From Drivers and Mechanics.
Page 20
Page 21
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
TEN SHILLINGS WEEKLY is paid for the best cornmunication received, and one penny a line of ten words for anything else published, with an allowance for photographs.
Irorkshop tits and smart repairs ; long and successful r11755 ; interesting photographs , all are suitable subjects, I'Ve will knock your letters into stork and 1:ill prepare sketches, where necessary, before hubliCation. The absence of a sketch does not disqualify for a prise, When Ws iting, use one side of the paper only and mention yOltr elntloyer's name trs a Euarantee
of bona fides. Neither your Mil nor your employer's name be dis
closed. Payntent be made immediately after publication. Address your letters to The Editor, THE Cowin-AXIAL "MOTOR, Rasebery
Avenue. London, E.G.
Annual Bonuses are given to the most successYul contributors.
THE ADDITIONAL, DRIVERS' PRIZE SCHEME.
Es h'ilSiOn of Time for titm In connection with the prize of two guineas which we first offered some eight weeks ago (issue No. 36S, 28th March), to the driver who should send in the most complete and genuine list of replacements and repairs executed on a steam or petrol lorry of which he was in charge, during any definite period of 12
i
months, we have decided, n response to many letters received bearing on this matter, to extend the competition until the 1st day of July, 1912. Many drivers have experienced difficulty in looking up invoices, and checking their costs, and we have received several lists which we were requested to enter for the competition, and in which details signed by the driver's employer would follow later. This extension will, we hone, offer drivers and mechanics who enter for this competition ample opportunity to collect, full particulars. Lists already received will, of course, compete with additional lists sent in between now and 1st. July.
A Difficult Re-lining.
[1043] " A.J.1-1.” (Aldershot) writes :—" I am sending you an account of how I overcame what at first sight. I anticipated would be a very expensive repair. I had to overhaul a 40 h.p. ' engine, and re-metal all the bearings. I had re-metalled the main bearings, and turned them to fit the crankshaft, only to find when I put them in the crankcase and dropped the crankshaft in place that the front bearing was about 3-32 in. out of line, owing to the crankcase being distorted. This gave me quite a Shock, as it meant either re-boring the main bearings, pouring fresh metal and turning up a new set. of mains, or an eccentric sleeve bearing for the front end of the shaft, and also the use of a lot of packing. As a practical mechanic I object to the use of packings unless they are absolutely necessary. I overcame the difficulty in the following way. I ran out the metal of the front bearing, and then placed the -shaft in position on the middle and back bearings, and replaced the covers. Next I turned two brass washers to slip fairly tightly over the front part. of the shaft. At the I op of one of the washers I cut a 'V ' groove,. for use when pouring in the metal, and on the other washer I cut another ' V ' groove, which allowed the air to escape when the metal was being poured. One washer was then placed at each side of the bearing and held in nlace by a bit of asbestos string wrapped round the shaft. Lastly I put some dry graphite on the shaft, and poured the white metal. The little experiment was attended with success, the face of the bearings being as smooth as the shaft itself. The resultant casting was of course in one piece and was divided with the heln of a saw and the faces trimmed up with an old file.';
A Steam-wagon Bell Pull.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the .10s. prize this week.
[10 I] '' (Newcastle-on-Tyne) writes —"I send you particulars of a little gadget which I have fitted to my steam-wagon. It is especially intended for use when a trailer is employed, and its object is to warn the driver of the wagon of overtaking traffic. I have found it. particularly useful in narrow country lanes. I do not know whether communicating cords are compulsory in all counties, but they are in Durham, and many drivers have been fined recently for omitting to have some such appliance fitted from the trailer to the wagon. "The outstanding feature of the device which I have fitted to my own wagon is that it can be used for giving notice to the driver of overtaking traffic, and also to serve in place of a horn to warn traffic that is ahead of the wagon. A 6 in. bell dome is a good size to use for this alarum, and this can be fitted to the cab of almost any steam-wagon by means of a length of wood. The flywheel of the engine is used
to provide the motive power, and a joint and lead is made just behind the small pulley fitted to the top of the cab, from which a cord can be run for use by the driver. The flywheel causes the smaller pulley to revolve at a high speed when the cord is pulled, and the loosely-riveted arms fly out and strike the fixed bell. The whole apparatus can be made by any intelligent driver for 2s. 6d. It has been applied in principle by bicycle bell makers for some considerable time and will probably be familiar to you. The sketch shows quite plainly how the appliance can be fitted." [We have had this redrawn.—En.]
(We would suggest that a length of Simplex tubing he fitted along the wagon and the trailer. through which the communicating cord could be threaded. 'This would prevent all danger of the line fouling.-En 1 Clean Your Hoods with Yolks of Eggs.
[1015] " C.B." (Hornsey Rise) writes :—" It may help some of my fellow-drivers to give them a little hint on cleaning and reviving leather upholstery after a long and dusty run. First, the dust should be cleaned from the hood and upholstery with a stiff brush damped with water, then the yolks of two or three eggs should be beaten up in about half-a-pint of water, and this preparation applied to the leather with a. sponge. This solution dries quickly and refreshes the leather, and it also imparts a dull gloss -which will not rub off nor spoil the clothes. " Sometimes solid tires look very ragged and untidy when they arc getting somewhat worn, and I have found that by drilling a in. hole with a Morse twist drill at intervals along the circumference of the. tire, about in. from the outside edge, and then cutting a V-slot across the tire to each drilled hole, raggedness and untidiness is prevented, as the ragged pieces come well away and leave the tire in good condition. When cutting the slot, a sharp knife should be used, and this should frequently be dipped in water during the process, as the water acts as a lubricant and prevents the knife hanging to the rubber. It might be thought that this cutting of the tire would lead to rapid wear, but in practice I have not, found this to be so. The small V-slots allow the rubber to give a little, and this I think prevents it tearing." A Chain-tightening Davice.
[1046] " A.L." (Sandbach) writes :—" I have frequently noticed motorwagons with their driving chains so slack as almost to invite trouble. I have fitted my own wagon with a very simple and efficient device, which will, I think, be of interest to your driver-mechanic readers. As I had had trouble through slack chains, I fitted an la in. stay, made of 11 in. by in. mild steel, from the girder frame of the van midway between the sprocket wheels. At the upper end of the stay I machined a slot 6 in. long, and wide enough to take a, in, Whitworth bolt, and in the girder itself I drilled a in. clearance hole to take the bolt which holds the appliance in place. The lower end of the stay is fitted with a round screwed stud with lubricating channels cut on it, and on this stud is fitted a small sprocket wheel, which is held in place by a collar and cotter pin. With the aid of this little device, even a slack chain can at all times be kept as tight as is advisable. By slackening the top part, the loose sprocket wheel can be moved upwards or downwards as may be required, and by just tightening the top bolt the whole apparatus is firmly clamped. The chain can be regulated without the sprocket wheels getting out of alignment, and thus causing undue wear both to the sprockets and to the chain. The device has saved me many an hour's slogging on the roadside.."