RADIUS GRINDING OF COMMERCIAL BRAKE SHOES,

[attleej]

Dear All,

I have a problem with some heavy commercial trailer brake shoes and drums.

In days of old it was common to grind the radius of brake shoes to match the diameter of the brake drum, especially if it had been skimmed.  This was often achieved using a rig that would be mounted on the axle.  On the internet I have also seen rigs where the shoes are mounted on a grinding rig.  The drums have all been skimmed to different diameters depending upon how badly they were damaged.

I have been told that matching the shoes to the drums will make for a big improvement in efficiency and it is easy to understand why.

Nowadays it is more economic to start again and fit new shoes and drums.  I would do that but for the fact that drums are not available.  There are also quite a few drums involved. In terms of wear, the shoes are nearly new and will be non-asbestos.

The first question is, does anyone know where there is a commercial vehicle brake grinding rig available to buy, rent or borrow?  Condition does not matter because there is very little that I cannot rebuild.

The second question is about the grinding material.  I could make a bespoke brake shoe grinding rig by using my vertical milling machine, the rotary table, a jig to mount the shoes and a spindle mounted grinding ‘wheel’ or drum.  Can anyone recall what grinding medium was used?  I am thinking of using drums about 3” dia and 5” long, similar to the drum sander we would use with a die grinder but much bigger and more precise.

Before anyone gets too excited about H & S I would use an industrial vacuum cleaner to suck up the dust.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

John

[attleej]

I have reposted this in MV chatter rather than radios.

John