Re-line brake hub?

[jjwithers]

This is for a 72 with drum brakes...
Is it possible to re-line the hub? I know the shoes can be re-lined with some upgrades...
But the 30 year old front and rear wheel hubs have seen a bit too much brake time and are a bit close to being out of tolerance.

If so, any suggestions on who does this type of work?

thanks.

-josh

[Rev Light]

I had a crack develope in the brake lining of my rear hub on my R65 Cafe Racer wire wheels. The short answer I got was no.

I had to find another hub. Secondhand hubs for wire wheels are rare - or at least those with some wear left on them are getting rare.

The 'blocks' that the spokes are laced into prevent a lining from being easily removed and a new one inserted.

I did hear about someone in the UK that had done it, but could never track down who it was and what he did....Just some 'internet hearsay'. Perhaps he inserted another lining over the top of the old one and got different shoes.......Who knows?

Rev light

[Kurt in S.A.]

I vaguely recall hearing about inserting a steel band that was frozen while the hub was heated...used some kind of loctite for additional holding power. Then turning the insert for trueness.

I'd check with Woody's Wheelworks or Buchanan's to see what the thinking is.

Kurt in S.A.

[jjwithers]

Humm.... new hubs are $400 and $500 (roughly).
ouch.
I have a few used ones lying around and none of them are any better. It makes me wonder how much wear goes on after 40 years of braking? if what is left in my hub will last another 10 years (or say 20-30k miles)? or more? or less....

[Garnet]

If it can be done, http://www.vintagebrake.com/index.html will know how.

[mattcfish]

What about Lesters and other mags? Can they be relined?

[jjwithers]

I wrote Vintage Brake yesterday... haven't heard back. I'll call them next week if i don't get a response.

[jjwithers]

Vintage brake says they can be re-lined somewhere outside the US. He doesn't have any info on who does it or how much it costs yet. Still waiting to hear back on that.

Here are some photos (not mine) that show the inside of a drum hub. the photos are similar to the condition of my hub though.

It looks to me like there is significant wear but the hub still has significant lining left. of course, it is hard to tell without a caliper to actually measure... but i'm curious as to what the opinions are upon a visual inspection. I have no idea what these would look like new (i've never seen a new hub) so i don't have anything to compare by.

[Garnet]

Off the top of my head, the drum diameter is 200mm. Max wear is something like 1.5mm, but I need to check a manual to be sure. You need a proper drum measuring tool (found at most auto repair shops) to do the job.

[Rev Light]

Looks much better than mine.

You would be lucky to pick up anything better on the Bay of Fleas