Good uses for old brake rotors?

ddickey said:
You can use them to tram and check nod on your mill. New ones are very flat.
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Not to be dis-agreeing with you here, but the last pair I bought for Honey's Caddy from RockAuto were out .005" after I mounted them.
Took them to an acquaintance's shop and laid them on the surface plate and they weren't 'good' at all.
Seemed to me like maybe the arbor was not registering properly during machining or something.
This was 6+ years ago and they were from Canada. (Supposedly...)
Returned & exchanged them and the replacements were fine.
Had the same thing happen with rears on my kid's car several years ago.
 
Ok, the backyard casting looks like a lot of fun! But, too big a can of worms for me.
 
Many of them say they should be turned on the car after mounting them. Depending on how they are mounted, they can be twisted by uneven tightening of the lugs. I think that mainly applies to the style that have the rotor held to the hub by the lugs, not the ones where the rotor is captured between the hub and the wheel. Do many shops even have the equipment to resurface rotors mounted on a vehicle?
 
If rotors where dead nuts true, the pads would rub all the time.
 
Superburban said:
Many of them say they should be turned on the car after mounting them. Depending on how they are mounted, they can be twisted by uneven tightening of the lugs. I think that mainly applies to the style that have the rotor held to the hub by the lugs, not the ones where the rotor is captured between the hub and the wheel. Do many shops even have the equipment to resurface rotors mounted on a vehicle?
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I always take mine to the local checkers...they do it on a brake lathe and never charge me (I give them a handsome tip) I did have warranty twork through Nissan once...they did it on the truck and soon as I drove off..I knew something was wrong. The outside of the disc looked like a vinyl record= DEEP grooves! So the equipment/technique is secondary to skill. I don't think run out is ever a concern with brakes/rotors though.
 
When rotors are "dead flat", such as surface plate flat, the pads don't get pushed clear when the brakes are released. I have never had to replace them because of marks, letting the pads work into the grooves, after which everything was fine. In addition to automotive application, I have had several motorcycles with disk brakes. And brakes on a motorcycle are a couple orders of magnatude more critical than automobiles. Never put me on the pavement, I'd say they work fine.

That said, I make scale flanged wheels for 1-1/2 inch:1 ft (1/8) scale trains from them. I actually build 1/5 scale models, where the 7-1/2 inch track represents 36 inches.

Mounting up the car disk in a lathe, I cut off the actual disk, keeping the hub and a half inch of the "web". They finish out to very nice with a 3/16 flange. Hubs are made from several layers of 3/4 plywood, well sealed. My source was a "jack-leg" mechanic working at a small shop. The biggest problem I had was getting two the same diameter on an axle. I've still got a dozen or so single wheels, all different sizes. Even after trimming, there'ws too much difference to use together.

That was the reason I had to commission the Craftsman 12X36. Everything else was done on a 9X19, and fits. I had the 12X36 on hand because I liked the idea of the full "Norton" threading box and wanted to copy it. Other than that, after I built back gears and a reversing lead screw for the Grizz, the full "Norton" and the swing were the only factors. Well, and finding room for the four foot plus bed VS a little under 3 feet for the 9X19.

So why don't I have more trains? Seems my "git up and go" got up and left town after my last stroke (#6) left me in a wheelchair. I still have a few projects sitting out and getting rusty. Drives me nuts that all I have left is the small models and had to dispose of my motorcycles. I miss the wind in my face.

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