possible to operate the jack without stooping or to fold the handle over entirely out of the way. As the jack is carried on a wheeled frame, the car may be moved around even if the two wheels on the axle supported by the jack are removed.

A reader of "Motor Life" sends a description of a quick action lifting jack that is very well adapted for garage use, though too bulky to be included as part of an automobile equipment. This form has been widely used in connection with racing, as an entire front end of a car may be easily raised and held by the force exerted by one man at the end of the long lever when a quick tire change is necessary and where every second counts. The usual form of lifting jack operating on either the ratchet or lifting screw principle would require considerable time to raise the wheels clear off the ground, whereas the form depicted at Fig. 19, A, will do the work in 15 seconds.

This consists of a handle or lever, 8 or 10 feet long, supported and pivoted between two uprights attached to the base. Underneath the front end of the lever is a swinging post which supports the weight of the car when in a vertical position. The size of the parts and strength of the lever will vary with the weight of the car. The base, uprights and handle may be of wood. The base should be about 20 inches long and 6 or 8 inches wide, having the uprights mortised into the sides and braced with blocks on the inside corners. The uprights may be about 4 inches wide, both these and the base being of 1-inch material. The height of these uprights and length of the post will depend upon the diameter of the wheel and the amount it is to be raised. Supposing that the distance from the ground to the underside of the hub or axle is 151 inches and that the wheel is to be raised 3 inches, then, allowing 11 inches for the thickness of the base, the length of the post will be 1714 inches minus the thickness of the lever under the wheel.

This post or support may be made either of wood or iron, and pivoted underneath the lever in any convenient manner so that it will swing freely. An iron rod with one end bent to form an eye may be obtained from any blacksmith shop for a few cents. A bearing may be formed for this rod either from wood

blocks or heavy sheet metal attached to the sides of the lever as shown. The holes in these blocks as well as the eye in the upper end of the post should be large enough to take a threequarter inch bolt. Another three-quarter inch bolt may be used to support the lever in the uprights. There will be considerable space between the sides of the post and the blocks, and this may

Fig. 19.-Quick Action Car Lifting Jacks and Truck for Use in Towing

Disabled Cars.

be filled by using a number of three-quarter inch washers on the bolt. The same method may be used to fill the space between the lever and the two upright pieces.

On the top of the lever, directly above the support where the hub or axle rests, a shallow V-shaped groove should be cut so that the axle cannot slip off the jack when raised. The underside of each end of the base should be rounded off so that the jack can be slid over the floor of the garage without the corners catching on projections. The operation of raising the wheel is quite simple, since all that is necessary is to slip the jack under the hub or axle so that the weight will come directly in the groove above the support, when the car is raised by pressing down on the outer end of the lever. Since the supporting post swings freely it will assume a vertical position when the car is raised, so that when the weight is taken off the outer end of the lever the post takes the entire strain of the load. In order to facilitate removing the jack from the car, a small wire rope should be attached near the lower end of the post and run through a ring in the outer end of the lever. Thus when the lever is pressed down the post swings free and may be pulled back from under the wheels.

The jack is shown from two different viewpoints in illustration, but it seems that the builder of this has not taken the fullest possible advantage of his opportunities. If, as he says, jacking up is slow and tedious work, the device as shown only eliminates the work of raising the car by means of the jack, and substitutes for it the task of prying up one wheel at a time, then putting blocks or some firm and stable object of the right height under the axle, next letting the jack down and moving to another wheel. With the device as constructed, it would take four different applications to lift a car entirely clear off the floor, two at the rear axle close to each wheel, and two at the front axle, near each wheel.

It is possible to reconstruct the jack as outlined so this work may be reduced to two applications, one for the rear axle and one for the front. This is done by constructing the jack about as outlined, but in duplicate, fastening the two together at the front end and also at the rear. In addition, it will be necessary to make the handle much longer and stouter, for whereas the former

jack lifted but 700 to 1,100 pounds or higher, according to the size of the car, this one will be required to lift just twice as much every time, namely 1,400 to 2,200 pounds, according to the size and weight of the car.

For this reason, also, it would be well to increase the proportions all over. Devices of this sort have been built and used in many racing contests, in which the smallest fraction of a second was valuable. The device in those cases was built of metal throughout, light weight being of no object. When the signal came for a tire stop on the next round, this was wheeled out into a convenient position, and when the car stopped it was slid under the axle, a couple of men jerked it down, raising the entire axle so wheels stood clear off the ground, and in less time than it takes to tell it, another pair of men were replacing the wheels and tires, or tires alone, as the case might be. These were so made with definite proportions that when fully pressed down the jack would stay down of itself and did not require a man to stand and hold it.

A home-made cradle for bringing in cars having an injured. axle or wheel is outlined at Fig. 19, C. It can be constructed by any mechanic of average ability from odds and ends, and as it does not take up much room it can be stored conveniently when not in use, though many uses will be found for it in the garage, even when not employed for the purpose for which it was primarily intended. This consists mostly of a built-up pair of beams forming the two long sides of a very acute triangle, the third side of which is formed by a pair of small metal wheels and an axle, such as might be found on any old farm wagon or other heavy truck. The axle is securely attached above the side beams, which are fastened together at the front. About 18 inches to 2 feet forward of this axle a pair of vertical supports are formed with a notch in the upper surface large enough to take an ordinary rear axle. In the sketch, the side bars are marked B, B, the uprights for the car axle U, the wheels, W, W, the clips holding the axle to the sidebars C, the forward ends E, and the tie bolt holding them together and making a point of attachment TB. The second sketch shows the method of use; the cradle is pushed under the

chassis, so that the uprights catch the rear axle RA, then the front end E and the through bolt TB are fastened to the front axle FA by means of the chain C. This being the case, the rear wheels of the car do not rest on the ground, but the small iron wheels, C, of the cradle do, and the car is pulled home on these and the regular front wheels.

The same outfit can be used for an underslung frame by laying a board across in place of the uprights, and resting the rear axle of the car on this. In doing this, the uprights must be removed, so the board should be made with a pair of extensions. and this bolted in place, using the same bolts as with the uprights. A device of this kind has recently been placed upon the market by a western firm, this being finished up very neatly all over, while the sketch simply gives the idea for a more or less rough home-made cradle.

Machinery Equipment for Small Shops.-The amount of machinery used in repair shop equipment will depend entirely upon the size of the shop and the character of the work it caters to. The requirements of the average small shop will be met very well by the use of a 16-inch screw-cutting lathe, a sensitive drill press, an emery grinder or twin wheel stand, and a forge outfit. If all classes of work are to be attempted, a small shaper will be found very useful, as much of the work that can be done on a milling machine can also be accomplished on the shaper, which is a less costly machine tool. In all repair shops, irrespective of size, the lathe is really the most important tool, and one good sized machine of this kind should be included in the equipment of any repair shop worthy of the name, no matter how small. Practically all classes of machine work may be done on a lathe, as very efficient attachments may be obtained on the open market that will enable a machinist to do milling, gear cutting, and grinding on this universal machine tool. Drilling may be done without changing the lathe in any way. About the largest part to be handled in any repair shop would be an engine flywheel, as far as diameter is concerned, and the longest piece would probably be a six-cylinder crankshaft or live axle. It is not necessary to install a lathe capable of swinging 24 inches in order to have a tool available