Contributions from Drivers and Mechanics.
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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 corn nercial-motor vehicles and tractors, and mechanics and foremen of garages or shops, are invited to send short contributions on any suVect which is likely to prove of interest to our readers. Workshop tips 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 isrcessary, 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 MOTOR, 7-15, Rosebery Avenue, London, E.C.
He Ought To Know.
[733] " J.S." (Bromley) writes:—' I notice that, in the issue of the ' C.M.' for tile 9th of June, in which you illustrated and reported the Parade in Lincoln's Inn Fields, you entitle the reproduction of a small photograph on page 278, Straight from Forderoft (North Devon).' 'The name of the starting place should have been Churchingford, North Devon. I am the driver of the wagon.'
Cab Co. Looking for Drivers.
One of the principal London motorcab companies notifies us that it is willing to entertain applications from suitable men who wish to qualify for employment as taxicab drivers in the Metropolis. Providing candidates are suitable in other respects, facilities will be afforded them to learn to drive, and also to acquire sufficient " knowledge of London " to enable them to pass the Scotland Yard test. it should he noted, however, that men who know absolutely nothing of the geography of London are not likely to prove suitable.
'Tips for Tractor Mishaps.
[734] " A.H.S." writes :—" The following contribution may be of some little use to other drivers of compound steam tractors, who may happen to get stuck in the middle of a long run, with a broken piston rod or connecting rod. I think many drivers would be tempted, in the event of such a mishap, to waste no time, but to go straight to a. telegraph office and to wire to be towed home. This always seems to me to be such an ignominious end to a trip, and, in my opinion, should always be avoided, if it be at all possible. Of several ways to get over this trouble, I would suggest the following. First of all, supposing it be the piston rod on the H.P. aide of the engine which breaks, the best way to get to work in such a case is to blow off all steam, to remove the steam-chest cover of the H.P. cylinder, and then to take out the H.P. valve -and the H.P. piston, taking care to replace the valve spindle, so that steam may not escape through the glands. To prevent the escape of steam through the piston gland, cut out, with a stout knife, a hard wood plug, and drive it in tightly from the inside of the cylinder cover. The H.P. connecting rod must then be uncoupled from the crank, as also the TI.P. valve eccentrics from their sleeves. The steam-chest cover and the cylinder cover have then to be replaced ; the crank should be turned round two or three times to see that everything is quite clear. Steam can then be raised again, and if, when the pressure rises sufficiently, the stop valve be then opened, the engine will run by means of the L.P. cylinder only. Steam will :pass through the stop valve and through the H.P. valve -chamber and cylinder direct on to the L.P. valve, where it will be admitted into the L.P. cylinder in the usual way, and will pass out into the exhaust. Of course, this -will be using H.P. steam in the L.P. cylinder. " Now, in the case of a breakage of the L.P. rod, obvi
ously similar parts must be removed from the L.P. side of the engine. Steam will then pass from the stop valve into the H.P. cylinder in the ordinary way, hut it will exhaust into the L.P. cylinder, and, of course, travel through there, without doing any further work, into the main exhaust pipe.
" It is under such conditions as these, always open to the driver to run home on his low gear. The parts which may have been removed must be stowed away out of harm, and care must be taken when driving the tractor under such conditions as this, as its balancewill be lost. and the whole of the motion will be subjected to unusual strains. Where the L.P_ cylinder is getting the H.P. steam direct, of course the stresses on that side of the engine are very much higher than usual, but it is not likely that any trouble will ensue if extra care be taken with the driving, as suggested. If a valve eccentric-rod or a gudgeon pin give out, as a rule it will be found that a similar method can be used, but if a valve spindle break, and it be found necessary to remove it, a blank flange must be bolted over the gland, to prevent the escape of steam."
A Broken Pump Casting.
F735] " T.D." (Keighley) writes:" A short while ago, I had the misfortune to break a wing off the body casting of a pump on my steam wagon, just at the point where one of the gland-studs fitted. This made it impossible to hold the packing gland, and I had to set to work to invent some method of repair in order to be able to get my pump to act. I had an idea in my head, but I was unable to put it into practice without the assistance of a blacksmith. I removed the remaining stud and got a special hold-fast made as shown in my sketch [We have had this red ra wn.—En.]. I had to file a clearance hole through the sound wing, in order to be able to pass one arm of the hold-fast through it. I afterwards got a ring shrunk round the whole thing. It is now such a sound job, that I have decided to adhere to the old pump, as it is as good as it was before the breakage."
Almost as good as new.
An Improved Fusible Plug.
[730] " F.W." (Bedford) writes :—" I am sending you a rough sketch of an alteration I have made to some fusible plugs, and, as it answers very well indeed, I think perhaps it might be useful to communicate the idea to my fellowreaders. It will be remembered that most of the usual kinds of plugs have taper holes through them, in which the lead is retained, but I have often found that the water manages to leak through lead which is inserted in this way. The method I have adopted is to make a cavity some little way down this centre hole, and I find that the lead packs up in this better, and such plugs never leak unless they are very nearly up to melting point. I have had one of this improved type of plug in use for nearly ten years on a steam roller. and I have never had any cause to regret the alteration."
Two of the Speeds were Useless.
7737] " R.K." (Gateshead) writes :—" I am sending you a sketch [We have had this redrawn.—En.] of a scheme I adopted to deal with a gearbox breakdown; in the hope that it may be useful to my fellow-readers. What actually happened was that the 2nd and 3rd-speed gearwheels got torn off the shaft ; the webs by which they were bolted on to the solid flanges of the shaft tore away. The
gearbox could not be opened in order to remove the fractured wheels, as this would have meant lifting the body, which weighed over a ton. As these wheels were
wobbling about loose on the shaft, I thought that, if I could temporarily hold them tight in position, I might be able to get home on the top and bottom speeds which were intact. I eventually got two split clamps made, complete with suitable bolts and nuts, at an adjoining smithy; these fitted tight on the shaft. One was put on each side of the pair of wheels, and this fixed them firmly in position. We then managed to scramble home under our own power, for a distance of 32 miles with a 3-ton load on board. The only stops we had en route were to tighten up the bolts on the clamps, as they kept slacking back, every time the bottom gear was put in. Of course, we could not drive through our broken wheels, and we had to stop when we wanted to change-speed. But we managed to get home without wiring for help."
New Oil and Old Bottles.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the 10s. prize this week.
[7381 " CT." (Fulham) writes :—" I beg to submit the following contribution in the hope that it may be fit for inclusion in the D. and M.' columns of your journal. The enclosed sketch [We have had this redrawn.—En.] illustrates a simple method of oil filtration. By the use of this device, any driver of a commercial vehicle may provide himself with an efficient oil filter with very little trouble. Two fairly-large bottles are required ; glass ones are probably the best, as it can then be seen what is going on. A piece of tube of some kind is next required ;
in. gas barrel is as good as anything, and this must be bent as shown in the sketch. This tube must then be filled with strands of wool, which mustpreviously have been well soaked in clean oil. The wool may easily be pulled round the bend with a piece of wire. The method of procedure is to place the bottle containing the dirty oil upon a block of wood, or anything else that may be handy; the
bent tube, which has '732.5
already been trimmed with the wool, is placed in the bottle containing the oil to
be filtered, care being taken that the end of the tube is just off the bottom of the bottle it is held thus by a small piece of wood wedged in the neck. Care must also be exercised so as not to make either of the bottles airtight. A clean, empty bottle must be placed under the other end of the tube. The oil will become filtered by the steady syphon action. The tighter the wool is in the tube, the slower will be the action and the cleaner will be the oil. The density of the oil to be filtered has considerable bearing on the speed of filtration. The wool trimming should occasionally be removed from the tube and should be washed in paraffin oil. In conclusion, I may say that the dirty oil from oil trays, engine bases, gearcases, etc., can easily be filtered by the above method and can be used over and over again."
[In previous issues, we have published contributions in which other simple forms of filter for garage use have been described. For those of our readers who keep a file of their copies of the " CM.." it may be of interest to turn up the issues for the 11th February, 1909, and for the 9th July. 1908. The former contained a description of the ingenious way in which an old metal oil-drum may be converted into a useful filter.—En.11
A cheap filter.