# New Departure brake discs...would you?



## jd56 (Aug 27, 2014)

I'm rebuilding my 1950 skiptooth roadmaster luxury liner rear hub. Just got replacement hoops and spokes with nipples. Cleaning the ND model "D" hub and doing a rebuild for the reassembly.
But I found my discs have some major wear. 
I'll assume these discs work from friction but, these gouges in a number of the discs worries me.
Not having a large supply of replacement discs I would replace these damaged ones.
Would you re-use these or toss them?

Thanks for the help in advance.
JD

Here are the good ones from the 21 discs





And here are the gouged and keyway worn away ones. ..of course these with the key ways will be tossed.








It's all about the Tanklights!!

How did I run out of room so fast?


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## THE STIG (Aug 27, 2014)

toss all of them..........


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## jpromo (Aug 27, 2014)

Almost looks like it was assembled without enough discs. I would just replace the discs with the keyways damaged. I wouldn't worry about the gouges in the fingered discs. That's not a typical issue and was only caused by the other discs being beat up.. but that's just me.


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## jpromo (Aug 27, 2014)

Actually that looks like a lot of total discs.. I don't remember how many came on the later hubs, but I feel like it was around 21.. I'm counting 29?


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## rollfaster (Aug 27, 2014)

*22 or 23*



jpromo said:


> Actually that looks like a lot of total discs.. I don't remember how many came on the later hubs, but I feel like it was around 21.. I'm counting 29?




Maybe it depends on the hub. My 56 spitfire nd hub contained 23 I believe.


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## jpromo (Aug 27, 2014)

They would have an odd number of discs no matter what. So I'd guess this is a case of too many discs and they crushed themselves. Pick the nicest 23 then swap out a couple if you have a few spare.


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## jd56 (Aug 27, 2014)

There is only 21 discs total.
The extras are from a batch of discs I bought from Gordon a while back.
Stig....I think the finger ed ones might be still re use a le. But the keywayed discs worried me for sure.
So I guess it's time to go through my hubs on toasted rims and see if I can salvage enough discs from those. Otherwise I guess I'll be in the market for replacements.
Thanks Jason and Rob for chiming in.

It's all about the Tanklights!!

How did I run out of room so fast?


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## jd56 (Aug 27, 2014)

Here are the replacement hoops....thanks to Goldengreek for finding them for me.
Thanks Paisan!!
They will do for sure.
Now to just get this bike back together....going to get cold soon...lol






It's all about the Tanklights!!

How did I run out of room so fast?


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## THE STIG (Aug 27, 2014)

you should have 23 (12 steel n 11 bronze)start and end with steel........ but heck what do i know i lose hub parts


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Aug 27, 2014)

jd56 said:


> Here are the replacement hoops....thanks to Goldengreek for finding them for me.
> Thanks Paisan!!
> They will do for sure.
> Now to just get this bike back together....going get cold soon...lol
> ...




Nice and anytime, they cleaned up really good JD Enjoy you Mofo and now get that bike together already!


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## STRADALITE (Aug 27, 2014)

You could replace them with these.
Ebay item #161405938424
NOS New Departure brake discs. $10.99 shipped


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## jd56 (Aug 28, 2014)

*missed it*

I would have bought those if only to get one box.


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## SirMike1983 (Aug 29, 2014)

I don't measure ND braking disc sets solely by disc count. They actually made several widths of discs over the years. What you're looking for is the overall dimension of the entire stack of discs. The count matters in that it should be close to 50/50 proportion. For example, if you have a set of the "heavy duty" type discs and clutches, you'll have fewer discs but the same overall dimension for the stack.

I checked a set of unused _heavy duty_ discs/clutches. There were 17 total pieces in the braking surface set, counting both types of brake washer. The caliper settled at very close to 3/4 inch for them. They were heavier duty than the ones I took out of the hub I was rebuilding, and there were fewer of them. Some hubs it seems they used all steel, wafer thin pieces in greater quantity, and other hubs have thicker ones with bronze spinning washers. Regardless, the goal is right near that 3/4 inch mark.

The thicker discs have the disadvantage of lowering the overall surface area friction within the stack because you have fewer pieces. Their advantage is less propensity to crack or snap under load. You can crank down on those thick ones a little more, in my experience.


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## jd56 (Jun 16, 2015)

Another ND copper brake disc observation.
Since I began the quest to figure out how to rebuild hubs I have come across another concern. I have after lots of practice gotten pretty good at it. 
I probably should replace these worn discs even though I am out of replacements.
But what would cause this wear?
Hard braking and or lack of proper lubrication? 
Note the keyway tabs still have their thickness because there is no friction wear here.










Guess I need some replacements again....Gordon I know you're probably out of then,  anybody willing to let a few sets go?
It's all about the Tanklights!!

How did I run out of room so fast?


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## the tinker (Jun 16, 2015)

This is the reason before I toss out a rusty old wheel I cut the hub out and toss them in a bucket. 
Every part is there. The boys bikes may be shot, but the girls are easy on them. that transfer spring gets broke from hitting the brakes too hard , skidding down the driveway.  Back in the day New Departure was the  preferred hub.  Every kid loved that "dry sounding squawk" they made when they needed oil and you jammed on the brakes skidding down the sidewalk behind some girls. I had an old dry rotted tire on the rear of a Schwinn Hornet I had that I wore clear through doing this.  Thats how those disks got beat


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## jd56 (Jun 16, 2015)

I do have a limited few donor rims that need breakdown for parts. Guess that's the next project. Looks like I'll need to replace them all on this hub.
Thanks for the insights on the method of wearing the brake discs out tinker.
You never think about what wear and tear you cause on the internals when impressing the chicks when we were young. 

It's all about the Tanklights!!

How did I run out of room so fast?


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## bikeyard (Jun 17, 2015)

Pm me your address


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## Andrew Gorman (Jun 17, 2015)

NOS washer stacks are on eBay all the time.  And better yet, Mattatuck and Nankai discs will work too.  Your set is pretty well worn out, but if you want to cheap out slide another worn out disc into the stack.  It works sometimes.  But If you want a well working hub, spring for a new washer stack AND a retarder spring.  They will make a big difference.


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## jd56 (Jun 18, 2015)

Sent you my email bikeyard.
And thanks for the advice Andrew. The spring was broken too. I have a replacement for that. Not familiar with the other brand discs you mentioned, though. Mattatuck and Nankai hubs?

It's all about the Tanklights!!

How did I run out of room so fast?


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## Andrew Gorman (Jun 18, 2015)

Mattatuck took over production of the ND hub for a few years.  There were some changes to thedriver and retarder spring, but the disks are the same.  Nankai was a Japanese copy of the model D.  Since these hubs are not as well known spares sometimes show upin the orphan parts pile.


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## jd56 (Jun 19, 2015)

Andrew Gorman said:


> Mattatuck took over production of the ND hub for a few years.  There were some changes to thedriver and retarder spring, but the disks are the same.  Nankai was a Japanese copy of the model D.  Since these hubs are not as well known spares sometimes show upin the orphan parts pile.



Good to know...thanks

It's all about the Tanklights!!

How did I run out of room so fast?


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## how (Jun 28, 2015)

I would use them, i took apart cleaned and put back together 2 of them, they didnt stop on a dime but worked ok


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## SirMike1983 (Jun 28, 2015)

As I mentioned earlier, the main issues are the size of the stack overall and keeping the proportion of fixed and moving brakes even. The manual advises not to re-use brake discs, but rather to replace the set as a whole. This is the best of all options because you get new discs. However, if the discs are not heavily damaged or cracked, you can continue using them for now, provided you keep the stack very close to the proper size and the proportion of fixed to turning discs at 50/50. Eventually you will want a fresh stack if you are riding the bike a lot, or riding in hilly areas.


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