How do you rivet brake shoe linings on?

So no one makes new brake shoes for my '40 Chrysler, but I was able to buy a new in the box set of brake shoe linings for it. They take rivets, and I see where I can buy new rivets for this purpose.

My question is, how do I install the rivets? Is it as simple as lining it up, having one side on an anvil and mushrooming the other side with a hammer, is there a tool for it, or? Never had to do this before, and I really don't want to deal with the down time of sending them out, so any help would really be appreciated.

 

i always used a press. no power tools needed.

 

http://www.benchmarkworks.com/articles/howto/brake.html

 

There use to be a combo riveting and arcing tool for that, I think it was a foot operated concern. I havn't seen one in years. The old timers can help.

 

there is a special tool , about $25....most early Ford parts suppliers sell it. makes it an easy job

 

In the article in this link, the guy uses pop rivets, is that a good idea? Is it better to use the little brass ones?

 

i've had the pop rivets pull loose. so i use the solid rivets and press them tight.

 

local brake shop can't do it. bet one of the big truck shops has the tools. the shoes should be re-arced before they are re-lined and you would be surprised how old shoes get "flattened" i used to run a machine that re-arced shoes 8 hours a day, 50 gallon barrels at a time. do it right or your you will find out rivet holes don't line up.

 

I use an aircraft brake lining tool. Fairly cheep too. They also have a screw down tool.
http://aircraft-tool.com/shop/detail.aspx?PRODUCT_ID=W403

Also works to reline clutch disks.

 

Thanks for all the info so far, so glad I have somewhere to ask this stuff.

Is the tool in my picture the one for putting these rivets in? It looks somewhat like the tools available elsewhere, I've had this thing for years and I never knew what it did. Looks simple enough to use, I hope that's what this thing does.

 

Yep, sure looks lke one. Can even alter one die set to fit application.

Nice old tool.

 

Back in High School I worked in the bus garage summers, for extra credits. My school district, In the sand/woods of north western Michigan, relined all brake shoes in house. You know who got the filthy jobs!! Relined hundreds of the things.

Chisel/punch/drill out rivets, then dress the bare shoe on belt sander. Install rivets and set in a hand press. Kind of an overcenter arbor press device. We didn't re-curve them untill they were matched to a drum.

Every time I hear a school bus Squeeling to a stop I think about those darned shoes!!

 

Don't think I could be comfortable with aluminum rivets. There was a foot stomp type rivet setting machine for the purpose many moons ago, basicly a fixture to hold things in alighnment with a pin that drops and sets the rivet...haven't seen one since the 50's, except here on the net. Some one was showing off their 'find' on here in the last year or so. I would definatly have the shoes arced to the drums, as the material isn't uniform in thickness after this process. Ya know... something like Gorilla Glue, with the rivets, might also be in order. Belt and suspenders approach.

 

Take the new lining and shoes to a brake and clutch shop and get them to rivet them on.

Usually in bigger cities there is a shop that rebuilds them.

I had a foot operated brake rivet tool in the high school auto shop that I taught in that was about as old as dirt but it worked quite well. Here is a link to a hand operated tool that a guy could use. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/20o-...Z130340675552QQptZMotorsQ5fAutomotiveQ5fTools
The rivets should be fairly easy to get.

Check for brake and clutch supply in your yellow pages and the yellow pages of bigger cities in the area.

Check with these guys, they aren't far from you and if they can't do it they will know who can. http://www.motormachining.com/
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Thanks for all the responses here, I'm getting some great info.

Could anyone explain a little more about re-arching? Does it require a special machine or anything? My shoes aren't worn out, they are just soaked with brake fluid from leaky wheel cylinders so they need new linings. Would that make a difference?

How would I check shoes to see if they need to be re-arched, or will they need to be regardless? We're talking about the rear-only shoes in a car that has a top speed of maybe 65.

 

The machine is specific to re arching. To test for proper arch. Set the shoe in the drum and check for even contact. Most modern stuff just touches on both ends and relies on wear to break them in.

 

It has a fixture to put the shoe in and then it is forced aganist a grinding drum.....how it gets the right contour, I don't know. It just fits the shoe to the drum. Sort of like putting a horseshoe on a hoss, but different.

 

The reason for arcing the shoes is to make sure you have full contact between the friction material and the drum. Place the shoe inside the drum and you may see a gap in the center or on the ends, especially if the drums have been turned. Because the inner circumference is larger, after turning the drums, the 'arc' of the contact area changes. Usta' be common practice to turn drums, take a measurement, then set up the arc machine and fit the shoes to individual drums. I always put a bevel on leading and trailing edges of the friction material to keep noise down. Brake dust can get caught between the sharp edge of the friction and drum and set up a squeak type harmonic.

 

remember these? OSHA nightmare

 

Yep, that's the one... made everybody toss'em. They were nasty.

 

Now I know what to check for. Makes perfect sense now that it's explained to me. Thanks for all the info, sometimes I don't know what I'd do without this place.

 

yes, i have one and it works great....just wear a dust mask

 

Whats wrong with this picture. All us old guys that used to rearch brake shoes in the corner of an old dirty shop are still here, yet if a test has revealed more 3% asbestos matter is found in a vinyl floor or attic insulation during a home remodel the gov has to have HASMAT, fire, police, OSHA, FEMA, FBI, CIA, Secret Service, Special Ops, Rat Patrol, workers in white helmeted suits and the Marines in helicopters overhead corden off a 16 block area because of the possibility of dangerous levels of highly toxic asbestos fibers in the air. Shouldn't we have all died violent deaths from Malignant Mesothelioma by now.... rant!

Truck shops still reline brake shoes. If you do it yourself wear an approved respirator so you dont have to listen to me rant again.

 

Squablow the machine i ran was a contstant rotating drum that had slots in it to allow the shoes to ride on its surface. there was a spring loaded drum that when the shoes rotated on the slotted drum that applied pressure to the shoes. when the arc was correct they just fell out into a drum. sometimes they went around one time and others 3 or 4. dirty and boring but paid the mortgage. at least you were sitting down and someone else brought you the shoes. nice perk was all my vehicles had new brakes.

 

Yep it was foot operated. I also haven't seen one in years.

 

You need one of these:





Extra arbor and rivet container.


Extra stuff and a few rivets.



Yeah, I'd sell it, but don't want to fool with shipping....

 

Man I need one of those... no one local does it anymore...

 

Set up a HAMB relay if you can and it's yours for $50.

 

I use clecos to hold it, hammer and dimpled punch to set rivets. Just have to get the feel of it, too much hammer and it'll crack the fiber.

 

I also have one of those manual ones as well as another I was told was a de-riviter. This electric one I'm keeping and will get running "one of these days".