SQUEAKING BRAKES

Hawera Star, Volume L, 14 February 1931, Page 13

SQUEAKING BRAKES

WHAT A PROFESSOR. SAYS. “A squeaking brake can usually be cured temporarily by varying the frictional surface with graphite, but a permanent remedy which delves to the root of the trouble is to alter the fulcrum point so that the shoe is pushed or pulled until no part is momentarily subject to variaiton of stress,” says Professor A. .M Low. “The old-fashioned slipper brake is «i good example of a steady application of load. The period of vibration, if it cannot be cured, can be made so great that no noise results. ‘‘The more simple method of obviating much of the trouble is to damp the brake-drums or surrounding parts' until they cannot ‘ring.’ If bands surrounding the drums do not pro- j duco a cure it is doubtful if much, can be done without alteration of the, gear itself or of the material from j which the drum or friction surface is > made. ■ “From experiments conducted upon, various frictional materials lying be-1 tween the shoe and the drum it seems; if they are so made as to provide' slight give at the opposite side to the j rubomg surface they will easily damp! out vibration. I have known a ter-j ribie squeak to be removed from a brake by interposing between the friction material and the shoe n very thin strip of ordinary rubber.”