It's been about 55-60 years since I have operated one, or even seen one for that matter, but I have located one that a guy selling off all the equipment from an old automotive machine shop says he has one, and is supposed to text me a pic or two of it. My shop is not open to the public, has no employees, and therefore isn't subject to OSHA inspections, and for that matter, brake linings no longer contain asbestos. I'm figuring I can mount it on casters, roll it outside to operate, and wear a good dust respirator and all will be OK for only personal use once in awhile. Wondering if anyone who has one can give me any tips and refresh my memory on just what all comes with one so I can take a careful look at pics before driving a 400 mile round trip just to find something made of unobtanium is missing?
I have a guy that I use with one. It has a gauge that measures the radius of the drum. Then that measurement gets transferred to the shoe grinder And away you go. I would also see if you could mount a vacuum cleaner to the grinder to most of the dust will be contained. Even though asbestos is no longer used in brake linings the stuff they are made of is not healthy. But I agree with a good dust mask Outside and a vacuum cleaner or some kind of dust containment, for the odd use you Gould be fine. Not like brake clean, brake fluid, old oil etc etc etc is good for us. Just being careful and observant is most times enough. If you know the brand of machine he’s selling try you tube or flea-bay and see what it all comes with and how it’s used.
It's called a brake shoe arc machine. You definitely need the drum measurement gauge to use the arc machine correctly.
We actually have one, never plugged it in. Boss bought a couple used big tools and it came as a tool lot. Thought about buying just to have.
If you blow that crap out in the yard you kick it up every time you mow. They do a heck of a job but I sure wouldn't want to be around one or own one today. Pete
The one I use to use, also had a foot operated rivet press for new liners plus the shoe grinder. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Put a vacuum cleaner bag on it instead of the original style cloth bag; when done bag it and throw it away. Operating the machine on an occasional basis using proper protective gear is nothing at all like the occupation exposure that caused their demise.
That vacuum cleaner bag idea is a good one even when you do it outside. Maybe even a shop vac hooked to the grinder with a vacuum cleaner bag on the exhaust from the shop vac. There should be a special dial indicator drum gauge that came with the grinder or needs to go with it Same as the one you use with a drum lathe to check id. A couple of them on Ebay. This ancient one 183695671351 Or this one that is standar with Ammco brake lathes 233183101609
The ones we used were made by John Bean and the face plate popped off so you could clean it and install a new adhesive abrasive pad to the spinning portion that radiuses the brake shoe. The clamp that held the shoe moved back and forth to adjust to size of the drum...11”, 10” etc. then the knob at the bottom of the unit adjusted the radius based on the reading from the drum gauge....like a reading of 11.090” you would set the dial for .090. The face plate always leaked and duct tape was your best friend. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
As fs ar as the drum gauge goes, it would be nice to have, but I have a Starrett inside/ outside vernier caliper graduated to .001 24" capacity, so I could get by without it if it isn't there. The dust is an issue I think I can take care of. I'll take a look at the ones on e bay, thx.
I'm familiar with the Ammco shoe grinders. Those had a set of anchors and a guide book, use the wrong anchor/pivot and the shoe you are grinding became junk. Those had a bag on them but the dust was all over. Ammco makes a nice drum micrometer that went from 9" to 12". Those should be around used. I just looked, the model of micrometer is 8500 and they go from $69 to over $100. I saw some grinders too attached to a lathe bench.
Looked at the ones on ebay, and the prices all seemed quite high,as I was told by a guy I know that is in the used machinery business that in the past that he had bought out old shops that had these grinders that he wound up giving away
Ahhh yes, you triggered a memory for me. We used to have one of these in the shop I worked in many years ago. I mentioned this in another thread about drum brakes; we had the machine but never used it and always sent the shoes & drums out to be arced. But it had the foot operated rivet press, and that part of it DID get used, whenever we relined brake pads and bands for old IH TD25 dozers. I had forgotten about that till I read your message. Thank you for mentioning that and triggering that memory.
Do you use a tool bit or a tool post grinder? Sounds like a good idea for just occasional use if a tool bit will cut it, but I wouldn't want all the dust from grinding on my lathe
Ain't nobody gonna die from "arcing" asbestos brake shoes today. That happened over many, many years of doing it 3/4 brake jobs a day for a living. I knew of it happening to a Sears employee who did it for 30+ years.
As far as I know all of today’s brake shoes are made with other materials that don’t include ANY asbestos...but if you are working on a vintage vehicle with original brake shoes you need to be aware.... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Shit we got drunk and used one in the driveway Friday night. Hosed down the driveway in the AM when the whiskey stopped working.
A buddy of mine had one in his shop and never used it. I have never used one myself, or felt the need to match the shoes to the drums. I know that the braking would be improved, and feel that it would be easy to make a jig to mount the shoes and turn them on a regular lathe. I personally wouldn't use a grinder to face the shoes, because my lathe is in the basement and the dust would get everywhere. Even though I do own both a drum brake lathe as well as a disk brake lathe, before owning my present setup, I often turned drums on my regular lathe. Bob
Doing them on a lathe shouldn't make dust like a grinder would, especially if you run the chuck slow.
I don't even think of arcing shoes these days, if I had front drums, maybe. I just bevel the leading and trailing ends of the shoes with a wood rasp, it helps them break in faster.
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