Triumphrat

04-14-2005

Hello fellow RATS,
Any ideas for the best method of de-glazing drum brakes for maximum stopping power.(Are they possible to have turned or is that an insane thought?) 71 Bonnie, dual shoes front and back are in fine shape. I think right now the Fred Flintstone stopping method my be more effient than my drums. And yes i shift down to help stop, but hard to do in a pinch. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Regards, SprintyElf

:-g

DAGAD · 04-14-2005

Conical brakes can work well, SprintyElf but there are two main faults in this design. Firstly the operating arms are too short for good leverage and secondly the cable gives a spongy feel at the lever.
There are extended arms on the market, I have seen them advertised but like most things 'not needed for me' can't remember where I saw it???? I will have a think and let you know.
Regards skimming, if the drums are true, not oval and within tolerance then a good scrub with some course emery paper and cleaning with proprietary brake cleaning solvent will have them looking good.
Because the shoes can be adjusted individually (front) take your time to get a good equal setting on both shoes, hopefully this will help. Roy :???:

TTBONNE · 04-14-2005

I had my 7 inch rear drum turned at the local garage for rust removal. Only needed one light pass. $8.00 total. The front looked better so sandpaper was my method.
:-D

oilyboot · 04-14-2005

If the linings are not new, it's possible (likely?) they have been contaminated with wheel bearing grease. Once that happens they are junk. (period) No matter how good they look.

If the good advice above doesn't help, bite the bullet , buy new shoes and arc them to the drum.

From another board-
=" Usual procedure now is to cover the drum's braking surface with a strip of sandpaper, reinstall the brake plate with both shoes and, with them pressed lightly against the sandpaper, rotate either the brake plate or the wheel. Stop frequently to inspect the linings, clean out dust and readjust the relationship between the shoes. When an inspection shows that about 90% of both linings have been sanded, remove the sandpaper and install the brake and wheel on the bike; you should now have an excellent brake."

Thanks to Stuart for this tip.

panda · 04-14-2005

You might find oilyboots info good if your linings have become glazed also. by all means deglaze your drum if that is the problem, but do not turn it unless it is out of true. ( will get shuddering when braking), circular grooves can be left ( unless very deep) as they help grip the lining. Yes grooved drums do wear linings faster, but the trade off is better braking. An old trick was to get two long levers and string the cable end across them. that way they were always in adjustment so both leading edges could work at 100%. ie the levers get pulled together with one cam working the other way.
like closing a pair of scissors. Hope that helps

[ This message was edited by: panda on 2005-04-14 14:52 ]