Thread: Auto brake rotors as a faceplate

Something I dont have but would like is a faceplate . I read about using an old auto disc brake rotor as a faceplate - made from cast iron . What would be the best method of mounting it on a lathe spindle ? Some kind of threaded hub would be needed I imagine . mike

After boring the Disc you would Press or Shrink a threaded bush into your bore.
A few Selok pins would also act as a supplementary retention method.

Mike if it's a 9" Hercus you have and don't fancy making one, they are readily available to buy. Here's one supplier for example hercus 9" lathe 7.5" faceplate I wonder if a brake disk rotor would really have enough thickness and rigidity to be able to be successfully used as a faceplate

Pete

OK Pete But a car disc brake rotor has to withstand very large forces I would think , and without distorting very much as well . It would heat up and cool down during use , so they must be reasonably strong and tolerant of stress. Yes , it's just that I'm a cheapskate and make as much as I can with my limited skills ! Mike

That's very true Mike, but the forces on a rotor on its intended use are very different to what a lathe sees. However that really is beside the point.

You could find a rotor off a large vehicle that may be thick enough, yet still fit within your lathe. You'd then need to machine off the hub, bore the surface, turn up a new hub that was flush with the rotor, bore and thread the hub with a register, secure the hub to the rotor in such a way that the two didn't decide to part company at 2500 rpm, then face the whole lot down while still leaving enough material on the rotor that it was useable.

Alternatively you could spend $95 bucks and buy a genuine one, screw it on, and go about life.

I agree, I too like to make as much as I can with my limited skills, but in my opinion there is a time to make things and a time to buy things. This one would definitely fall in the latter.

Out of interest, do you have any photos of people who have made faceplates from brake rotors?

Pete

Pete , you make a whole lot of valid points there ....

The main problem would be fixing the lathe spindle hub to the rotor so that it's very strong . Would brazing on the spindle hub to the rotor be a viable alternative ?

I don't have any pics, but I know the rotor idea been done by a few people .

So far I have made a:

Thread dial indicator , works fine except for the brass gear , I made it with a concave tooth profile and it should be flat.

Pipe centre

Tool post ... works excellent , I recommend it . A simple design .

Mike

Originally Posted by morrisman

Pete , you make a whole lot of valid points there ....

The main problem would be fixing the lathe spindle hub to the rotor so that it's very strong . Would brazing on the spindle hub to the rotor be a viable alternative ?

Mike

Not sure Mike, that's outside what I have any real experience in. However I'd personally think it would be difficult to weld or braze something like this without it turning into something resembling a potato crisp. I'm sure it could be done, but it would require a lot of heat for something that thickness and I would expect the brazing to both warp the rotor badly and also pull the centre off axis as the welds cool. Obviously that will come out when you face it on your lathe, but just the same it couldn't be too bad or you'd lose even more thickness.

If I was TIG welding it, I'd try small tack welds to secure it diametrically opposite each other (ie the first at 12 o'clock, the 2nd at 6 o'clock, the third at 9 o'clock, the 4th at 3 o'clock) and then slowly fill in the area in between by the same process, all to try to keep the stresses even. However if it were me, before doing that I would try for a press fit as Peter said, and use a stud locking loctite. I'm pretty sure that would secure the two quite securely, but once again if it were me I wouldn't be bothered with this at all. I too have heard of plenty of people who have talked about using disk rotors, but have yet to actually see the finished result with the acknowledgement that it worked well. You still have to do something about the hub in the centre, all the rotor does is add an extra couple of inches to the outside diameter of that hub.

In my honest opinion, you would possibly be better in bolting a piece of CI or steel/aluminium plate on to an existing backplate if you wanted to roll your own faceplate. Indeed if I was doing a lot of faceplate work I would probably do just that with some aluminium and treat it as sacrificial so I could drill appropriate fixing holes wherever I liked in it and even turn down into it if I cared to. However to be honest I so rarely use my faceplate I've never seen the need, if/when I need something sacrificial I'll just mount it on my existing faceplate.

Don't worry, I have been down this path myself, indeed I still have a rotor sitting in the workshop I saved before I had my faceplate. I looked at the rotor, considered the amount of angst involved in turning it into a lousy facsimile of a genuine faceplate ... then put the whole lot down and went out and bought one

Pete

HI,
Have You considered using a Dumbell or Barbell Weight ?. A Barbell Weight like the one in the second Picture would be good as it is Ribbed, I have never seen one like that before.

Somebody said they are made from rather poor grade iron and won't machine very well .

Where would you buy them anyway ? A health fitness shop perhaps

This guy made a nice one
http://home.iprimus.com.au/stevor/ta...ccessories.htm
Mike

I'm pretty sure that brake rotors are not designed to take the side loading that could be applied in a lathe.

Yes, a very large one might be OK.

I would be very wary

Hi all
could try a steel fly wheel off a jap car engine ,200B
have used a fly wheel as a fly cutter on a mill for heads ect.
tony

Flywheel sounds like a great Idea. Bolt it onto a suitably machined chunk of steel with the right thread to fit spindle or a backplate blank, spin it around and shove it on the spindle. Clean it up and you are set. Never drilled one so don't know what that is like.

Only disk rotor faceplate I have seen was using the stub axle as well as the bearings as a headsock. Pulley just behind the rotor. I don't remember how it was attached. Probably via bolts thru wheel stud holes. A milling attachment sat next to it to provide the carriage operation. I think this clamped to a length of large diam galv pipe for horizontal movement beyond the attachments ability. I don't believe thread cutting was possible on this machine, but it was better than what I had at the time.

I would not use a brazed or silver soldered cast faceplate. I have made one for a wood lathe out of steel in a similar fashion but arc welded the hub and steel plate. That I would trust. Only my opinion however.

Dean

Flywheel would be ok, but they usually have a recess for the bolt holes in the center, and the only truly flat portion is the clutch friction surface.