Contributions from Drivers and Mechanics.
Page 29
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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 traftors, 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. Workshop tips and smart repairs ; long and successful runs; interesting photograPhs : all are suitable subjects. Semi a post-card, or a letter. or a sketch to us—no matter how short, or how written, or how worded. We will " knock it into shape" and prepare sketches, where necessary, before publication. The absence of a sketch does 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 no your entployer's name will he disclosed. Payment will be made immediately after publication. Address your letters to The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR, 7.15, liosebery Avenue, London, E.C.
Air Cushions for Accumulators.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the 10s. prize this week.
LS41: " TOBY " (Cardiff) writes ;—`` I think that the following tip may be useful to many of those who are looking for SOUK 1110a117, whereby they may increase the life of ac
cumulators that are used in connection with. commercialmotor vehicles,
"I had a stout wooden accumulator box made of such dimensions as to allow a 1-in, clearance all round the battery. I then obtained five small rubber pneumatic balls of the kind which can be bought at. almost any toy shop for a penny each. I took care to select faiii-stout ones; one of these I placed in a cavity in the centre of the bottom of the box, and the others I carefully placed one on each side of the accumulators. The result quite justified this arrangement; I had succeeded in preventing the celluloid from becoming chafed into holes, where it might have rubbed against something, and I had also prevented the loosening of the paste owing to vibration, The latter, as readers will know, is a difficulty which is a ver■-serions one to users of solid-tired vehicles."
Repairing Squared Shafts.
[.8-1-21 " (Luton) writes :—" Some time ago T. was told to take down a live axle from a small van. There was so much play between the squares of each axleend itself and the square hole inside its wheel hub, that it was decided, before the axle was put together again, to make new axleshafts. Of course this was due to carelessness in the first place on the part of someone who had
assembled the axle. Too much play had been left, and it was not long before the corners of the squares were well rounded, owing to the shake. Sooner than make new shafts I thought it was best first of all to try and repair the old ones, and with that idea, I obtained permission to try and make a job of it in this way. I set to work as follows.
"I filed the squares cult in the hubs a little larger. making them dead true again, and I then took a bit off the square faces on the shafts and carefully trued these up. Four pieces of plate were next procured, and they were carefully fitted one to each side of the square on the axle. When this was done, they were fixed in position by means of two in. countersunk screws in each: a final true-up after they were all in position, was all that was necessary before I fitted the wheels hack into place. I had fixed the whole thing up so nicely that the wheels went on easily with a slight push, and there was no sign of a shake; I believe they have done very goad service since. This way of doing the job saved very-considerable expense, and in all probability, time as well.''