For DRIVERS, MECHANICS & FOREMEN.
Page 29
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A PRIZE OF •TEN SHILLINGS is awarded each week to the sender of the best letter which we publish on this page ; all others are paid for at the rate of a penny a hue, with an allowance for photographs. All notes are edited before being . published. Mention your employer's name, in confidence, 43 evidence of good faith. 'Address, D., M. and F.„ "The Commercial Motor," 7-1, Iloseberv Avenue, London, E.C. I.
Lamps Alight.
On Saturday, October 4th, light your lamps at 6.32 in London, 6.40 in Edinburgh, 6.37 in Newcastle, 6.42 in Liverpool, 6.36 in Birmingham, 6.42 in Bristol, and 6.55 in Dublin.
Sundry Hints and Tips.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the .10s, prize thia week.
[2018] " A.W." (Dewsbury) writes :—" The following hints and tips, which have occurred to me in the course of many years' experience as a motor driver, may be of interest to readers of your D. M. and F. page. I have made rough sketches {which we have had redrawn.--En.] to illustrate My meaning so far as possible.
Fig. 1 relates to a temporary repair which I effected to a vertical steam• engine. One of the two
_ gland studs broke off short just clear of the stuffingbox flange. It was not convenient at that time either to remove the broken stud or to attempt to fit a. new one. What I did was to secure a I in. bolt, saw off the head and squares,: up that end. I took a nut and screwed it right down the thread of the bolt, screwing it very tightly, so that it would not move. I then slipped a second running nut over the bolt. I pushed this bolt through the hole near the flange of the gland from the outside, lifted it up until I could get the blunt end of the bolt to rest on a facing of the engine case. Putting a spanner on the lower nut, which was screwed and jammed tightly on the bolt, I held the bolt from turning while I screwed the other nut up against the gland and thus, supported the latter. This improvised gland stud has now been in use for a long time. "I have seen several times in the 'P.M. and P.' page suggestions for facilitating the removal of heavy vehicle wheels from their axles when it may be desired to refit tyres, or for some other'purpose. My method has always been to use a substantial lever made in the form of a two-pronged fork, and with a long T-handle (see Fig.2). If it .be made strong enough it can be uSed by pushing the fork under along the ground SO that it passes under the wheel, one prong each side of the point of.contact of the wheel with the ground. It is then easy to get sufficient leverage to relieve the axle of the weight of the wheel while the latter is being removed.
"We had' a little difficulty once with a wheel hush. This was meant to be tight in -the wheel, and to run freely on the axle, but whether it had not been made a good fit to start with or what was the cause. of the trouble I cannot say, but I discovered this bush to be loose. Now floating bushes are all very well in their way provided they are designed to float, and—this i is m.portant—that the lubrication is suitable for floating bushes. 'With a bush which is intended to be fixed, of course, so soon as the bush becomes loose in its wheel, the lubrication passage is closed, and trouble ensues. It was, therefore, imperative that this bush should be secured in the wheel. It was certainly not worn sufficiently to justify its being renewed, go what I did was to take the bush out altogether, and, using, a centre punch,. mark it all over the outside with little burrs in such a manner as to make it rough. This made it very tight in the wheel, probably much tighter than it Was when new, and I secured it effectively by fitting a couple of pegs, one on each side, as shown in Fig. 3.
"Most steam engines are fitted with the mechanical type of ratchet-operated lubricator. N6w it always seems to me that the wagon gets too much oil -when going downhill and not sufficient when climbing. In case anyone argues that surely the Pump delivers more oil when going up hill because the engine is running faster on, low gear I may .say that I mean the bulk of hills met with in this country, where it is not frequently necessary to drop down to low gear. The only means of adjustment on most of these pumps is in the driving lever of the ratchet, which has a number of separate holes drilled into it to`take the pin. Obviously, one cannot; waste. time stopping the wagon at the bottom and top of each hill all a journey in order to put the driving pin of the pump into a different hole in its lever, so what I did in one ease was to join all the holes together, forming a slot, and I fitted the driving pin with a butterfly nut. I could' then quickly alter the stroke of the pump as many times as I liked in a day, and without inconvenience. I should add that the pump on the particular make of wagon have in view is quite close to the driver's seat and easily . accessible."
Removing Old Paint.
[2019] " W.Y." (London) writes : —" It is sometimes a very difficult job to remove old paint from the wheels and. other parts of motor vehicles. It will he found that by saturating the paint with crude oil and turpentine or with paraffin and leaving it on for several hours the paint will be softened and can be scraped off by means of a putty knife or other type of scraper. It is not necessary to remove entirely the paint so long as the surface is quite clean and smooth. If this is done the old paint should be wirebrushed over and washed with ammonia or soap."