| : Is there any way worn brake drums can be rebuilt? How about flame spraying? Flame spraying is metal dust sprayed through a hot flame and liquified before it is sprayed on to a heated piece of metal that is rotated. Anybody ever tried this? The drum could be cut on a brake lathe after spraying. I think it would beat the price of a new drum by a large margin. TKS Lou G'Day Louis,
I agree with what both Bob & Mike have to say & would just like to add my comments for what they're worth. Firstly as the drum is manufactured from rolled steel as opposed to cast-iron, I'm sure there wouldn't be a problem rebuilding the surface by welding or plasma-spraying if done correctly. It would be best to get an opinion from a professional in this regard plus some sort of guarantee. If you carried out the work yourself I would advise having the drum stress relieved or naturalised afterwards. I'm not really sure this is the correct terminology but the process involves heating the item to a uniform temperature & allowing it to cool at a set rate. This should prevent any distortion after machining & in use. Being in the brake business we get to see all sorts of cheap fixes such as inserts pegged into the drum which are never sucessfull due to the heat generated during braking. The last little gem is, "Would you be willing to bet you life on the repair?", as King Kenny Roberts of motorcycle fame used to say in the helmet advertisement "If you've got a ten dollar head, wear a ten dollar helmet"
Regardz
DJ.
OutOfAfrica A's
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