GARAGE AND WORKSHOP NOTES.
Page 63
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Useful Hints from Our Driver and Mechanic Readers.
A Portable Workbench.
THE usual so-called " portable" bench is a heavy arrangement which requires two men to move it about from place to place. Efforts have been made to design a lighter one, but lighter benches have been found wanting in stability, as, due to their lightness, they will not stand the efforts of a man while filing heavily or. chipping -with a cold chisel, etc.
The weakness of such light benches has been noticed by " H.B.," of Rotherham, who, whilst appreciating the portability of a light bench, has designed one that will withstand any effort on the part of the worker, so long as he stands on the platform which is made as part of the bench. No matter how hard he may file or hammer, the bench cannot move away from him. As to the dimensions of such a bench and platform, we should say that anyone making the device would be the best judge of his own requirements. Although " H.B." makes no mention of folding, we should think that the platform could easily be made to fold up for portability.
Casting Aluminium.
THERE may be times when one re • quires a pulley for driving a fan or dynamo, and where time will not allow -.a pattern and casting to be made in the usual way. In such eases " F.E.C.," of Dublin, suggests that scraps of old aluminium can be easily melted in a plumber's ladle by means of a forge, blow-pipe or blow-lamp. An • , old tin that has been well greased inside will answer as a mould, and the metal poured into it to the height sufficient to form the article required. Should the tin not anew the\ casting to be removed in the usual manner, it is possible to tear the tin off bit by bit.
An open-topped sand mould can be very easily made of almost any kind of • sand that may be handy, and if a core be necessary a wooden stick placed in the mould will answer well. As the metal is so easily turned, it is not very necessary that the casting should be an exact model of the article to be produced, so all that is necessary is to be sure that the casting is of ample size to permit turning to the required dimensions.
It is suggested by " F.E.C." that the addition of a little borax will make the aluminium run more freely.
A Broken Drawbar.
STEAM-WAGON driver, " of Eltham, tells us how, while with his wagon and trailer, he had the misfortune to break the drawbar, as shown in the sketch. As his load was an important one, he had to do the best he 'could on the road. Fortunately for him, he happened to have a length of tube,
• which he used as a pinch bar, with him; so he had this cut off to a length which allowed it to be pushed over the broken bar, leaving, space for two nuts for the tube to butt against. He then fixed up a chain to take the pull, tightening it
by means of bolts, which, when screwed up, drew the ends of the broken bar in contact ; he was then able to finish his journey and deliver his load.
Facilitating Deep Boring.
IN some eases a hole of two diameters has to be bored, as in the case of a plunger pump, where the smaller diameter is deep down the larger bore. In such cases it is not an easy matter accurately to calliper the size of the smaller hole, which means a lot of tedious work with a candle and a long pair of inside callipers.
" T.F.E." gets over the trouble in a very ingenious manner by finishing the larger hole first, then tapping a small bush into the front of the larger hole ; this bush he bores out to the desired diameter, and by setting his boring tool so that it barely touches the hole in the bush, he is able to determine the diameter of the smaller hole at the other end of his job by merely sliding the tool along.
By not setting his boring tool actually to touch the bush, he leaves the necessary amount for reamering. We would, however, advise those who might adopt this plan to be sure that the lathe is correctly set for boring parallel holes, otherwise errors may occur.
Over-oiling.
TROUBLE is often experienced in some engines by oil getting past the pistons and causing smoke and failure of sparking plugs. " H.M.," of West Bromwich, has found that in many eases this is due to there being no groove round the piston at the lower end of the skirt. He has found that by cutting a groove *-in. wide by 1-16-in, deep. he has entirely cured the trouble, and that after 1,000 miles no waste of oil from , the crankcase was noticeable, although before this groove was made he had continual trouble to keep his oil to the correct level.
We should, however, recommend anyone trying this plan to make sure that the skirt of the piston is of sufficient thickness to receive a groove of this depth without unduly weakening it, otherwise investigation one day into the cause of some mysterious noise may reveal the fact that part of a piston is at the bottom of the stroke whilst the remainder is at the top.
A Remedy for Oily Plugs.
4-DRIVER of a Guy lorry, " C.A.H.," of Southampton, seems to have had trouble with his plugs oiling up after overhauling or after prolonged running, and points out that many 'drivers adopt the dangerous plan of reducing the oil level when troubled in this way. He has, however, adopted a safer plan by means of which he can still use the ordinary oil level, or in the case of running-in after an overhaul he can even over-oil without danger of the oil getting to his plugs.
His plan is a simple one, consisting of the making of four sparking-plug adapters, internally threaded at the upper end and externally threaded at the lower end, which raise the plugs about 14 ins, above their usual level. He says that 'not only has he had no further trouble with his plugs, but that he can start his engine more easily.