For DRIVERS, MECHANICS & FOREMEN.
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A PRIZE OF TEN SHILLINGS is awarded each week 0 the tender of the bat letter which we publish on this page ; all others are paid for at the rate of a penny a line, with an allowance for photographs. All notes are edited before being published. Mention vow employer's name, in confidence, as evidence of good faith. Address, D., and F., 'The
Commercial Motor," 7-15, Itosebery Avenue, London, E.G. I.
Lamps Alight.
On Saturday, the 24th Augi*st. light your lamps at 8.34 in London 9.27 in Edinburgh., 8.48 in Newcastle, 8.50 in Liverpool, 8.43 in Birmingham, 8.44 in Bristol, and 9.34 l Dublin.
A Rear Axle Oil-box Alteration.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the 108. prize this week, [1889] " A.W." (Dewsbury) writes :—" I have had a considerable amount of trouble from time to time with the oil boX which serves to lubricate the back axle bearing of my steam lorry. The box is of the usual syphoning type, and bolts on at the back of the axle
bar, beneath the road spring. The difficulty was in connection with the studs which secure the bearing. No matter how tightly I screwed them up, they invariably slacked off after a time, Moreover, the tightening of these studs was an extremely awkward job, as the spanner would hardly move through a full 60 degrees, as it struck, at one end of the differential box, and at the other the brake drum. One way to do the job was to take the bearing down, but of course this was an operation not to be lightly undertaken. After several attempts, during the last of which I stripped the threads from the studs, and after losing the box once in the road, with the result that I found myself very quickly with a hot bearing, I decided to execute a radical alteration. At first thought I might be able to make a job of it by fitting in a I in. gas bend with a coupling at the top, as shown in sketch No. 3 [We have had this re-drawn.— ED.], but on consideration it occurred to me that this would provide very little reservoir for oil, and I should have to be continually filling it up, which would prove a nuisance on long trips. At last I hit upon the following idea.
"I shifted the box altogether from the axle,'and fastened ii on to the main frame. I coupled up from
the delivery pipe of the box to the inlet on -the bearing with a piece of really good flexible tubing, fitting it up as shown in sketch No. 2. This arrangement has proved to be very good indeed. Neither the pipe nor the oil-box is in the way of anything at all, and to dismantle for any purpose it is only necessary to unscrew one of the unions. Another advantage of this. arrangement which did not occur to me at first, and• which only showed up after a time, was the cleanliness of the new position. as compared with the old. After a few miles of running on a country road in wet weather,'I have seen the oil-box in the old position covered from top to bottom with a thick layer of mud, all of which had to be carefully scraped off before the oil could be replenished. Now it is well up, out of the way, and I a.m thinking of putting a small splashguard underneath it to keep off what small amount of mud reaches it in the new position."
An Extempore Wheel Puller.
[1890] "H.R. " (Mundford) writes :—" Tam a driver of a 'Little Giant' steam wagon, and a few weeks back my machine suffered a breakdown. The back axle broke. I ran quickly to the nearest telephone and got in communication with our works foreman. He ordered at once a new axle from the makers and left me to prepare for its arrival.
"The breakdown had occurred far from any industrial tentrerand there was no small engineering Works or blacksmith's shop within reasonable distance at all. I had, therefore, to make my preparations without any outside help whatever, using only tho tools and accessories that a driver usually carries with him. I was, as a matter of fact, fortunate in having by me a lifting jack and a couple of sling chains.
-" My biggest job turned out to be the removal of the off-side driving wheel, which Waki keyed to the axle. I tried several obvioustmethods, such as wedging or hammering it, without success. Eventually I improvised a wire puller, using some blocks of wood, a sling chain, and •the screw jack, and I have endeavoured to show, by means of a sketch [Which we have had redrawn.—ED], how I arranged these. I used only one of the sling chains—one which had a hook at -each end and was about 5 ft. in length overall. The hooks I hitched round two opposite spokes of the wheel. A piece of timber, 6 ins, long and 4 ins, diameter, was _placed with one end inside the wheel box and in contact with the axle. Against this was the screw jack, at the base of the screw jack another block of timber,. which bore up against the chain and tightened at. I then. proceeded to manipulate the jack, and was able to remove the wheel quite easily."