The Obstreperous Screw

Occasionally one comes to a screw that persists in getting loose, and no amount of tightening will make it hold, while its shape and location are such that it can neither be cotter pinned nor lock nutted. Usually it is the flat head type, and if there is not room to drop a plate with a turned down edge into the notch to serve as a lock the thing looks hard to solve. The problem becomes still harder if the parts are hardened and will not take a small pin at one end of the notch or will not permit prick punching around the thin edges of the head.

Wrapping a little waste (cotton fiber) around the threads will sometimes save the day but more often this simply introduces cotton under the head and does not permit setting the screw down far enough to properly hold. Some folks bruise the threads a little to make them bind, but in a hardened hole this does little good and soon puts the screw out of commission if repeated.

A simple and generally very effective remedy is to heat the screw to 300° or 400° F., and having dropped a small piece of chewing gum (digestion aider), well chewed, into the hole, screw it home. The hot screw melts the gum and causes it to fill every crevice. It thoroughly coats the threads, and the heat of the screw will make it stick to the walls of the hole as well. When cold the gum prevents turning. If convenient to warm the hole as well as the screw it will serve to smear the gum on the screw instead of dropping it in the hole.

Much less heat is required to permit removing the screw when this becomes necessary than if soft solder is used, as is sometimes tried. This makeshift has served when all other means short of soft solder had been tried and failed.

—Charles Duryea, Philadelphia, Pa.

COMMUNICATIONS. "May their Tribe Increase."

West Chester, Pa., Feb. 11.

Editor Horseless Age:

I wish to commend the honorable position you have taken

in icgard to the numerous frauds that are being placed before

the public, which, if successful, would greatly cripple the

automobile industry. Your aggressive editorial policy will in

a great measure offset this danger, the last number of your

excellent journal being particularly deserving of the careful

perusal of every prospective purchaser of an automobile.

Wishing you continued success, I am, yours truly,

J. MAX MEYERS.

COMMUNICATIONS. "The Insolence of Office."

Philadelphia, Nov. 20.

Editor Horseless Age:

In the test of the regulation of the Fairmount Park Commission

much more is involved than the mere question of

whether or not the park or certain roads of the park shall be

closed to automobiles. The case before us is not one created

intentionally. It was quite accidental and the result of

inadvertence and insufficient knowledge of a rather vague regulation

on one part and on the other part undue, heedless,

indiscreet severity.

The real issue is to restrain the "insolence of office."

Our guards are vested with power necessarily, and by reason

of the very rare appeal from their actions, little by little

they lose the sense of fitness in the enforcement of rules.

More than this, there is involved a resistance to high-handed,

unauthorized, unlawful police violence against the public.

And still deeper there is a laying bare of the ill-considered,

crude legislation from which we suffer so much. The laws

drafted ordinarily, when thev are under fire, are shown up to be

vague, ambiguous and really unenforceable.

Respectfullv yours.

JULES JUNKER.

Vanerbilt Race Ban

Auto Club Announces Disqualification of All Who Take Part.

The Automobile Club of America, through its contest committee, officially placed the ban of
the automobile clubs of Europe upon the Vanderbilt cup race, to be held by the American
Automobile Association in Long Island on October 24. last night. A resolution was adopted
declaring; that any manufacturer, owner, driver, mechanician or agent taking part in
Una or any other American international race not sanctioned by the club would be debarred
from all races to be held in the future, here or abroad under the sanction of any member of
the International Association of Recognized Automobile Clubs, of which the Automobile Club
of America Is the only American member. The action marks the final break between the
two great automobile bodies, and war to the knife will follow.

Among those present at the committee's meeting last night was H. C. Pierson, of the
Massachusetts Automobile Club. which was taken to indicate a coming breach
between that body and the American Automobile Association.

Have You a Spider On Your Car?

This wonderful little device will actually save from 20 per cent, to 50 per cent, of your gasoline expense. It
costs only $6.00 and is sold under an absolute guarantee to do what is claimed for it—your money back otherwise.

The Spider is easily inserted in any machine at your garage or just as readily with your own hands. It
mixes the air and gas thoroughly, as no carburetor does, yielding the minimum of resistance with the maximum of cutting power.

Twice as much Mileage out of a Gallon

That's one man's experience with The Spider. It not only saves gas—it prevents choking, eliminates friction,
increases power and adds immeasurably to the comfort of motoring. It pays for itself over and over again.

Ask the nearest dealer in auto supplies to show you The Spider. If he hasn't it, send direct to us.

Let us mail you the story of "One Man Who Cut His Gas Bills in Half."

RAIMES & CO., Distributors of Globe Metal Polish and Other Auto Supplies

52 Ferry Street, New York, N. Y.

They Couldn't Stop

Almost daily the papers in some part of the country contain accounts of serious automobile collisions or other accidents, which are due to brakes slipping on account of inefficient or defective brake linings.

Suppose your brake linings are made of such material that you can't stop your car in a shorter distance than 25 feet—and you've got to stop short. Then what?

Equip your brakes with J-M Non-Burn Brake Lining and they will obey your slightest pressure. With J-M Non-Burn lined brakes you can stop your car almost instantly if necessary, yet less pressure on the brakes will stop it as slowly and gently as you desire.

J-M Non-Burn Lining is made from the long, tough fibres of the well-known Asbestos Rock, interwoven with fine brass wires.

Being made from non-organic material it cannot be affected at all by the disintegrating action of gasoline, kerosene, lubricating oils or water. And asbestos being fireproof, Non-Burn will never char or burn when subjected to the most intense frictional heat.

Equip your brakes with J-M Non-Burn and be safe.

Write nearest branch today for a free copy of the new book, "Practical Pointers on the Care of Automobile Brakes," and a sample of J-M Non-Burn Lining.

H. W. JOHNS-MANVILLE CO.

Manufacturers of Asbestos
and Magnesia Products.


Asbestos Roofings. Packings.
Electrical Supplies, Etc.


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COMMUNICATIONS. "How Many Wheels?"

Albany, N. Y., Oct. 25.

Editor Horseless Age:

I have read with interest the several articles published in

your valuable journal in regard to three-wheeled vehicles. In

last week's issue I noted the comments of Messrs. Duryea and

Bramwell. The only advantage of the three-wheeled vehicles

is that one wheel is easier to steer than two wheels. The

single drive wheel, I think, is more of a disadvantage than an

advantage. For instance, if the rear drive wheel were in a

ditch and could not work its way out, the operator would be

stalled, but with two drive wheels one would not be in the

ditch, and would thus help to propel the vehicle.

As Mr. Bramwell says, a four-wheeler properly built has

its frame swiveled in the center of the front axle, and he

does not see any difference whether a wheel or a swivel is

employed at that point so far as stability is concerned.

Now this may all be true in going straight ahead, but if we

turn a sharp curve at a high speed the three-wheeler is

certainly more liable to upset than the four-wheeler, as the

extra wheel on the outside of the arc (which is formed when

the vehicle turns a curve) decreases the danger of upsetting,

and this is truer of a vehicle of a long wheel-base.

I believe a single steering wheel is superior for turning out

of ruts and car tracks, but on a country road the front wheel

does not track, but must run over all obstructions such as

snow, mud and stones that chance to be in the center of the

road. But with a four-wheeler when going straight ahead the

rear wheels follow the track of the steerers.

In my estimation a motor carriage should have four

wheels, the front wheels serving as steerers and all four wheels

as drivers. By this arrangement, if one pair of wheels are

ditched the other may not be. As. Mr. Bramwell says, custom

proves nothing to the designer of vehicles, but common sense

does.

Yours truly,

F. J. MILLER.

VOLUME X

of the HORSELESS AGE, bound with

or without advertisements, $3.

The Horseless Age,

Times Building, New York