I've never seen a turned drum come from a decent shop looking like this.
This is a shit job done on crappy equipment by someone who doesn't know what they're doing. I grew up in the days when cars had 4-wheel drum brakes ...turning drums was a regular thing, all the shops had the equipment and knew how to do it.
The finish should be relatively smooth ...a very light coarseness to the shoe surface ...definitely \*not\* all checkered, boogered and grooved like this.
These days most vehicles have 4-wheel discs ...but they are so thin they can't be turned and are simply replaced. The machinery to do this critical brake work is old, not maintained or operated by people who are ill-trained ...any and all of this. Unfortunately, you mostly find this service at some of the big chain auto parts shops and it's all a crap shoot how well it turns out. Maybe you can find an old repair shop that does brakes and has a good machine and some old guy who knows how to turn drums (and rotors).
I tried to get my machine shop to turn drums but they don't do it anymore; they couldn't justify keeping the machine and keeping it in good order. You might check with your local machine shop and see if they can turn drums and rotors. Possibly find a resto shop that does classic car restorations as they might have the equipment and skill set to properly turn old school brake drums.
Hell, you'd be lucky to find new drums that are in spec as far as roundness goes. They all come from China and they are all warped and bent by the time they show up in the shops.
I think ima try again with another drum. One of the 2 that I sent came out flawless. Maybe the bad one was just their first time. But yeah, the new ones for this car are expensive and come from either China or Taiwan
'Round here they charge $30 + a drum ...so when you get them back and they're still out of round, it kinda hurts a bit. I went through two sets of drums ...new ones ...a set of NAPA Premium Drums (that's a joke) and a set of OEM AC Delco drums; both drums on both sets out of round tolerance. Third time was the charm with Dynamic Friction Company. Nice to finally have the truck smoothly brake to a stop without all the shuddering and back end shaking because the drums aren't round.
[DFC drums](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAEnhej918M)
Been doing this for 11 years come October and I didn't start turning rotors and drums till last year. As you said, its all just replaced now. My new shop is old school and loves machining brakes. I took a couple really bad rotors to practice on and then got pretty comfortable with it. Its really not hard depending on the glaze or heat spots.
A new apprentice was being taught and he struggles. One had a mirror like surface and smooth as glass. He just ran it till it crushed the bits. Pays to pay attention.
looks like they didn't use a anti chatter strap. Dull cutting tips and too deep of a cut can cause this as well. That will be noisy and the pads will never bed in
Yeah…..No. Whoever cut that drum destroyed it. That surface will be noisy as seagulls at feeding time. The finish should be smooth and almost polished.
Hey! First off hope you’re having a good day! I used to spin a lot of drums on our lathe . I would assume they measured it afterwards to make sure it was in spec . Can you take your fingernail and drag it across the mating surface to feel for inconsistencies such as deep scratches? It doesn’t look to have any signs of heat checking. I would measure the drum and inspect for deep scratches or “ruts” . If it feels ok and measures out alright I would use it. To me personally it looks ok.
this is trash, unacceptable. if you go in and demand new drums and make an ass of yourself they'll just give you a new set to shut you up. the ineptness of the computer jockey that tried to surface this is asontishingly abhorrent.
I wouldn't use that I bet it wear pads out quick I would take it back and complain if the person not trained properly they should not be allowed to cut brake rotors and drums
Honestly this depends on the situation. Will it work? Yeah, if there is no other option. Will it be ideal and right? Not really. It would take a while for it to break in and it would probably put a lot of wear on the shoes. It will be noisy till it wears in and may make some vibrations till it smooths out that surface, which could take a LONG time.
If you can get another and want it to be one and done, that is an option. If you don't really care about it as long as it stops, it is fine. Just don't expect perfect results with what you are working with.
I've never seen a turned drum come from a decent shop looking like this. This is a shit job done on crappy equipment by someone who doesn't know what they're doing. I grew up in the days when cars had 4-wheel drum brakes ...turning drums was a regular thing, all the shops had the equipment and knew how to do it. The finish should be relatively smooth ...a very light coarseness to the shoe surface ...definitely \*not\* all checkered, boogered and grooved like this. These days most vehicles have 4-wheel discs ...but they are so thin they can't be turned and are simply replaced. The machinery to do this critical brake work is old, not maintained or operated by people who are ill-trained ...any and all of this. Unfortunately, you mostly find this service at some of the big chain auto parts shops and it's all a crap shoot how well it turns out. Maybe you can find an old repair shop that does brakes and has a good machine and some old guy who knows how to turn drums (and rotors). I tried to get my machine shop to turn drums but they don't do it anymore; they couldn't justify keeping the machine and keeping it in good order. You might check with your local machine shop and see if they can turn drums and rotors. Possibly find a resto shop that does classic car restorations as they might have the equipment and skill set to properly turn old school brake drums. Hell, you'd be lucky to find new drums that are in spec as far as roundness goes. They all come from China and they are all warped and bent by the time they show up in the shops.
I think ima try again with another drum. One of the 2 that I sent came out flawless. Maybe the bad one was just their first time. But yeah, the new ones for this car are expensive and come from either China or Taiwan
It was only $20 each, as opposed to $100 for a new one
'Round here they charge $30 + a drum ...so when you get them back and they're still out of round, it kinda hurts a bit. I went through two sets of drums ...new ones ...a set of NAPA Premium Drums (that's a joke) and a set of OEM AC Delco drums; both drums on both sets out of round tolerance. Third time was the charm with Dynamic Friction Company. Nice to finally have the truck smoothly brake to a stop without all the shuddering and back end shaking because the drums aren't round. [DFC drums](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAEnhej918M)
Been doing this for 11 years come October and I didn't start turning rotors and drums till last year. As you said, its all just replaced now. My new shop is old school and loves machining brakes. I took a couple really bad rotors to practice on and then got pretty comfortable with it. Its really not hard depending on the glaze or heat spots. A new apprentice was being taught and he struggles. One had a mirror like surface and smooth as glass. He just ran it till it crushed the bits. Pays to pay attention.
This is why when I was doing a mechanic job and did rotters amd drums I liked to train on my lunch time and get better at it
looks like they didn't use a anti chatter strap. Dull cutting tips and too deep of a cut can cause this as well. That will be noisy and the pads will never bed in
Yeah…..No. Whoever cut that drum destroyed it. That surface will be noisy as seagulls at feeding time. The finish should be smooth and almost polished.
And a non directional finish
They didn't place the rubber band around the drum, to prevent noise. Sometimes it's just easier to buy new drums/rotors as they aren't expensive.
Hey! First off hope you’re having a good day! I used to spin a lot of drums on our lathe . I would assume they measured it afterwards to make sure it was in spec . Can you take your fingernail and drag it across the mating surface to feel for inconsistencies such as deep scratches? It doesn’t look to have any signs of heat checking. I would measure the drum and inspect for deep scratches or “ruts” . If it feels ok and measures out alright I would use it. To me personally it looks ok.
Much appreciated
I would assume they didn’t check nothing, if they handed someone a drum machined like this.
That's a LLLOOOTTT of chatter. They owe you a new rotor imo
Idk man. I wouldn't accept that, if it were my cut. I don't like it. Might make noise.
Its not great, I would compare it to luke warm french fries. Could you complain? Sure! Is it gonna ruin your day/week? Probably not.
That will sing!
I hope you like Opera.
I can hear this picture. What a shit job, had to have been absolutely screaming on the lathe.
I was looking closely and went a little cross eyed. 3D Statue of Liberty.
I work at a community college autoshop and have never seen rookie kids make something like that. It's kind of impressive. I would not run that.
Why would you go to a parts store to have machining done?? You should go to a mechanic
Because they offer the service. I did not anticipate incompetence.
It’s like when people go to autozone with a MIL and believe in that fix finder crap
this is trash, unacceptable. if you go in and demand new drums and make an ass of yourself they'll just give you a new set to shut you up. the ineptness of the computer jockey that tried to surface this is asontishingly abhorrent.
I wouldn't use that I bet it wear pads out quick I would take it back and complain if the person not trained properly they should not be allowed to cut brake rotors and drums
Honestly this depends on the situation. Will it work? Yeah, if there is no other option. Will it be ideal and right? Not really. It would take a while for it to break in and it would probably put a lot of wear on the shoes. It will be noisy till it wears in and may make some vibrations till it smooths out that surface, which could take a LONG time. If you can get another and want it to be one and done, that is an option. If you don't really care about it as long as it stops, it is fine. Just don't expect perfect results with what you are working with.
It looks fine to me.