Adding the Brake Shoes and Linkage to your Trucks.

First thing to think about are Brake Shoes.

There are many ways to go about this. You could make your own, by either casting or machining. Or, buy a cast set from a Supplier such as Cannonball. For $15.00, it's hard to beat. There are nine shoes in the Ring. They will still need machining, but it's a good starting point. I personally, think that the Cannonball shoes are too big. But, maybe that's just me. When I made mine, I made them twelve to a Ring. This also allows doing three cars with two Rings.

The material of the brake shoes should be something that is softer than the material of your wheels. As you want the shoes to wear out and NOT the wheels. You could use aluminum, bronze, plastic or even hardwood. I made mine from 6061-T6 Aluminum plate 1/2" thick.

You also need to consider the Coefficient of Friction. The whole idea behind Brakes are to create Friction to Stop the car. Two materials that are normally used as bearings are not going to stop easily without very High Air pressures.

I prefer lining my shoes with Metallic Lining because the Coefficient of Friction is better and the brakes still work well even when they get wet or oily.

If you decide to line your shoes with Metallic Lining, it makes no difference what material the shoes are made of, as long as it's strong enough to stay together under the load and some heat.

During the machining process, you'll need to decide if you are going to line them or not. As you'll need to remove material from the shoe to make room for the lining.

You also need to measure the wheels on your trucks to get the proper diameter. The Cannonball shoes are made for 33" (scale) wheels. (4.125") without any lining. This is rather academic as you can machine them to what ever radius you want.

During the machining, you'll need to cut a groove for the Brake Shoe Hanger. I make my Hangers from 1/8" flat stock and use a Spring Washer to keep the Shoe from falling down and wearing out the top side. This means the Groove needs to be about 0.150" wide. These Spring Washers are about $0.83 each. The Compressed thickness of the Spring Washer is 0.011". The Uncompressed thickness is 0.039". For the 50% compression point, we take 39 minus 11 equals 28. Half of 28 is 14. 14 plus 11 equals 25. So, the 50% compression point is 0.025". With the thickness of the Brake Hanger being 0.125" plus 0.025" equals 0.150" width of the Groove.

The Metallic Lining that I use I get from a Brake Material store here in Riverside. I am sure that they are all over the place. The material comes in 2 inch widths and either 3/16" or 1/4" thickness. Both are flexible and form to the Radius very nicely. The 3/16" is a little more flexible, so it's most likely the better choice. For Bonding to the Shoe, I use JB Weld. Works perfect, even though it requires a full 24 hours to cure. You'll need to decide which thickness of Brake Lining that you're going to use before machining the Radius of the Brake Shoe.

When I machine my Shoes, I make them "Flat". After the Lining has cured, I grind the Taper of the Wheel in the Lining. NOT the Shoe. This allows for much less work. (and ..... reversible shoes)

I drill the pivot hole 3/16". This allows for a Clevis Pin and cotter pin through the Shoe, Brake Shoe Hanger and Spring Washer.

A standard wheel's tread width is approximately 9/16". Brake shoes are most often made to be 1/2" wide. This leaves plenty of slop for the shoe to adjust to the wheel during breaking.

One thing to keep in mind during this entire discussion: "Accuracy is NOT an Issue !" Meaning, a little slop here and there is a Good thing, as it will allow for the linkage to Equalize better. Hole sizes can be as much as +0.020" oversize.