For DRIVERS, MECHANICS & FOREMEN.
Page 21
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A PRIZE OF TEN SHILLINGS is awarded each week all others are paid fcrr at.the:rate Of a 'penny a line, with an published. Mention. year employara name, in confidence, Latnps Alight— Light your lamps at 5.14 in -London, 5.44 in Edinburgh, 5.11 in Newcastle, 5.21 in Liverpool, 5.19 in Birmingham, 6.24 in Bristol, and 8.4 in Dublin.
Taking up Wear in the Steering Gear.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the 10s. prize this week.
[17921 " S.P." (Mirfielc1) writes :—" In that type of steamer in which the chain steering gear is employed, the journal and bearing of the horizontal steering shaft are subject to considerable amount of wear. Since they both wear simultaneously, and as the shaft is usually of the same diameter throughout, the repair of these parts is not a very simple
matter. At first glance it would appear that either shaft or-bearing would have to be renewed, bushes being apparently out of the question as they would not, if made to fit the worn part of the shalt, pass over ' the unworn portion. I surmounted the difficulty, myself by making the bush to fit the shaft and bearing ; after these had been suitably trued up, and cutting the bush in two so that it could be fitted into place. I provided means of adjustment for further wear. "The load on this bearing is two-fold. There is the downward thrust of the worm, and there is the weight of the shaft, drum, and the due proportion of the weight of the chain. I therefore, made my new bush eccentric, and when fitting it into place, put the thick part of the surrounding metal to the top. Z prevented the bush from turning by means of a setscrew. After a time, when the bush-had worn a little', I was easily able to take up for the wear by revolving the bush a little within the bracket, and. again securing it by. tightening the set-screw. . 'Some wear, teo, naturally, takes place on the teeth of the worm andavheel. It has probably not. occurred to all of your readers wh'o are steam-wagon drivers that an 'entirely new portion of`the worm wheel May be presented to the worm. merely by the expedient of removing the steering chains• and replacing them a little further round the drum."
to the sender of the best letter which we publish on this page ; alloWance for photoaraphs. All notes are edited before being
as evidence of good, faith, AddreSs., D.: and F,, " The ebery Avenue,. ,Landon, E.G. 1.
Tuning up a Claude-Hobson Carburetter.
• [1793] ".K.G." (Glasgow) writes The Claude] Hobson carburetter is a favourite amongst makers of subvention chassis, and the following few notes concerning its adjustment will be of considerable use to your Overseas readers. .
• " The heating of this carburetter is an important item. The drive; will note that a tap is usually pro
vided on the pipe which conveys hot water to the jacket on the induction pipe ; this is for the purpose of adjusting the a-mount of heat to the mixture, and it should be regulated as experience proves best, according to atmospheric conditions.
" Popping back, as is well known, indicates, everything else being in order, that the mixture is too weak ; the remedy is usually a larger jet, if the limit of adjustment of the air supply has been reached. " If some difficulty is encountered in connection with the mixture, which may be a little weak or per haps too strong, and if a change of jets does not hap pen to be convenient, it is a good plan to alter the thickness of the washer under the jet. A thicker one will have the effect of reducing very slightly the
amount of petrol supplied, and will serve as a smaller jet. If the washer be thinned a little, the effect is the same as fittingssa larger jet. It is never worth while, with this make of carburetter, to attempt to alter the size of the jet by reamering out the hole or by burring it up.
The small screw which enters the body of the carburetter in a slanting direetion is the slow-running screw. The other is for the purpose of regulating the amount of air which passes the jet. To adjust the carburetter so as to obtain the maximum economy Of
fuel, this screw should first be screwed right in, and if the engine will run satisfactorily with it in that position, it should be unscrewed little by little, until the engine gives signs of being supplied with too weak a mixture. Screw in then about half a turn, and lock. in that position."
[1794] " A.S.H." (Cambridge) writes :"—" I Send you a sketch [We have had it redrawn and it is reproduced herewitha—En.] of .a handy jiglor removing the-inner races of the ball bearings on magneto armatures. It is simply-a-hollow blind cylinder, large enough inside to go over the ra,ce.and leave a little clearance; Near the open end are fitted, as shown on the-sketch, three grub screws, which can be made to grip the ra.0.9 by being screwed inwards.. The blind end of the cylinder is drilled and tapped for a substantial set-screw. When it is required to remove a race, thepjig is dropped into place and the i‘ace gripped'by means of the three screws; The large set-screw is then forced • down on to the kip of the armature spindle, and the
race will come steadily but easily away. .
When Overhauling the Magneto.