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 anything 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 subject which is likely to prove of interest to our readers. Long and successful runs; services with no "lost journeys" ; workshop tips and smart repairs : a II 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 When writing you must mention your employer's name as a guarantee of bona flies (not for publication), and you should state whether you wish your own name, or iiatials only, to be published. Payment will be made immediately after publication. Address your letters to 7 he Editor," THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR," 7 15, Rosebery Avenue, London, E.C.
A Winding Gear always at Hand.
TI,c sender of the following communicatiom has toren awarded the 10s. prize this week.
L.331] W.H." (Huddersfield) sends for publication a very good hint which should be of interest to many other drivers and mechanics : " One day I had to go on to a tip with a wagon-load of contractor's rubbish. There was an incline of 15 yds. in length on the way to the tipping place. After we had unloaded we found great difficulty in getting away, as the ground was so soft and the spikes were not a. hit of good. I next tried wrapping a length of 11. in. chain round the tire of a wheel, and locking the differential. This, however, was of no use, and the machine sank further in still. Our next attempt was by hauling our machine with another one but we could not get. a move on.' I then left the job until the next morning as it was getting very dark, and during the evening 1 thought of a scheme which I have employed many a time since. I fastened one end of a chain to the rim of a hind wheel, and I then laid the chain straight ahead along the ground in line with the wheel and fastened the other end to a pinehbar which I drove firmly into the ground. When I started the engine the wheel wrapped the chain round itself, and the vehicle came out with a rush.' "
Rattling Joints.
[552j E.S." sends the following communication to us : " I think that a great deal of the outcry, which has been made by the public in the past, against motor vehicles generally, has been principally due to the excessive noise and vibration made by some machines which have been employed. One of the most fruitful causes of this exeessive noise is traceable to the wear that takes place in the holes of forked rods, levers and other such jointed parts. These holes, which, with their pins, in many cases, have been too small from the first, soon become worn to an oval shape. This allows the pins to rattle about terribly, and in the aggregate the row is almost unbearable from the whole chassis. Oftentimes a condition such as this is allowed to continue, as it would be too expensive a job to have all the holes bored out larger and new pins fitted. On the lorry which I drive, I have successfully adopted a means which, although it does not seem to he a very finished method, has avoided a great deal of noise and rattle from the cause I have mentioned. I procure an empty condensed-milk tin and cut it up into strips with a pair of shears. The strips vary in size according to the diameters of the pins. I then insert a strip of tin in that part of the hole which has become worn, or, if the wear be considerable. I insert several strips. When the pin is again inserted, all slackness will have been taken up. This is admittedly only a temporary wheeze,' but pins and boles treated in this way will keep fairly tight for several months at a minimum of cost. Designers, it seems to me, often court trouble from the fact that they do not make such joints of sufficient diameter, and, in many cases, no means are provided for their occasional lubrication. Case hardening of such details more than pays for itself in a very short time. I often wonder why the designer in the first place does not arrange that all holes which are destined to take movable pins shall be fitted with hardened bushes, so that when wear takes place such bushes may be knocked out and fresh ones refitted without any trouble. Such a method, of course, entails extra expense when the vehicle is being built, but during the periodical overhaul it will result in considerable economy."
Eight Years Without Going into the Shops.
5531 HV.NRY BARTLETT (Banbury) writes the following satisfactory account of his eight years' experience of a Mann wagon: " I have written a short account of my experience of a 5-ton Mann wagon which can perhaps be turned to account. I have run two oi' them during the last eight years without having to go into the workshops for repairs. I have done during that period, on an average, from 6,000 to 7,000 miles each year, exclusive of short town trips, station work and so on. My journeys frequently have been 48 miles long per day over some of the worst roads and hills in the Midlands. it has, on several occasions, fallen to my lot to drive other makers' wagons, and I feel bound to nay that in my opinion I have not yet found a better wagon than the Mann. Inclusive of unloading and of stoppages 1 have done 48 miles in 101 hrs.; I consider this a very good performance. One great mechanical advantage of the Mann design is the running of the change-speed gears in an oilbath; this about doubles the life of the pinions. It will perhaps be of interest to some to hear that during eight years' running I have not had to uncover the engine once while out on the road. Many drivers will envy me when 1 state that have not had a night out on the wagon. I am looking forward to seeing one of the latest type of Mann vehicles."