USEFUL WORKSHOP TIPS.
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Helpful Ideas from Some Mechanic Readers of This Page.
TF THE instructions given in a letter _Lwhich has reached us from " G.B.M.," of Dublin, be followed, a complete, efficient and well-equipped portable workshop should be within the reach of all readers of this page. In this contributor's own words the accompanying sketch shows " an exceedingly handy workbench in which are inoorporated two tool-chests and a device to enable an ordinary breast-drill to be used comfortably and speedily without any of the labour which is usually incidental to its employment." As a basis for this work-bench, an old discarded hot-water cylinder of gal vanized iron is used. The particular cylinder which served " G.B.M.'s " purpose was 1 ft. 6 ins, diameter and 2 ft.
4 ins. high. As a preliminary, the domed top was cut off with a hammer and chisel. The two doors shown were cut out with a hacksaw and equipped with iron hinges and handles, which were riveted in place. Floors for these improvised tool-chests were provided in the shape of wooden boards fitted into the interior and secured by means of ordinary wood screws driven in from the outside. The base of the cylinder was filled in in the same way, and, as tha cylinder was used upside down the boards thus fitted served as a bench top. Two holes, which happened to be exactly opposite to one another in the cylinder, and which presumably formerly served as the means of ingress and egress for the water, were covered with iron plates bolted into position as shown in the sketch. These were used to carry the vertical angle-irons which serve as standards for the breastdrill fitting to which reference has already been made. The cross-beam of this structure is also a piece of 11-in. angle-iron, which caities a plate in the centre to accommodate the feed screw
of the drill. The latter is merely a piece of sin. screwed bar 4 ins. long. It is pointed at one end, and at the other end carries a. feed lever, which is simply a piece of a-in. by 4-in. flat bar 6 ins, long held between a pair of lock-nuts.
The breast-drill was modified by removing the breast-plate and replacing it by the body of a discarded sparking plug, into which had been driven a round-headed I-in. bolt the head of which had been deeply marked with a, centre-punch so as to engage the point of the feed screw. This completed the equipment, further details of which may be gathered by reference to the accompanying sketch.
WHEN SUCH parts of mot or vehicles as gearboxes, differentials, engines, etc., are to be taken apart for purposes of overhaul, it is necessary, writes "C.D.," of Highbury, that they should be thoroughly clean. This can be quite a costly job, bearing in mind the present price of paraffin and clean lug rags. With a view to reducing the cost of this operation and diminishing the time involved, the following plan should be adopted:— In the first place, dispense with both rags and cotton-waste. Neither are good to have about a garage. Rags constitute an ever-present risk of fire, while waste has a habit of clinging as small fragments to corners of parts, eventually finding its way into tl oil circulation, with more or less disastrous results.
Commence by swilling the parts in paraffin, and it does not matter if the paraffin happens to be dirty to begin with. In the event of some of the pieces being coated with mud, scrape them with a brush to loosen it. Any parts which carry a considerable amount of stiff grease should be rubbed with a brush which has been so. -..ed in raraffin until the grease is' softened. When all the parts have had the mud removed and i.e grease softened in this way, lay them together on a stone floor or in a sink where water can run away. Take a hose-pipe and pinch the end up so that a small, powerful jet of water is projected. Flay on the parts with this, and it will be found that the water, following the paraffin, will drive the oil and grease before it, and the a.ticle will, after this treatment, be much cleaner than it could have been made by the use of paraffin and rags in the orthodox fashion.
A large number of articles can be treated at once by this method, and by turning the parts over it is possible thoroughly to clean them on all sides. Such parts as pistons or other hollow articles are more effectively cleaned in this manner than in any other. Even the stones or sink on which this operation has been carried out I;ill have the grease and oil driven from it by the water jet. and will be perfectly clean after the operation.
THE CRANKSHAFT of a steam wagon had been badly bent as the result of a spanner dropping between the gearwheels while the engine was running, and it fell to " E.J.," of Sandbaoh, to put it right. Be tells us that the shaft was in. out of truth, and he straightened it in the manner which is plainly indicated by one of the accom panying sketches. A screw-jack was mounted on a thick steel slab laid on the bed of the lathe in which the crankshaft was held. The jack was applied to the shaft, with a. piece of copper plate intervening, in such a way that manipulation of the jack tended to straighten the shaft. The operation was facilitated by the use of a hammer in the manner indicated, a piece of coppei plate being again used to prevent damage to the shaft.