Contributions from Drivers and Mechanics.
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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 tractors, and mechanics and formen 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. Send 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 nor your employer's name will be disclosed. Payment will be made immediately after publication. Address your letters to The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR, 7-15, Rosebery Avenue, London, E.C.
Oaly Four More Weeks for the Bonus.
Owing to the increasing number of informative letters which regularly reach these offices for inclusion on the "Drivers' and Mechanics'" pages, a growing number of these has lately had to be held over for a considerable time. In order to deal with the best examples of this surplus, and to some extent to avoid this accumulation, we shall endeavour to find room for two pages of such communications for the next few weeks. These practical road-side and shop experiences are, we know, of real interest to drivers, engineers-in-charge, owners, and even makers.
Local Softening of Hardened Parts.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the 10s. prize this week.
[9471 " ToBY " (Cardiff) writes :—" I send you a few notes with regard to the softening of portions of hardened pins, a process which can be applied in many other ways. I do not remember to have seen it described either in your drivers' notes' at any time or in any other publication of the same sort. " The essential part of my method is to insure the softening of a portion of a. hardened-steel pin whilst leaving some other definite part of it in its original state of hardness. For instance, it is often required that the ends of a gudgeon pin shall be softened in order that they may readily be drilled and tapped. Now, in a case like this, if a pot of lead be made molten, and he further heated until it be blood red, and if the article that is to be softened be then dipped in this molten metal to the required distance, the immersed part will be found to turn blue, whilst the portion that is not immersed will be unaffected. In a ease where the centre portion of a pin may require to be softened, and the two ends have to be left quite hard for a definite distance, these ends should be wrapped tightly with asbestos cord, leaving only that part exposed which is to be softened. The whole thing can then be immersed in the molten lead, and the exposed portion only will be softened. In both these cases the part must be quickly cooled off in water before the heat has time by direct conduction to affect the part that has not been in actual contact with the lead.
" Another tip for softening the ends of small pins after they have been hardened is to have them made about in. longer than is required, and then to grind that portion off on an emery wheel. It is necessary to press hard on the emery wheel, so as to cause the end of the pin to become hot. Chain rivets and pins for valve tappets are often riveted after such a process as this, which as a rule softens the pin or spindle sufficiently far up to enable riveting to be done. "I once had a bevel pinion which had been hardened and ground, but of which the bore was not to the correct size. I had to rebore in a lathe. I did not wish to risk softening and re-hardening the wheel for fear that it would warp, and I therefore made the centre quite soft by filling it with red-hot lead. This avoided the softening of the teeth." [Our correspondent sends us several clearly-101efled samples of his lead-dipping method. which gives results which can be very carefully
iegulated,–Ea.]
Swelling the End of the Shaft.
[948] " A.C." (Forest Hill) writes :—" I saw an account in a recent issue of your journal of a repair that was effected to a broken crankshaft by ' Toby ' (Cardiff). This reminded me of a job which I did some time ago, and which it may be of interest to give to your readers as an addition to the valuable tips that are regularly included en the drivers' page. A coupling which had originally been shrunk on to a gearshaft came loose, and the car, of which it was a part, had to be towed into garage. The job that I had obviously to carry out was to fix the coupling. After removing the shaft from the gearbox, first bored a taper hole up the shaft to a depth of 2 in. The taper was one of two degrees, and the hole at the end was in. bore. I then turned a caststeel pin to fit, and I made it of such dimensions that it would only go into the hole for about t in. When I had prepared the shaft and the pin in this way, I raised the coupling and the shaft end to a dull red heat. The taper pin, which I had not heated, was dropped into the hole, and was given a good sharp blow with a hammer : this caused it to enter for about li in., which was sufficient to swell the shaft to such an extent that it gripped the coupling quite firmly."
When the Footprints are Missing. '
[9-101 " L.D." (Slough) writes " It frequently hap pens that broken studs, screws or nuts cannot be unscrewed by the aid of the ordinary spanner, and it also
happens very often that Footprints ' are not at hand. Such a job can generally be done quite easily by an ordinary spanner and a piece of rough, round file. The sketch which I enclose—[We have had this re-drawn.— En.1---shows how this may be done. The spanner has to be larger between the jaws than the diameter of the part which is to be loosened, in order to allow the file to be placed between, but it must not be wide enough to allow the latter to pass the centre, otherwise it would not be possible to get a grip. Immedis
ately the spanner has moved in the direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow in the sketch, the file gets a grin, and the part can be moved at once.
Coal Consumption: a Driver Disagrees.
1.950j " G.W.S." (Lincoln) writes : I have been a regular reader of your valuable paper ever since its commencement, and have been a driver and tester to well-known English makers for the last 12 years on various road engines. In THE –olamErtoran Moron of the 21st September, I noticed a very glowing account of the reputed performance of a Foden wagon belonging to Messrs. Thomas Harry and Co., of Upper Clapton [The paragraph to which our correspondent refers appears under the heading 'News and Comment' on page 51 of our issue of the 21st September.—ED.1. What I take exception to is the statement. that this machine was run for 18 months and cost nothing whatever for repairs during that time. The claim that the driver can accomplish a 50-mile journey on 2i cwt. of coal I also receive with doubt. I notice another correspondent of yours [Ell.G.G., driver's letl.er No. 939.—ED.] also wished to take this statement with a considerable pinch of salt.
" I personally do not think that the very best wagon that is made, and I am drawing no distinctions, can run for 18 months and cost absolutely nothing for repairs or adjustments, and I do not think there is a 5-ton steam wagon which can run 50 miles on an average give-and-take road under full load on 24i cwt. of coal. I have seen very many careful tests of wagons and tractors on all kinds of roads, and I find that everything must be in apple-pie order to run from 8 to 10 miles per cwt, of fuel ; at least, that is my experience. I, of course, wish to cast no reflections whatever on the Foden steam wagon, whose good performances I am well acquainted with, but I do maintain that it is very unfair indeed to present owners of steam wagons, of whatever make they may be, that the statement, to which I have drawn attention, should be given publicity unless it can be definitely proved without doubt. It is likely to cause ill feeling between masters and careful drivers if they do not con
sistently get similar results. Masters are likely to think it is a very strange thing for Thomas Harry's wagon to run the 50-mile journey on 2 cwt. of coal, when perhaps they may be running a similar wagon which takes 5 cwt. of coal for the same distance."
Coal Consumption: has Done-Better.
[951] "J.F." (Leyland) writes —"I have seen " "letter on page 127 of your issue of the 12th October [Letter No. 931E—ED.]. I personally do not think the result given by your coirespondent in the issue of the 21st September at all remarkable ; in fact, I can regularly beat it on ray old Leyland wagon, which I have now had for upwards of 11 years, and which I purchased second-band. Take two recent runs : the first one was 23 miles with a load of four tons 5 cwt., and I consumed V, cwt. of gas coke. This yields a consumption of 2.02 lb. per net ton-mile. The second run was for a distance of 21 miles with a load of 4 tons 5 cwt., and I used only 1 cwt. of gas coke. This gave rue a consumption of 1.88 lb. per ton-mile. Your correspondent used coal, whereas I used coke, and, of course, the heating value and the cost of coke are only about half that of good coal. The above figures are not special, but just runs taken as random."
Always Uses Nixon's Navigation.
[9521 " FE.' (Ross) writes I should like to send you a record of the doings of a three-ton Sentinel wagon of which I am the driver. It may be of sufficient interest to warrant publication in your columns. The wagon is the property of the Alton Court Brewery Co., of Ross. It was delivered in January, 1909, and from the following data you will see that it has indeed done good service.
" Up to October 7th of this year, the mileage was 9,009, so the present year bids fair to exceed either of the others.
"I have been a driver for about 20 months. As we had a difficulty in obtaining good coke, I suggested that we tried Nixon's Navigation Large' steam coal, with the result that we have had no trouble whatever in keeping steam, and it is cheaper in the end to use this quality of fuel. I should strongly advise drivers to use Nixon's, and always to see that they have the large grade, and not the nuts, which latter are liable to yield more slag. This soon stops the draught in a small fire-box of any description.
"I generally use the wagon five days a week, but, during the summer we often work for six days on end. Never, on any account whatever, do we miss the important work of cleaning out the boiler every week, as the water we use is off the limestone, and you can see that, if we neglect the boiler, trouble is bound to ensue very quickly. I will only add that our longest journey is one of 80 miles, and that means a good day's work."