Technical BRAKES, Buick brake drum HOWTO

I'm not much of a machinist, more of a blacksmith really. I know that Buick brake drum questions come up from time to time - thought I'd share the way I just finished mine.

 

Late '40s hubs in the lathe, ready to turn down to my wheel pattern diameter.

 

Delrin bushing turned down to inside diameter of '40s wheel bearing

 

Delrin bushing in tail stock,

hub turned down to wheel pattern ID

 

1/4 inch drill in the press, ready to make holes. I'm drilling 5x5.5 and 5x4.5 - just in case.

Ten holes drilled

 

Drilled from 1/4" to 29/64" so I can tap them 1/2x20.

I forgot to take a picture of the hub back on the lathe, turning it down to the ID of the brake drum. You're all probably tired of waiting for the pics to load anyway.
So the hub fits the drum now, and I'm drilling the drum to the pattern and zize (29/64ths on the drum, but will be increased to 1/2").

 

Tapping to 1/2x20 on the Big Tapping Machine

Drilling drums from 29/64ths to 1/2"

 

All finished. 1/2"x20x2" socket cap screws and a some A/N washers finish the install.

Forgot one thing. Had to have a friend with a bigger lathe turn a bit of the aluminum off from around the lining so they'd fit the '40 backing plates. You can see the bright ring in the next picture.

 

Big thanks to Frog and the use of his machinery and knowledge.
(Frog's current ride)

 

pretty darn great post- thanks! should be archived.

 

Excellant post this comes up all the time.

 

A picture speaks a thousand words.

 

Excellent post and very informative.
May I ask a couple of questions?
1, Why did you need the delrin bush? Was it because the chuck can only get a grip on a relatively small area on the front face?
2, Why did you rederill the 5 on 5.5" pattern? The existing pattern is 5 on 5.5". I'm guessing it's so you can use the cap screws, which can take up the extra thickness of the Buick Drum.
3, I like the two step reduction of the diameter first to fit your gauge, then the id of the drum. was it a matter of luck that the guage id was in between the two diameters?
Thanks again for the informative post, glad to see more people documenting their work. (tidier than my efforts I must add).
PS. You might want to consider reposting the pics of your buddy's cart a bit smaller to stop the dreaded scrollbar problem.
Mart.

 

Very informative. Thanks Trinary. I'm cleaning up my parts to do a similar job using 40 ford hubs and 59 Buick backing plates..I'll have to pay to have my machine work done as I don't own a lathe...

 

Ryan, please put this in the Tech-o-matic.

Awesome post.

JH

 

Nice work. Great pix!
Thanks.

 

Great Tech'O'Matic material. Great pictures.

I have some questions on the wheel pattern. Is that something available commercially or is that a homemade piece? If homemade, was it done with a mill and rotary table, or DRO, or?

Do you just use a transfer punch to mark out your holes?

I am guessing the same method could be used to redrill rear axles flanges.

Thanks for the info.

Neal...inCA

 

Great Post, Thanks

 

BTTT, Tech'O'matic material here...

 

What nealinCA said!! TECHO!!!