How to arc brake shoes...

[James_Douglas]

On 11/25/2020 at 1:22 PM, '41 Fat Bottom Girl said:

This is so easy to do! And you don't need to find somebody with an arcing machine.

Fitting the shoes to either a new or refinished drum is important for good braking and wear, but isn't difficult to do by yourself and doesn't take much time at all. Remember, each set of shoes should be matched to each drum- drums may not all be the same diameter inside.

I've used this method over the last 50 years on my many drum brake jobs and have always had great results. It has  giving me the right arc, proper clearance without point contact at the heel or toe of a shoe, and perfect drum contact over the proper shoe surface.

What to do- 

Get yourself a variety pack of different grit sandpaper.
I have used either 100 grit (if I need about .020" thickness) or 60 grit ( if I want about .030 thickness). You can pick what you need. Do check the caliper on the paper you are using, different brands of sandpaper are a bit different in thickness.

Cut the sandpaper into a couple strips the same width of the surface inside the drum. On the back of the sandpaper, apply double-faced adhesive tape, then stick them inside the drum butting the two strips together. Clean the drum surface first to remove any oil.

You can then take a shoe, holding it tight against the sandpaper and slide it back and forth around the inside of the drum. Sand it until you have contact along the entire face of the shoe. Keep it flat to the sandpaper. 

Do both of the shoes that will go into that drum. 

Lastly, make certain that you have about a tenth to 1/8" chamfer along the heel and toe of the shoe lining. You can do this easily with a file if the shoe doesn't have a good bevel at the ends. 

It's fast, doesn't remove much material and works great!

Hope this helps.

 

 

I did that in high school on my cars. I also have shown people how to do it. I can tell you, having the machine is a lot faster and less of a mess to clean up. As I get older, I like easy...