Life, 1918-02-14 · page 5 of 40
Life — February 14, 1918 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not political satire or a cartoon**—it's a **straightforward advertisement** for Timken Roller Bearings, appearing in Life magazine (page 245). The page features instructional content about motor car bearing maintenance. The main image shows a mechanic adjusting a vehicle wheel bearing. Smaller diagrams demonstrate the bearing's conical construction and proper adjustment technique. The advertisement explains why bearings wear, when they should be inspected (approximately every 5,000 miles), and how Timken's design allows easy adjustment without replacement. The text emphasizes that Timken bearings' superiority in pleasure cars and trucks stems partly from their use in higher-priced vehicles. This represents typical early automotive advertising focused on mechanical education and brand differentiation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The inside of the cup (shown at Ieft) of a Timken Bearing, which fits into the hub, is tapered to cor respond with the outer taper of rollers and cone (shown at right This makes the bearing perfectly and easily adjustable. On account of this conical con- struction of a Timken Bearing the parts fit together as perfectly after thousands of miles of travel as when the bearing is new and the adjust. Ment entirely corrects the effect cf wear. ow and When Motor Car Bearings Should Be Adjusted Why Simply because motor-car bearings are LY subject to merciless hammering, vibra- tion and heavy pressure. Any bearing ever made will wear in time. Unless it can be adjusted to correct the effect of wear it will become loose. Then it not only wears out more rapidly itself, but causes wob- bling wheels, injury to gears, noise and other troubles, all of which are prevented by adjustment. How ™ ths «ase of some bearings this question cannot be answered because they are not adjustable. They simply wear out and have to be repaired or replaced before damage to the car results. Timken Bearings, however, can be easily ad- justed, as shown by the illustrations on this page. ‘As you sce, the cone and rollers can be advanced a little further into the cup and the bearing is as good as new, because the parts are perfectly restored to their original relation to each other. When Avxt once in five thousand miles it is advisable to inspect’ Timken Bear- ings. The man in the garage, the chauffeur or the owner experienced in the care of his own car will readily know how and when to make the simple adjustment. This adjustable feature of Timken Bearings is one of the reasons why in pleasure cars and trucks, above the lowest-priced class, more Timken Bear- ings are used than any other make, at the points of hard service—wheels, pinions (or worm) trans- mission and differential. Other reasons for Timken Bearing supremacy are. given in an interesting little booklet, E-1, “How Can I Tell?” Sent free, postpaid, on request to . wy \RIB) THE TIMKEN ROLLER BEARING Co. \ep/ ‘Canton, Ohio TIMKEN BEARINGS comicbooks.com