Contributions from Drivers and Mechanics.
Page 21
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Ten Shillings Weekly for the Best Communication Received, and One Penny a Line of ten words for anything else published.
Drivers of commevelal motor vehicles and tractors, and mechanics and foremen of garties or shops, are tnvit d to send short contrtbutions on
any subject wh.ch is likely to prove or interest to our reale, s. Lvnt; and successful runs; ser;.tees with n..) "lost j.turneys" ; workshop lips and smart repairs: all are suitable subjects . Senor a post card, or a letter, or a sketch to us—no mwt.ir how short, • r how written, or how worded.
We wilt "knock if into sjalpe" before publication. When writinq you must mentimi your emtloyer's name as a knorantee of bona Ales not for pubklvion), and von should state whether ,on wish your own name, or only, to be published. Payment will be made immediately after publication. Address your !tilers to I he Editor, " THE CommERCIAL 6 oroa " Roseuery Avenue, London, E.G.
Forcing Off a Trac or Flywheel.
[4861 We have received the following letter from " R.I." (Westbury, Wilts.), in which he describes the method he adopted to remove a tight flywheel from the end of the shaft to which it had become alliNed
Owing to some repairs that I wished to effect I had occasion recently to remove the flywheel of a tractor. This was of considerable weight, and, although T had no proper tools, I managed to do the job in the following manner : I succeeded in driving out the key with a small drift which I always keep by me. I soon found, however, that the wheel itself was fixed so fast to the shaft that it would require a jack to shift it. I had no jack, nor, indeed, damps or other device suitable to be employed. I tried lighting a fire under the boss, but this didn't seem to help, matters at all. My final plan was to procure four 1-inch studs with two nuts an eacy fit on each. One nut I next put up against the boss of the wheel and the other against the brass in the pedestal. I then commenced to screw the nets outwards, and in this way was enabled to start the wheel and to move it off the shaft a bit at a time. By placing packing behind the heads of the bolts I was enabled to force the flywheel right off."
Repairing a Magneto Clip.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the los. Prize this week.
[487] The following letter, accompanied by a rough sketch, has been sent to us by " F.G." (W. Kensington), and its publication should prove of interest to many drivers of petrol-driven motorwagons :—" I am a regular reader of your Drivers' and Mechanics' Contributions, and I therefore venture to send to you an account of an experience which I had recently in the hope that it might prove interesting to some of the other readers.
" I went out to a car that was hung up with, as I thought, magneto troubles. When I arrived on the scene I found that the driver had been trying to .repair the job himself and, in so doing, he had broken the magneto stirrup, as you will see by my sketch. We have redrawn this.—ED.] As I had not another stirrup with me, and, as I did not want to tow the car into garage, I had to think of the best way to make a temporary repair. The casting was broken through the centre of the thread which took the 7-16-inch set pin, so that I could not very well see a way out of the difficulty, until, on looking into my bag of tools to see if there was anything with which to fasten or bind up the sides of the stirrup, I found that I had got one of those water-pipe clips that are used to connect the return water pipe to the radiator. I got out my hack saw and soon took two slots out of the top of the stirrup ; these were about threeeighths of an inch deep. When I had put the stirrup back in its place again, I dropped the water dip over and tapped it into its place with a hammer. I next inserted a set pin and tightened up the water clip, as shown in the drawing. This math.; a good and sound job, and,. on looking at the same car about seven hours later, I found the clip as firm as I had left it."
Long Life of Chains : 14,000 Miles with One Set.
[488] " E.G." (Paddington) sends the following corn
munication for these columns read with interest, in a recent issue of TUE COMMERCIAL, MOTOR,' of a driver who had done moo° miles with one set of chains. I also saw a photograph of a bus chain which had done between 14,000 and 15,000 miles. I should like to add my record to this list. I have done 14,000 miles with one set and these are, at the. time of writing, still runfling; I hope to be able to get several thousand milesmore out of them yet. I have had no road trouble at all with them. I believe in the old saying A stitch in time saves nine.' On one of my overhauling days I found one link badly worn. I replaced it with a new one and thus saved what might have been a breakdown. T might add, as a help to other drivers, that I put the good running of these chains down to the treatment they have received. First of all I keep them properly adjusted, neither too slack, so that they won't ride the teeth of the sprockets, nor too tight, as this tends to car them, but I adjust them so as to have just a droop on the bottom of the chain. The second point to remember is not to Use too much kerosene in the cleaning of them as this will cause them to wear out quickly and will make them stretch. Road dirt should never he allowed to collect on the outside of chains. They should be kept well lubricated with a good graphite ; care should be taken to see that the rollers and the joints of the links, and not merely the outside of the chain, get the blacklead. Lastly the greatest care must be used in driving, as coughusage of the clutch and brake will do more harm in one day than will be a week's ordinary work with care."