Relining Brake Shoes

The brake linings on the front of the DeLuxe are practically shot.  The rear aren't so bad, so I'll let those go for a while.  I didn't want to pay to send my brake shoes back to England for relining, so I talked to some of the local antique car guys.  I was recommended to get some "green gripper" Semi-Metallic Woven brake lining material from McMaster-Carr.  The catalog number is 6224K115.  It comes in 1 inch strips and is available in 3/16 inch thick rolls.  It came the NEXT day.  McMaster-Carr is amazing.

The next trick is to remove the old brake lining and take some measurements.  The brass rivets drill out nicely with a 1/8" drill bit.  Once seperated I used a depth gauge and subtracted that from the total thickness to arrive at a 0.057" thickness to leave at the bottom.

To create a counterbore tool.  I took a 1/4" cheapo twist drill bit and mounted it in the lathe.  I strapped my trusty Dremel to the tool post with a grinding wheel.  I slowly removed half the thickness of the tip of the drill.  I was mindful to keep the 1/4" step nice and sharp.

I mounted the counterbore bit into the drill press, and set the depth limit jam nuts to that 0.057 inch limit using some feeler gauges.  Placing the new lining carefully around the shoe,  I marked the first two holes... made a pilot hole with the tip of the counterbore bit, from the back of the shoe.  Then flipping the new lining over to the drum side, I counterbored it.  The rivets will drop into the counterbore the same as the stock rivets and can be set in place from the rear of the shoe.

What would be nice would be a kleko that I could hold the shoe in place at the end while working toward the other end.  The excess 1/8" of the brake lining can be easily removed by grinder to obtain the same 7/8" width of the shoe.

I'll likely epoxy the new lining to the shoe for added security.

Its beer 'oclock... I deserve it.