TIPS FROM STEAM-WAGON DRIVERS.
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N0 SMALL number of shackle pins of steam-Wagon drawbars are lost annually—or such, at any rate, is the belief of " Ff.A.B,," of Rotherham. The excessive vibration at the tail of a steam wagon shakes these pins out, and he has devised a safety catch which prevents any such loss. His device is silo-wit in detail in one of the sketches on this page, which iliusirates a sectional view through the ahackle and pin. The safety catch is merely a spring-pressed pin, the point of which engages a suitable groove cut in the shackle bolt. It is sufficient to prevent the bolt from dropping out on the road, but does not interfere with its withdrawal when required,
A On. hole must first. be drilled into one side of the jaw of the shackle, as shown: This is followed by a tap
ping hole (13-32 in, diameter), 1 in. deep. This larger hole must be tapped out accordingly, to receive the screwed plug which is shown as holding the safety-pin in place. The pin itself is a piece of 4-in. bolt, the head of which is trimmed so that it will easily enter the tapped hole, whilst its end is neatly rounded. A suitable spring must be found and inserted in the space under the plug, to press upon the head of the pin. The next thing to do is to cut a groove in the shackle bolt. Mark the position of this groove through the hole in the shackle, and form the groove either with the aid of a round file, or, if a lathe be handy, by cutting it with a. diamond-pointed tool. The safety-pin itself should be hardened.
'A_ GOOD tip for drivers of Foden steam wagons is embodied in a letter from " _of Todmorclen. The rubber pipe which connects the tank to the water lifter sometimes rota inside without the driver being aware of the occurrence. Ultimately the dilapida tion of the interior of the pipe becomes so bad that, when steam is turned on, to. lift water from the tank, it merely has the effect of tuniine back the inside lining of the pipe, which will then pass neither water nor steam. In these circumstances the driver is apt to be at a loss, for it is rare, indeed, for him to he provided with a spare pipe. To get over the difficulty it is a good plan to take a piece of iron piping, of such • a size that it will pass inside the pipe, and short enough to leave sufficient of the hose extending at each side to couple up to the tank and lifter connections, with a little latitude to allow for vibration. This iron pipe • will support the lining of the hose.
SEVERAL general hints on the run ning of steam wagons are included in a letter from " S.W.," of Shrewsbury. s Priming, he points out, is caused by the steampressure being. low, the boiler having too much water inside it or being dirty inside. When priming occurs, bring the steam pressure up so soon as possible, and if there be too much water in the boiler., let some of it out by blowing-off. Open the cylinder draincocks for a -while to get rid of any water which has passed over, When a feed pump refuses toact, it will often be found that the trouble is due to the presence of either air or steam in the barrel of the pump or between the valves. In such a case open the petcocks with the pump running, end so get rid of both air and steam. Tight glands Will prevent the ingress-of air. Never; he advises, fill 4 hot boiler with cold water. Do not screw glands up too tightly. Give an occasional glance at those parts of the wagon which are generally out of sight. Keep the ashpan clean, and, when finishing the day's run, make a regular practice of draining all pipes. When about to engage the crankshaft gears, start engine slowly, and then shut off steam; move the required pinion into gear just before the engine stops. In no circumstances should an attempt be made to. change gear on an incline unless the rear wheels are scotched,
IT IS difficult, in the case of a worn
part on an old wagon, to decide whether , to try to fit a new part or to repair the old one. On a machine which has seen some service it is very unlikely that a new part will fit, because of the inevitable wear which has taken place in the adjacent parts. We do not know whether this was in the mind of "E.L.J." or not when he de cided, in dealing with the worn plunger of the feed pump of an old steam wagon, to repair it rather than buy a-new one. The plunger had worn to the .shape illustrated by one of the two figures in the accompanying sketch. He commenced the repair by turning it down, for the major part of its length, to a full inch in diameter, a collar being left, as shown, near the top end. A piece of weldless steel tubing was then shrunk on to this tamed-dawn plunger, and the outside re-turned to the desired size.
OUR correspondent " FI.H." also tells
us that an old Pyrene outfit can be used as a syringe for cleaning out Crankcases, oil pipes and similar parts. A nipple should be sweated on to the end of the canister, and on to this a length of any kind of piping may be screwed. It is, however, advisable to affix some distinguishing mark to any Pyrene equipment diverted to such purposes, since if filled with paraffin, as it might very well be, it would not be of great service for extinguishing a fire.