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Coaster Brake Resurrected - Morrow

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dougfisk

Cruisin' on my Bluebird
I have this 1938 Shelby with a 37 dated Morrow coaster hub. http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?41640-Anyone-else-sometimes-like-them-simple
I cleaned up and rebuilt the bike and rode about 50 miles ...to observe that the brakes were the worst I have ever ridden. :(

Never to fear... I set out to remedy the shortcoming. :)

This is a "brake cylinder hone".... there was a time when automobiles had a part called a brake cylinder ...and this tool was used to resurface the walls of the cylinder in a rebuild process.
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Here we see it in operation... our purpose is to break the glazed mirror smooth surface on the inside of our hub.
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At left is the original 37 dated "brake shoe". At right is a later 46 dated brake shoe. You can see they changed the design in later years to include a lot of "surface texture". The lengthwise grooves are meant to allow the braking action to sweep the grease and oil off the breaking surface and into a recess where it will not impede the breaking action. We are going to add some of these features to our early brake shoe.
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A vintage bicycle repair manual recommends adding 3 grooves per segment to improve braking performance. Here is the tool I have selected to perform that operation.
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Here is a visual hint of how I will cut the grooves
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Here are the resultant 3 grooves per segment

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After cutting the grooves I sanded (sparingly) lengthwise with some 36 grit sandpaper to add more surface texture. Here is the final result
.
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The hub was reassembled and testing ensued...The "after" result is much, much better than the "before" result. The bike was formerly unsafe to ride; and now brakes within a normal range of expectations. :D
 
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Holy smokes batman! Nice work. I want a hone.

And Morrow coasters are worth the trouble. In my experience, they have the most braking control between subtle and hard stops but don't just lock up.
 
Looks like it's time to buy a hone kit! I would use it for this and cars. Very nice work. I need to do some brake work on a couple of my bikes.
 
This would make a wonderful slide presentation Doug. All you need is a professors cap and gown and a pointer. But really, great job documenting this process!!!
 
Great work Doug. Please post a pic of this bike when you can, if the hub/wheel is still on the Shelby. Rob.
 
The grooves really do make a big difference. I have multiple morrows and the earlier ones do not have grooves but at some point they started putting grooves in to clear the grease. Rustjunkie I have a couple cylinder hones, they are standard size for auto work, 2 stone, and 3 stone configurations, unmarked, but easily attainable.
 
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