The Washington times., 1921-11-06
GOOD GRAPHITE
WITHOUT PEER
ASLUBR|CANT
Fine Quality Should Be Used
With Proper Amount
Of Oil.

In days gone by II was quite the
thing to hear the folks singing about
there being a little bit OF bad in
every good little girl" says r. II. Kas-
per. In Automobils Dealer and Re
pairer. But In the years that have
intervened. there is yet TO be heard
song about little bit OF good In
every bad little boy" The bad little
boy seems to have been neglected; no
doubt being accepted as incorrigible
What little good there is In him has
been deemed as scarcely worthy of
mention.
Good qualities, however. are gener-
ally sticking out all over the bad little
boy. usually bring ample reward. II
depends upon the treatment whether
the bad boy remains a bad egg or be-
comes somewhat Of a plaster saint.
And so, with a little pat on the back
and a hearty good luck" the song
about the good In the bad little boy"
is about to be sung.
Graphite Wrongly Treated.
In the fabrication family" there
have always been some members who
were viewed with suspicion. Some
were too thin, some too heavy. while
others burned out and Cracked" too
easily. Such cases were simply taken
as matter OF course. and were at
tributed to the fact that these mem.
bers OF the family had not been placed
in their proper spheres. But the one
member OF the family who had never
really been given a chance, who had
always been regarded as not having
one redeeming quality. was the bad
little boy" of the family-graphite.
atrociously. but this was due to the
fact that he had been wrongly treat
ed. But, II used rightly, and allowed
to associate and mingle with his more
favored brethren. he has always
proven himself the best of the lot.
Before singing the praises of the
bad little boy. 1t is perhaps advisable
to explain why any member of the
fabrication family should be needed at
all. Every surface, no matter how
finely finished. is full Of minute irregu-
larities. The shaft which rides In a
bearing. the piston which moves in a
cylinder. and the gear which meshes
with Its mate. are all covered with
these Irregularities.
Two such surfaces, running in con-
ract Without fabrication, produce q
grinding effect. similar, in lesser
degree, to that which is experienced
when two files are rubbed together.
Friction reigns supreme. until II is
given a Knockout blow by one Of the
members Of the fabrication family. a
lubricant fills up these minute irreg,i.
larities. and forms a more or less fric-
tionless film between the bearing sur.
faces, preventing actual metallic con.
tart.
The lubricant used depends upon
the load to which the bearing eur
faces are subjected: when too light or
thin for the work performed. II
sQueezes out: when too heavy. II Of
fers resistance to the free movement
Of the parts Again. there is the
danger Of burning out or cracking.
which makes the choice Of the proper
lubricant Of the utmost Importance.
But there is one member of the lu-
brication family who doesn't care how
heavy a burden is laid upon him. nor
how hot It is made for him. And that
member is the bad boy of the family
the black sheep. whose atrocious be-
havior seems never to be forgotten -
graphite.
Graphite as a Lubricant.
Graphite. as a lubricant for automo-
biles. has never received the attention
and the favor which is due 1t. Oppo.
sitlOn 10 ltS use mas, no DOUBT, Decn
due to the impurities contained IN
many grades on the market. Traces
of abrasive material were to be found
in many grades--a condition which |
justified the suspicion with which il |
was viewed. On the other hand, the !
difficulty OF obtaining graphite 20
finely divided as to pass freely through !
the feed holes of the usual oilers aided |
cr'' retarding its popularity as |
a lubricant.
When a pure and finely divided !
brand graphite Is used, Ill results can |
be attributed only to ignorance or care
in the manner Of using. |
Graphite should be fine enough - |
maintain suspension in oil !
or grease without undue settling. 1t |
should also be fine enough, when used |
VIII oil to flow freely in the oil film |
without clogging the bearing surfaces. /
When graphite first came on the |
market as an automobile lubricant. |
ignorance as to its proper use was
prevalent. Chauffeurs would pur-
1I,a t-I.