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Axel Box Lapper

H

Hockleybrook

proper brummie kid
Thats what the cencus tells me my Granfather was, he latter became a chauffeur to the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and somewhere there is a lovely photograph of him in his uniform. I just wonder how he started out what is a axel box lapper any ideas?
 
In those days axles/axels would have been made that ran in bushes as bearings (not ball races). It would be necessary to match the bushes (in the axel box) to the axle. This was done by using first a coarse abrasive paste then progressively finer (I admit I am winging it a bit here but assume it was similar to matching or lapping, main bearings on motor vehicle engines) until they ran smoothly and so ran with less friction and so lasted longer.

I am sure someone can explain better than that but it is roughly what he would have done.
 
Thank you so much for bothering to answer my query. I am now a little more enlightened, I suppose in those days (he was 29 in 1911) it was much more a 'hands on' job. Would this be an axle on a car or did they have them on trains too? Excuse my ignorance.
Thanks again for your information.
 
You will always get an answer on here HB - though as it is Grand National Day many will be celebrating.
 
It possibly could be a car or lorry - they often used plain bearings then, not roller or ball ones as now. Rail wagons and trams used large brass-type bearings between the top of the axle boss (that's the bit that runs on the bearing) and the springs. The bearing was housed in and 'Axle box', so that's more likely. Here's a diagram explaining the components.
 
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