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738 ILLUSTRATED WORLD
IF the nut or bolt is rusted in so tightly that no amount
of "elbow grease" will loosen it, then chloroform it.
It is really surprising what miracles this treatment will
*-Q •'"*/ perform in such cases. A few drops of chloroform
i? s, ]\ ^ V~_y placed on the nut or bolt, so that they soak into the
^i\)J~~ f~4 threads, will loosen them so that the nut may be turned
O O >J °^ ver ^ eas 'ty- Kerosene, used in the same way, will
accomplish the same result, but requires about ten times
as much time. Ether also will do the trick, as will
carbon disulphide.
CPEAKING of anaesthetics in connection with automobile
troubles, it is well to mention that a mixture of halfand-half
ether and gasoline used as a prime, will often start
an obstinate engine when all other means fail.
* * *
T\ O you pay any attention to the balancing of your car
when you are loading passengers into it? If you use a
little judgment in this respect you will find that your
steering gear works with more freedom and you will lessen
the danger of skidding on slippery pavements.
"THE other day I saw a car being driven down
the street with one of its hind wheels broken,
and the broken spokes resting on a two-wheeled
dolly. A broken rear wheel is usually a symptom
requiring a tow rope and another car to
furnish the motive power. But in this case the
driver had simply lashed the broken spokes to
the frame of the dolly in such a way that the
axle on that side of the differential could not be
turned. The result was that all the power of
the driving shaft was delivered to the other
wheel, and the damaged car made a speed of
nearly fifteen miles per hour from the scene of
its breakdown to the repair shop.
[ RECENTLY saw a chauffeur using an ingenious device for
cleaning his spark plugs without getting his fingers soiled,
and getting the job over with a great deal sooner than by the
conventional way of taking the plug to pieces and then scrubbing
it with a brush and scraping it with a knife. He had a
small cylinder with one open end, into which was fitted a bushing
with threads corresponding to those on the end of the plugs.
He filled the cylinder half full of gasoline and then threw in a
couple of dozen old phonograph needles. Then he screwed the
plugs into the cylinder one at a time and shook the whole thing
violently. After a moment or so of this action, he removed
the plugs, and they were cleaned more thoroughly than if he
had spent twenty minutes with each in the old fashioned way.