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Testing Oil.

standard oil, so as to be accustomed to its use, before trying oil for comparison.

A heavy oil should not be fed as many drops per minute as a light oil, as there is more oil in a drop of the heavy than in the light.

After becoming accustomed to the machine so as to feed the proper amount, the thermometer will indicate which has the best lubricating properties.

A straight, clean mineral oil can be filtered continuously, and care should be used to save all oil by proper

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guards and pans, and but a small amount of new oil need be used. With a good filter, filtered oil will cool a hot journal more quickly than new oil.

For shafting, ring oiling bearings should be used, and the rings should be solid and not less than 1⁄2 inch in width. Rings made from half-round material, bent into a circle and the ends not closed together securely are liable to get out of shape, the ends catch and the feed be stopped.

Oiling Bearings.

It is not a bad idea to have pockets on the outside of the ring, but these pockets should be smooth on the outside and should not project beyond a true circle, as otherwise they might catch and stop the ring.

The thrust rings should aways be in the center of the bearing and the groove should be lined with babbitt. At each end of bearing should be a small collar turned to a sharp edge. This will throw off all oil and prevent it running along the shaft. The babbitt wipers usually used for this purpose do not do the work satisfactorily, and there is a waste of oil as well as an untidy looking shaft and floor.

The oil cellars should be of ample size. For a 5-inch shaft, they should be not less than 2 quarts capacity, and would be still better if they held a gallon.

A few engine builders are getting to building ring or chain oiling bearings for the engine shaft. This, when universal, will be a great improvement.

For oiling crosshead pins the telescope oiling device is a neat thing, as it places the oil cup where it can be filled and adjusted at any time, and there is not the spattering of oil as with the wiper. It also works nicely on the eccentrics.

Cleaning.

Should any part of the machinery get covered with gum, use a strong solution of potash. This can be applied with a piece of waste wrapped around a stick. If the metal is cold it will not be discolored, but if hot, the metal will be blue. A strong ammonia will do the same thing. The work needs polishing afterwards in either case. For this purpose, when cold, get a pepper box and use Rosedale cement on a wet rag. The moisture soon dries out, and the dry cement can be easily wiped off, leaving the work thoroughly clean. As the metal is clean it will rust quickly should it be exposed to dampness.

When cleaning an engine, after it is wiped as clean as possible with waste, a little of this dry cement on a piece of waste will remove the last vestige of oil and leave the work clean and bright. For this latter work rotten stone is better. Use care not to get any of either on the bearings.

Some engineers like their bright work burnished. Those who have the time and inclination can do this as follows: If the finish on the engine is rough, use coarse emery cloth to bring the surface down level and finish with fine. Take a drill rod and heat it to a mild cherry

Cleaning Solutions.

red and dip it in water. Do not draw the temper.

Polish the rod with the fine emery and then draw the rod at right angle over the work, using considerable pressure. When the engine is wiped, use a fine powder like rotten stone. Be careful about the bearings.

For cleaning the brasses around the pins, rub with waste until bright. This requires some time at first. After they are once bright it is easy to keep them so.

Oil is good to clean off fresh tarnish, and if the oil is wiped off every day and then a piece of clean waste used to wipe dry and clean, the brass can be made to shine all the time, without the use of any powder or cleaner, and no harm done to the pins. Brass oil cups can be treated in the same manner.

In the days when the dome, sand box and wagon top of a locomotive was covered with brass, as a general thing the firemen had nothing but Rosedale cement to clean with. This was put on with oil to scour the tarnish off and then the polishing was done with dry

cement.

The firemen learned that a solution of oxalic acid would remove the tarnish and then the scouring was easy. Some firemen used to get spermaceatic candles, rub the brass over and let it stand a few hours, or over night, when it could be wiped off and the brass was clean. Since that time a number of polishing pastes have come into use. They require but little labor, leave the brass a nice color, and are also good to clean the hot ironwork. Tripoli is one of the best.

Paint work should be wiped clean every day, paying particular attention to the corners. An engineer's thoroughness can be told by looking at the corners. On work that has not been cleaned for a few days, and also on

Leaving a Film of Oil..

work where the varnish is getting thin, take a piece of waste, get it wet through and squeeze out most of the water and put on some engine oil, about the same quantity as there is water. Wipe the work over with this. In the case of considerable dirt, it should be rubbed until thoroughly clean. It is a good idea to wipe off afterwards with clean waste, especially if the surface was dirty. This leaves just a very thin film of oil, the paint is clean and the work looks nearly like new varnish work. This is a neat way of caring for work that is exposed to the weather.

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