WHEEL AND AXLE TROUBLES.
Page 35
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How They were Met and Overcome by Some of Our Driver and Mechanic Readers,
APRESCOT correspondent, "ER.," was able to save the expense--a very considerable one—of a new axle on a well-known make of heavy lorry the other day by a simple expedient, which he describes and illustrates in one of the accompanying sketches. We have awarded him the 15s. prize this week. The axle, which was of the double. banjo type with tubular ends, had apparently been rescrewed at one time for the reception of the nut which secures the wheel in place, and the effect of this alteration had been to thin the material below the thread to such an extent that, eventually, it broke, and it wae when it was in the hands of " H.R." -that the fracture occurred. What he had to do was to save the axle, but at the same time, get the lorry into working order again.
He commenced by cutting the end right off at the point marked in the upper figure of the sketch, where the • brass retaining washer fits against the shoulder. The tube was then bared at one end in, larger in diameter than the existing hole for a distance of 3 ins., and a piece of nickel steel tubing was turned, as shown, with a collar and screwed end, so that it was a driving fit in this bored hole. After being driven in place, it was secured by nine screwed pins which were riveted over after being inserted.
As completed, the axle was, to all outward appearance, the same as the original. Certainly it has served its purpose for quite a long time, as the repair described was carried out some months ago and the vehicle is still running.
" S.E.F.," of Rochester, carried out a temporary repair which, according to " H.R.,' may involve him in trouble later. However that may be, the fact remains that in the circumstances he certainly did the best thing, and a description of his method may be of service to others who may find themselves in a like predicament.
The thread on the banjo-type axle of his lorry stripped. At first sight it looked as though, in order to effect a repair, the whole axle would have to come down and the central portion be screwed in a lathe. A careful examination revealed that the thread was pitched 11 to the inch, and at first " S.E.F." thought that he might be able to rescrew it by the aid of 2-in, gas dies. Unfortunately, the only dies available were
of the non-adjustable type and would not start on the end of the axle. His next thought was that he would make a die nut for the job, but, unfortunately, he had no suitable material for the task. Finally; as a result of looking around the shop for some substitute he discovered a 2A-in. mild •steel nut, 2 ins. deep, and this he made use of thus:— He first parted it in the lathe so as to make two single nuts, each 1 in. deep. One of them he bored and screwed to the right thread to suit the stripped axle end, putting -Le-in. taper in it from one end to the other, and making the large end so that it would just take hold on what remained of the threads on the end of the axle tube. He then cut grooves in the nut, as shown in the accompanying sketch, taking care that the cutting edges were left sharp. He then case-hardened this nut and used it to cut a thread, the first operation being to chase the nut carefully, the large end first, until it reached the shoulder of the axle. The nut was then turned round and the thread completed by chasing it with the same die, inverted, so that the small end
came first. An excellent thread was made by this method, and all that remained to do was to make a nut to fit it, and for this purpose the other half of the original 2A-in. nut was used.
" T.L.T.," of London, was in trouble when trying to remove a wheel on a lorry. After removing the hub cap and the locking screws, he found that it was quite impossible to move the main 5-in. nut by any means which he had at his disposal. The thread outside the nut was evidently a little burred, so that the ordinary spanner was of no use. Eventually he improvised a hefty spanner in the manner indicated in the sketch.
Using a piece of round bar as a lever, and taking a length of A-in. rope which, with a slip-knot on one end, he first hitched on to the bar at one side of the nut, then wound it under the nut and over the bar at the other aide, back again under the nut and over the bar at the other dr the first side, and so on until the length of rope was used up. This made a most effective spanner, and it was no trouble to remove the nut.
" J.G.P.," of Wisbech, referring to occasional tips which have appeared from time to time on these pages, refers to the methods of removing road wheels for purposes of tyre renewal, relining of brake shoes and similar operatibns, and suggests that—at least., in the case of the latter—it is not necessary to remove the wheel entirely, anti that it can be slid off the axle just sufficiently to clear the shoes and allow room for locking.
Although this is a simple idea and one which seemed to be almost obvious, yet he has discovered, in conversation with other drivers, that very few of them have thought of it and, as he says himself, the job of removing a wheel is so troublesome that many a time postponement of the necessary operations of cleaning and relining brake shoes occurs, whereas with the knowledge that the wheel need only be slid back and then slid on again, the driver-mechanic will be more willing to carry out these necessary adjustments.