Turning Brake Drums
I want to get the surface that the magnets ride on turned on my brake drums. Is this something that a shop that turns brake rotors and non-trailer drums can do or do I need to look elsewhere?
Forum Discussion
Memphisdoug wrote:
I was speaking of the inside face of the drum where the actuating magnets make contact with the drum. Mine are currently not very smooth. I am replacing everything else (complete backing plate assembly) so I figured I should give the magnets the best chance of working by smoothing out the surface they ride on.
You will need to ask the machine shop this question.
Not all brake lathes have the capability to reach the magnet surface (if you ever saw a brake lathe you would understand).
On top of that there is only a small amount of material that can be removed from that surface before the studs are exposed.
Personally, the magnets do not need a real smooth surface, they are capable of moving around a wavy surface.
If you have rust on the magnet surface you can simply use sandpaper to remove the rust and call it good.
I would only consider turning that surface if it had a deeply pitted surface and if it deeply pitted you run the risk of not enough material to remove.
Only a machine shop will be able to give you an answer and only after they inspect the drums (which is why folks here insist that new drums are the way to go).
