300 



Popnlctr Science Monthly 



Replacing Pistons By Simple Means 



The task of inserting an automobile piston 



in its cylinder is quickly accomplished with 



a rope and a hammer 



AUTOMOBILISTS who have had 

 ^ difficulty in getting their pistons 

 back into the cylinders can accomplish 

 the task with ease with a piece of twine 

 and a hammer-handle. The piston-rings 

 being assembled on the piston with the 

 break in the rings spaced equally 

 around the piston, the piston is slipped 

 into the cylinder and pressed inwardly 

 until the first ring engages with the end 

 of the cylinder, checking its further 

 progress. 



A piece of twine is then tied to some 

 convenient projection so that it may be 

 drawn close across the end of the 

 cylinder, and it is then wrapped around 

 the piston-ring one turn, and the loose 

 end drawn taut until the ring is com- 

 pressed to the desired degree. The 

 piston is then struck with the butt end 

 of a hammer-handle, causing it to slip 

 inward, carrying the compression ring 

 into the cylinder, where it will be held. 

 The operation is then repeated with the 

 other rings. 



Universal Bench- Stop 



A BENCH-STOP that will hold an> - 

 thing and everything a stop could 

 ever be used for; that will hold work 

 from three-eighths of an inch square u[) 

 to heavy slabs of wood up to tweb'e 

 inches wide and three and four or more 

 inches thick, edgeways or laid flat; and 

 that will hold any and ail of this work 



perfectly square and without injuring 

 edges and corners and yet hold it in a 

 vise-grip, can be made in less than an 

 hour from a few scraps of inch-board, 

 as follows: 



Take two pieces of inch-board 2j^ 

 inches wide and 12 inches long and nail 

 them perfectly parallel, planed edges 

 facing each other, to the head of the 

 workbench. Keep them eight, ten, 

 twelve, or more inches awaj' from the 

 edge of the bench, according to the ex- 

 treme width of the work you plan 

 to use the stop for. Then make an- 

 other piece of the same thickness, but 

 18 inches long, and fit it so it will slide 

 snugly between the two pieces. In the 

 center of this piece bore a number of }^- 

 inch holes, ]/2 hich apart and H inch 

 from the edge, and bore a couple of cor- 

 responding holes through the top of the 

 bench, so that a large spike can be in- 

 serted and hold the piece in place. Nail 

 a couple of strips crossways on to the 

 two stationary pieces so this sliding piece 

 cannot jump out. 



Anywhere from six to twelve inches 

 away from and opposite, and at right 

 angles to it, nail one-half of a wedge 

 made of tongue-and-groove inch-board, 

 groove in, and let it engage with another 

 wedge having a tongue. 



A moderate pressure with the thumb 

 against the movable wedge will hold the 

 work in a bull-dog grip and without 



A bench-stop that can be quickly adapted 

 to every kind of work 



injury, provided sufficient care has been 

 taken to make the edge of the wedge and 

 the end of the slide pcrfccth' square. 



By cutting down one end of the slide 

 to a thickness of ^s inch and inserting 

 a piece of ^-g-inch board between the 

 wedge and the work, thin boards and 

 .strips down to that thickness can be 

 held and planed. 



