Turning brake drums?

[ridgeandvalley]

Doing a brake job on my 8n. Took apart one side so far and the drum has a pretty visible groove right down the middle. Not sure what I'll find in the other yet. I've seen people talk about having the drums turned to make sure they are smooth before putting everything back together. My question is where I'd check to see about having this done. Is this something that a local auto body shop would commonly do? Any other suggestions as to who / where to have this done without shipping / long wait time? Thanks.

 

[R Geiger]

Any good local shop will or should be able to do the turning, and most NAPA stores can have it done also.

 

[Dean]

Only a GOOD one.

Vintage Ford tractor brake drums are steel rather than cast iron.

Only a shop with an old style drum lathe with finishing grinder can do this properly.

Haven't seen one in decades.

Dean

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 14:29:43 07/20/20) Doing a brake job on my 8n. Took apart one side so far and the drum has a pretty visible groove right down the middle. Not sure what I'll find in the other yet. I've seen people talk about having the drums turned to make sure they are smooth before putting everything back together. My question is where I'd check to see about having this done. Is this something that a local auto body shop would commonly do? Any other suggestions as to who / where to have this done without shipping / long wait time? Thanks.

Any machine shop worthy of the name can turn a steel brake drum. Carbide cutting tools and the correct feeds and speeds will work fine. Your local brake shop with a guy accustomed and equipped for turnung cast iron may not be the best choice.

TOH

 

[Hobo,NC]

You want to turn the inner edge a little and the outer edge then just hit the rest don't try to get the rest perfect...

There is not much to cut if you cut the inner edge to much you will end up with a two piece drum... : (

No I would not let any brake lathe jockey fudge with it...

The mistake folks make when doing brakes on a N is not grinding the outer and inner edge of the brake shoe to set in the worn part of the brake drum... The leading edge has little to nuttin to do with it other then some think it makes them look smart...


outer and inner edge to be shaved down to fit the drum

 

[Hobo,NC]

What you want to clean up play safe not much to play with...

 

[Hobo,NC]

Edit would be nice as you can see I did not take the inner edge all the way out if I did it would weaken the drum where it makes the turn to the hub side... On the outer its OK clean it up...

Its not like a cast steel car drum its a different animal...

 

[jimtrs]

(quoted from post at 14:29:43 07/20/20) .....I've seen people talk about having the drums turned to make sure they are smooth.....

What you want is [u:f96683ed63][i:f96683ed63][b:f96683ed63]flat[/b:f96683ed63][/i:f96683ed63][/u:f96683ed63] across the drum, not necessarily smooth.

Listen to Hobo's advice about taking the edge off of the inner & outer edge of the shoes.

 

[farmersamm]

You said it has a groove? If it's a groove, I wouldn't worry about it. A ridge maybe, but not a groove.

I've never had a drum turned. I let the shoe wear into the surface defects. It doesn't take too long for this to happen. But, and this is a big BUT.........I always buy the softest shoes available, even on my big trucks. It's cheaper to replace shoes than it is to replace drums. The "heavy duty' shoes act like a grinder, and increase drum wear. IMHO..............YMMV

If you do decide to have drums turned, make sure to adhere to the Minimum Inside Diameter........usually stamped on the drum somewhere.

 

[farmersamm]

I had a drum blow out on my old Dodge D-100 when I was a kid. This was before the days of dual chamber master cylinders. The old ones, back then, had a single piston which supplied pressure for all 4 wheels. My brake pedal turned to mush, and I had to limp home. Coulda killed someone.