The handles can then be pressed together, and it will be found that the ring is then readily expanded, sufficiently to be able to be removed with ease. A similar method of expanding the ring renders it quite simple to place it in position by means of this simple little device. I find that I can remove a set of 12 rings on a four-cylinder engine in about five minutes, and that without any risk of breaking the rings or of cutting my hands."
Removing Leaky Tubes.
[8'23j " W.1... W." (Putney) writes.--" I send .,■.-ou herewith a hint for your D. and M.' columns, with reference to a method which I used for removing some old leaky tubes from the bailer of a steam wagon some time ago. I had found that they were very difficult to remove from the tube plates, and I had to adopt special methods for the job. I first cut the tubes flush to the plates, and I then had a tool made from an old chisel, in such a way that its end would enter for about half an inch, but that a shoulder would engage the end of the tube. Twoor Three taps of a hammer thereafter sufficed to dislodge the most obstinate one. When I put in the new tubes, I had two drifts made with tapered ends to fit inside the tubes, and I used these instead of an expander, as I have found that the drifted -ends stand up so much better than expanded ones."
When a Magneto Misfires.
•• E.L.S." (Guildford) writes I flunk it is possible that the following hints may prove to be very valuable 10 users of magnetos who at some time or other may have difficulty in discovering the cause of misfiring. On one occasion, after careful examination of the make-and-break device, one of the eams was found to he. of slightly-different thickness to the other : this, of muse, caused the break to he too wide on two cylinders mit of the four. I carefully removed the thicker cam and filed away a little of the metal with a smooth halfronnd file, finishing the job off with fine emery paper. The two cams were now of equal thickness, and this et.iihIed me to get a similar break on both. This was one case in which T. was able completely to cure a had example of irregular firing; the engine with which it is used now runs well at all speeds.
" On another magneto, of a different make to that iteseribed in my previous paragraph, the make-and-break rocking arm was found to be working rather stiffly, and I discovered that this was ths cause of misfiring. A drop of oil on the rocking-arm spindle soon cured this other trouble.
" Rath the above hints are admittedly very simple ones, but it is surprising how often these simple things arc not thought of, when a trouble appears to be very obstinate."
Useful Handbooks.
A small hook on the subject of '' Electric Ignition for Petrol Engines," by Mr. 3_ W. Wan-, A.M.T.E.T4;., and published by Messrs. TT. Alabaster, Gatehouse and Co., of 4, Ludgate Hill. E.C., at 2s. net, has just reached this offiee. In the 76 pages which this book comprises, there are 60 illustrations, showing typical groupings and wiring systems For every conceivable arrangement of ignition; the book appears to have been written with a. view to making its technical details comprehensive to the non-technical reader. Drivers and mechanics should find it an extremely useful book to have by them.
Another good book, which has been well and clearly written, deals with " The Care and Management of Ignition Accumulators.' It is written .hy Mr. Harold H. I'. Cross, and is published by E. and F. N. Spew, Ltd., of 17, Haymarket, at is. 6d.