NOVELTIES AT THE BRITISH INDUSTRIES FAIR.
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A New Electric Tipping Wagon, Some Interesting Tools and Replacement Parts Were Among the Exhibits of Britain's Products.
TN our last issue we referred briefly
to the British Industries Pair, following upon a first tour of the Birmingham section, and mentioned one or two interesting devices which had caught our attention. The Fair, as will be remembered, was an exhibition of engineering appliances and hardware, and contained very few exhibits that would appeal to the manufacturers of commercial motor vehicles or the users of such vehicles, but such items as were 'there were of considerable interest. We
will now describe some which we were not able to deal with fully in our first nolice.
A universal cylinder-reboringtool was shown by Alfred Herbert, Ltd. This can be seen in the accompanying illustration, and it consists of a cast body which ig located above the cylinder which it is desired to rebore, a locating plug being used for the purpose and being then removed and replaced by a head which carries the cutters. A screw of large diameter and with a thread of fine cut acts as a driving shaft and also provides the feed. This shaft can be revolved by hand or can be rotated by any ordinary drilling machine. The cutter head, which is shown lying on the cylinder casting, carries two cutters, and en the left of the head can be seen a device which permits the cutters in the cutter head to be set equidistant from the axis. It is usual with such an appliance to make two cuts in the cylinder which is badly worn, and these two are said to be quite enough. The apparatus will deal with a substantial range of bores, as, with a full set of cutters, cylinders of from 35 ram. to 120 mm, in the bore can be operated upon.
A very ingenious little machine was shown by L. W. Young and Co., Ltd., of Wellington Buildings, Strand, Liverpool. This is a hand-operated drilling machine, the feed being entirely automatic and being provided by the centrifugal force derived from the balls which are set governor fashion above the spindle. As the spindle is rotated the balls fly out and, by toggle action, force the drill down on to the work, the operator's left hand, therefore, being left free to hold the work, which, of course, is a very great advantage over machines which entail the use of the left head to maintain the 'feed.
The tool is very interesting to work, because the instant the handle is turned the drill descends, and the faster it is revolved the greater -is the pressure exerted to feed the drill through the work. If the handle is held still the drill instantly automatically rises. Where small holes have to be bored, this tool should be invaluable and it should appeal to fleet managers, vehicle repairers and garage proprietors.
We were very interested in our extunination of the motor valves which are made from special steels marketed by J. R. Andrew and Co., Ltd., of the Toledo Steel Works, Sheffield, An engine was shown with part of the cylinder cut away, the working parts were in motion and the valves could be seen at work, a blowpipe raising the temperature of the valves well above the normal working conditions Of the engine. A booklet is published by the company giving some very interesting information with regard to special steels produced for valves of internal-combustion engines, showing their oxide-resisting properties and their high tensile strength.
Centrifugal castings have made considerable headway of recent years, for it is found that castings SO made are closer in grain and have a higher tensile strength than is offered by castings which are not made under pressure.
For use in internal-combustion engines of tile size suitable for motor vehicles, some interesting castings of types suitable to act as liners for cylinders and as sleeve valves were displayed by the Sheepbriclge Stokes Centrifugal Castings Co., Ltd., Sheepbridge Works, Chesterfield. These castings can be made go thin, whilst being of ample strength, that liners for cylinders can be machined to thicknesses of only 1-16in. A cylinder block that has become worn and has been rebored to the point where further reboring is no longer safe may be given a new lease of life by the insertion of
a liner of this sort. We hope, later on, to be able to give fuller details of these liners, after we have made a series of tests which we have in view.
Practically the only road vehicle in the Fair was the 30-cwt. refuse wagon which was shown by Electricars, Ltd., Landor Street, Birmingham, and which is illustrated on page 83. This vehicle has been built for the cleansing department of the-Blackpool Corporation. It has an overall length of 13 ft. 5 ins., an overall width of 5 ft. 2 ins., the wheelbase being 7 ft.; the track (at the front and rear) is 4 ft. 2 ins., and the length of the frame behind the cab is sufficient to accommodate a tipping body 7 ft. 10 ins, long by 4 ft. 8 ins. wide (at the rearit is 4 ft. 10 ins, wide so as to assist the discharge of the con
tents of the wagon). The body can be tipped to an angle of 45 degrees, the tipping being operated by a small electric motor driving a bevel pinion which engages a large crown wheel on the screwed shaft, which, in its turn, engages with a nut on the body. To lower the body the motor .is reversed, and there is an automatic cut-out to prevent overwinding in either direction.
The capacity of the body mentioned is 4.3 cubic yds. Sliding covers are fitted to the body in order to prevent refuse being blown about by the wind. The height of the loading line is only 4 ft. 9 ins., and it is found that this 'Is about the correct height to receive the bin from the loaders' shoulders when lifting or tipping. A claim which is put forward in connection with this vehicle is that, being electrically driven, the tax is only /13 per year.
One of these vehicles has been in the service of the cleansing department of the City of Sheffield collecting refuse on circuits previously covered by a horsedrawn van. Mr. Priestley, the cleansing superintendent, says that in one day a vehicle manned by two men collected 6 tons 11 cwt. of refuse against 51 tons that could be collected by a horse van. For removing 35 tons of refuse per week (four journeys per day and two on Saturday), the cost per ton, including capital charges, repairs, maintenance, garage, licence, insurance, loaders' wages, tyre and current consumed, worketi out at 5s. 4.8d. per ton. We believe the distance from the collecting area to the destructor was one mile.