86 SKID CH. V 



wheel. The bottom of the skid is usually made not 

 much wider than the tire, but it is better to have a 

 light plate, at least 6 inches wide, welded * to it, as 

 this tears up the road much less ; the under side of 

 the plate should be rounded up along all its edges. 



A strong chain attaches the skid to the centre of 

 the front axle, and is of the proper length to keep 

 the skid vertically under the centre of the wheel 

 when in use. It is better to have the chain an inch 

 too long than an inch too short, in order to prevent 

 the skid from coming off of the wheel. A hook, 

 large enough to hook round the rim of the wheel 

 (Fig. 47, A), and covered with leather, is sometimes 

 attached by another chain to the 

 same part of the axle. This is 

 hooked on the rim of the wheel be- 

 low where the brake touches it, and 

 holds the wheel in case the skid 



comes off. Instead of having - a large 

 Fig. 47. 



hook, the chain itself is sometimes 



made sufficiently long to go round the rim, that 

 part of it which touches the rim being covered with 

 leather, as shown in Fig. 47, B. At the end of the 

 leather-covered portion, there is a small hook which 

 goes into one of the links of the chain. 



The hook is perhaps an almost unnecessary addi- 

 tion, yet on a public-coach running over steep hills, 

 it is safer to have it. 



* The objection to bolting it on is, that the bolt-heads wear off. 



