Contributions from Drivers and Mechanics.
Page 21
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TEN SHILLINGS WEEKLY for the Best Communication Received, and One Penny a Line of ten words for any thing else published.
Drivers of commercial-motor vehicles and tractors, and mechanics and foremen of garages or shops, are invited to send short contributions on any sui)ject which is likely to Prove of interest to our readers. Workshop tibs and smart repairs ; long and successful runs; interesting photographs 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" and prepare sketches, where necessary, before publication. The absence of a sketch does not disqualify for a. prize. When writing use one side of the paper only and mention your employer's name as a guarantee of bona fides. Neither your own nor your employer's name will be disclosed. Payment will be made immediately after publication. Address your letters to The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL Maros, 7-15, Rosebery Avenue, London, E.C.
We take this opportunity to remind the driver readers of these pages that the fourth annual parade of vehicles and tractors, organized by the Commercial Motor Users' Association, will take place on the 21st May. As preparations are already in hand to ensure increased success this year for this annual meet, drivers who intend to compete for the various prizes will do well to read carefully the details of this year's scheme, which are given, officially, on page 83 of this issue.
Repairing a Distributor with Sealing Wax.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the 10s. prize this week.
[685] " TAX-I " writes:—" I was out, one night lately, cabbing ' in the country, when the glass of the hightension distributor broke. It was, in fact, blown out and smashed. Having no spare glass, a makeshift was necessary, one magneto only being fitted ; this was of the Bosch D2R pattern, and it ran at engine speed.
"I happened to be near a local Whiteley', so I went in and purchased two penny sticks of sealing wax and made an impromptu repair. First of all, I will refer you to the enclosed sectional sketch and describe the distributor. [We have had the sketch redrawn.—En.] "The glass was broken in the following way. Some of the unignited charges had worked past the piston rings, had entered the base, and had there become slightly cont. pressed. The distributor being open to the base, as shown, by way of the half-time case, a slight sparking at the distributor had fired this mixture, and the result of the ensuing explosion was a broken glass (C). I found the carbon-holder and the terminal still attached to the lead from the magneto. With my two sticks of sealing wax,
I formed a cross, as near the overall size of the distributor case as possible. T warmed up -the centre of this cross and pressed it out flat to about 11in. diameter. Next
pushed a lead pencil through the centre, in order to make a round hole, and I worked it about until the terminal would enter. I then screwed up the locking ring, placed the cross in position, and melted some snore wax. round the ends to keep it in position.
" Owing to the distributor's being in front of the halftime case, and as it was a cold night, the wax did not melt. I reached home, about 17 miles, with each cylinder firing perfectly. The whole job took about seven or eight minutes."
Key-seating on a Vertical Drill.
[686] A.A.W." (Waltham Abbey).—" A little while back, I saw in your paper several accounts of how to machine a keyway in a shaft, when a key-seater was not available. I remember one correspondent—[Letter No. 640.-ED .3—fixed the shaft between the centres of a lathe, and pulled the tool and carrier along by hand. Another znan—[Letter No. 651.—En.]—used a key-seating tool in the chuck of his lathe, and moved the shaft across the bed of the lathe, as it was mounted in the lathe carrier. A. simpler method than either of these, is, in my opinion, to do the job on a vertical drill. I simply clamp the ordinary vice, with one slide, an to the drilling-machine table and then carefully line up the length of shaft in this vice. With a suitable end-milling tool in the holder, a perfectly-satisfactory job can be made."
Wire Connections for Brake Gear.
[687] " W.C.B." (St. Austell) writes:—" There are still a number of commercial vehicles running about, whose brakes are operated through wire cables. Of course. the idea of such a method is to secure a simple means of balancing the brakes on each side of the chassis. As a rule, the cable which is used is made of a number of strands twisted together, and this is led through a hollow shaft or tube on which the brake levers are mounted. It Ls supposed to be possible for the wires to slide over guides and through the tube, as the brakes attempt to compensate each other. As a matter of fact, after a bit of wear, this sliding very seldom takes place. The cable quite quickly wears out where it rubs against the guides, and, if great care is not taken, serious trouble may arise owing to a cable's breaking. Tf it is not possible entirely to do away with such wire cables, I have found it is best to make the following modifications to the system. In order to stop the excessive wear, I fit small rollers at each corner of a lever over which the cable has to pass. Any particular part against which the cable is likely to rub, I polish up and keep well lubricated. The hollow shaft is also partly filled with grease. If these few alterations and precautions are adopted, there is really very little the matter with such a system. Wire cables have largely got their had name owing to the fact that they are never troubled about and are not treated as a part which requires attention."