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Contributions from Drivers and Mechanics.

5th November 1908
Page 18
Page 18, 5th November 1908 — Contributions from Drivers and Mechanics.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Ten Shillings Weekly for the Best Communication Received, and One Penny a Line of ten words for anything else published.

Drivers of commercial motors, and mechanics and foremen of garages or shops, who are engaged in any branch of the industry, are invited to contribute short, personal experiences, opinions or suggestions, on subjects wh'ch are likely to prove of interest to our readers. We shall be glad to hear of anything interesting that has come under any driver's or mechanic's notice, either in the shops or on the road. Long and successfu! rims ; services with no "lost journeys" ; workshop tips and smart repairs ; all are suitable subjects. Send a post-card, or a letter, or a sketch to us—no matter how short, or how written, or how worded. We will "knock it into shape" before publication. When writing it is as well to mention your employer's name as a guarantee of bona fides (not jar Publication), and to state whether you. wish your own name, or initials only, to be published. Payment will be made immediately alter publication. Address your letters to The Editor," THE COMMRACIAL Moron," 7-15, Rosebery Avenue, London, E.C.

An Improved Fusible Plug.

T he sender of the following communication has been awarded the Jos. prize this week.

I4551 The communication which we publish below has come to hand from " W.J.R." (Camden Town).—" I take a great deal of interest in your Drivers' and Mechanics" pages, and, as I notice valuable hints and suggestions are frequently contained therein, I venture to send one for your consideration. One of the machines employed by the firm for which I work was recently ' stuck up,' while on a journey, through the melting of a fusible plug. The driver was unable to replace it, as he did not happen to have a box spanner with him, and also because he was unable to borrow one of a suitable size; he had to go back to the shop— a matter of 20 miles—and this, of course, meant a very considerable delay. What I wish to suggest is that refills be carried. I think it would be quite an easy matter so to alter the ordinary fusible plug as to enable this modified system to be adopted. I have found that plugs, which have been in position for any length of time, invariably require a lot of shifting, and, even when movement is effected, it is

often at the expense of the thread on the plug. I enclose a sketch of the proposed modification, and I think you will agree that a few slight taps of the hammer would invariably loosen the cap, which I propose to add. This cap could be readily removed, at any time, with grips, gas tongs, or pliers. No alteration need be made to the plug, other than the screwing of the existing flange so that it will be good enough to give four threads of half-inch gas size. I am of opinion that, if this arrangement be made, the time from the dropping of the plug to the refilling of the boiler should never need to exceed half an hour. This, you will admit, is a considerable saving in time compared with the usual delay."

Driving Without a License.

1456] In the following communication " TI).'' (Keig-hley, Yorks) draws attention to the slackness, which is characteristic of many drivers of commercial motor vehicles with regard to the necessity for the possession of a license." I wish to draw the attention of your readers to the necessity for every driver of a tractor or steam wagon to have a license before he ventures to drive his machine. I happened, one day recently, to be working with another driver, who, I found, had been in charge of a steam cart for eight months. He seemed perplexed when I showed hint my license. He

told me that he did not know a license was required, an that his employers had omitted to inform him on the subject It may be news to a number of your readers, but this is no at all an uncommon case, especially in cases where men hay been driving traction engines and have subsequently had t take charge of steam wagons. Any experienced driver, wit has to teach a new man to drive a steam wagon or tractot or any other vehicle which is classified under the Motor Ca Acts, should make sure that the learner clearly understand his liability to prosecution if he does not possess a license i: due form. Serious trouble may result if this precaution 1) not taken, and a license, which is immediately granted o. application, costs only 55. a year."

Ignition Faults often due to Lack of Knowledge.

[457] " W.C,B." (Slough), in the letter which we 'Addis below, considers that many drivers do not know enoug about the electric ignition systems of cars which they may b driving.—" I should like to take this opportunity personall to congratulate you on the useful standard to which, as rule, the information, that you publish in these columro attains. Some while ago—to be correct I think it was i your issue of the 3rd of September last—you published

letter from' (Southampton), in which he declare that most of the trouble he had experienced was due t ignition faults. At the time of my reading this letter, remember that I agreed with him on most of the points it raised, but I should like to draw the attention of your corn spondent and of others to the fact that these troublesome ignition failures, frequently, are directly traceable to driver's indifferent knowledge of the ignition system of a engine. I feel that I have a right to make this statement ( opinion, as my chief duty for the company whom f serve to enquire into failures of every description on our mot( vehicles. Now, 1 will go so far as to say that, its nine cast out of ten of these failures, the trouble is invariably due the driver's ignorance of tbe principles on which the ignitic system is installed. Consider, for instance, the low-tensic magneto plug. A case of mis-firing with this detail may 1 due to one of many causes. The whole plug is very general! removed by the driver in order to locate any suspect( trouble. Soap stones are taken out, and, more often the not, they are cracked in the operation. A report is made (n that the soap stones were found cracked. New ones m then fitted, and the plug is assembled again, and it is pi back into position. The igniter is timed and found to fit correctly, but this would probably have been the case if a inspection had been made before the plug was remove, It is well to remember that other possible causes of faihn include weak tappet springs, badly-timed magneto, tl catching of the tappet pin against the shoulder of the insuli tion pin, and many other faulty adjustments. In almo all such cases, it is, probably, unnecessary to remove ti plug, and a great deal of delay would have been avoided the driver had taken the trouble carefully to test and to loc round the ignition system, before he blindly rushed at ti plugs and unshipped them. A low-tension, magneto m: chine is a very reliable piece of machinery, and, if it be s correctly, it will hardly ever cause any trouble. Drive: frequently over-lubricate these little dynamos, when, as matter of fact, they require very little lubrication indee, With regard to low-tension plugs, I have found that, as wit high-tension plugs, a really good one is far better to left quite alone, than constantly to be withdrawn at inspected upon the smallest suspicion of trouble."

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