My New Disc Brake Project

[Ron Iaconis]

I have a set of garden tractor calipers that I have decided to use for my disc brake project,,,,,,,,,,
RONS Brakes /parking brake - YouTube

[gyrojake]

Good Idea. Looks good I like em

[jcarleto]

Looking good, Ron!

I like the discs. Those are the discs you made from used skill-saw blades with the teeth ground off, correct?

[Ron Iaconis]

Yes Jon,.,,,actually I used my Father's old table saw blades,,,,made of Nickel Chromium alloy,,,,,with as you said,,,,the teeth ground off.....Thanks

[jcarleto]

Those saw blades look lighter than the pit-bike brake disks I used. Good idea!

[Ron Iaconis]

Originally Posted by gyrojake

Good Idea. Looks good I like em

Thank you Jake,,,,I am now trying to decide just how and where to place my emergency brake pedals???????

[Vance]

I like that idea Ron, I would not have thought of that.

A saw blade needs to handle heat and it is best if it doesn’t rust so the alloy is probably a good choice.

Please let us know how they work and hold up.

Thank you, Vance

[StanFoster]

Ron- like your ingenuity! Stan

[vickijohnk]

Ron, I have had trouble with plywood saw blades warping with heat and making it impossible to cut on a line. I don't think gyros do much high speed breaking so they may not get that hot. Just a though. John K.

[Ron Iaconis]

Thanks for the positive remarks,,,,As far as pedals, I am going to use differential braking, using radial spring returns and dog like ratchets to lock pedals for hand starting and pre rotating. I have the standard Bensen Tube that support the ruder pedals and will pivot the brake levers on the ruder pedal tube, and the radial springs will be slid over the ruder pedal tube, similar to how Ken Brock used the same type springs to return the ruder pedals on the KB-2.
Let me share with you that I found the calipers on a flea market table at a Bensen Days fly-in some 14 years ago,,,,cost was $3.00, I exchanged some of the aluminum with 6061-T6, had to make some disc pucks using a hole saw to cut out the pucks, and I ground the saw blades down for use as disc brake rotors some 7 years ago and all this stuff was just collecting dust until I finally decided to go ahead and spend the time/effort to add brakes to my Bensen. Also, I checked the gauge of the saw blades and that of bicycle discs and found the gauge to be very close in gauge, and to put holes in the saw blades similar to pocket bike discs or bicycle discs, I need a very hard drill bit because my current drill bits cannot handle the hardness of the saw blades.All in all I am anxious to see how they work!

[lawn dart]

I'm doing something similar with my bensen,first I removed the steel nose wheel with the plywood brake, 8.5 lbs worth and replaced it with an aluminum rim wheel with a built in drum brake 4 lbs. then adapted off the shelf stainless disk brakes on the main gear for parking brakes. Still trying to decide on how I want to mount the calipers with out drilling extra holes.

[Ron Iaconis]

Originally Posted by lawn dart

I'm doing something similar with my Bensen,first I removed the steel nose wheel with the plywood brake, 8.5 lbs worth and replaced it with an aluminum rim wheel with a built in drum brake 4 lbs. then adapted off the shelf stainless disk brakes on the main gear for parking brakes. Still trying to decide on how I want to mount the calipers with out drilling extra holes.

Here are some pics of my attaching to axle,,,now I am trying to figure out how to install my brake pedals,,,,first I was going to use radial springs to return the " dog " that will hold the emergency brake,,,but have since decided to go another route,,,and as soon as I do,,,I will post my finished job.

[dilapidate]

Originally Posted by Ron Iaconis

Thanks for the positive remarks,,,,As far as pedals, I am going to use differential braking, using radial spring returns and dog like ratchets to lock pedals for hand starting and pre rotating. I have the standard Bensen Tube that support the ruder pedals and will pivot the brake levers on the ruder pedal tube, and the radial springs will be slid over the ruder pedal tube, similar to how Ken Brock used the same tractor paint type springs to return the ruder pedals on the KB-2.
Let me share with you that I found the calipers on a flea market table at a Bensen Days fly-in some 14 years ago,,,,cost was $3.00, I exchanged some of the aluminum with 6061-T6, had to make some disc pucks using a hole saw to cut out the pucks, and I ground the saw blades down for use as disc brake rotors some 7 years ago and all this stuff was just collecting dust until I finally decided to go ahead and spend the time/effort to add brakes to my Bensen. Also, I checked the gauge of the saw blades and that of bicycle discs and found the gauge to be very close in gauge, and to put holes in the saw blades similar to pocket bike discs or bicycle discs, I need a very hard drill bit because my current drill bits cannot handle the hardness of the saw blades.All in all I am anxious to see how they work!

What kind of drill bit are you going to try next?

[buckwill]

a plasma cutter makes short work of taking those saw teeth off wiath minimal heat distrotion, u can also do hole, use large washers for, use inside hole on large washers for cut patterns,practice on old saw blades till u find a hole u like,buck

[pancho]

Try cobalt drill bits. I've used them on new blades, but I don't know about old ones though. They may be harder than virgin saw blades.