Brake drums-are they weldable?

[digger2]

Hey guys,
This is kind of strange...me being a welder by trade,but does anybody
know exactly what brake drums are made of and if they are weldable?
I have a old set from a semi trailer,was thinking about making a set of wheel weights out of them,weldability would be a plus in the making of them.
Although i prob. could come up with another way of mounting them,it sure would be easier in my case if they were weldable.
They measure 13 1/4" across,and are about 9" deep...weigh about 55#
as they are (empty),if i filled them solid with say a lead weight/concrete mix i think they would be just the ticket as they do fit right inside the rear wheels on my Kubota.
It needs more traction,and i want to put these drums to good use.
Besides that...its winter.......and i'm bored.
digger2

 

[digger2]

And before anybody asks.....No, i'm not welding them to the wheels .
digger2

 

[tinkertoys]

They should be cast. Which I am sure you know can be welded with nickel rod. Man if you fill them with cement they will weigh a bunch. good luck.

 

[sandman2234]

Cast Steel, so weldability should be on those lines. For what you propose, I don't see a problem.
David from jax

 

[DieselPower]

There are two different types of brake drums used on tractor trailers. The regular cast type that has been used forever and the newer style forged centrifuge drums.

Sounds like the ones you have are kind of small. A standard heavy class truck or trailer brake drum is 16 1/2 inch's (internal braking surface). If you want even more weight stop by any truck shop and pick up a set of 16 1/2 by 9 drums, they weigh about 100 pounds. As far as welding I have been using them for years as bench grinder stands and wheel weight's. Just weld as you would any cast item.

 

[Renze]

If you weld them, you can forget using them as brakes anyymore... but you didnt have that in mind anyways.

Last summer i welded a broken top link bracket on my brothers '65 Zetor 2011. It still works fine. I welded it with MIG/MAG and welded only a centimeter at a time, in opposed directions, to spread the heating of the material over multiple spots and wait a minute or 3 between every centimeter i welded.

Welding cast iron works if the load is not too demanding, and if you make sure the heating of the material happens gently and evenly, to prevent heat cracks.

 

[digger2]

Thanks guys,
Actually,i have welded cast iron before.Not too bad ,just time consuming,
prep work,preheat,postheat.I think for the trouble i'll come up with another way to mount them to the wheels and forget about the welding part.
The problem was how to fasten the all-threads to the drums.That way i could run the all threads from the brake drums thru the wheels and fasten them with nuts and lockwashers from the backside.I could run the all thread all the way thru from outside the drums right on thru to the backside of the wheels but i did'nt want any protrusions on the outside of my "homemade
weights".I wanted a nice smooth look.Yeah i know,i'm being picky.
But when i do something,i usually spend more time thinking about how i'm going to do it than the time it takes to actually do it.Thats just the way i am.
That way i dont stand there saying to myself "i should have done it this way" or "i could have done it better if i would have done it like this".
Anyway i'll get them done,thanks for the info anyway...Digger2

 

[bobodu]

You could just bend a hook on the all-thread and let the cement hold em.Weld up a cage out of some re-bar before you pour for added strength.
I stopped by the local tire shop looking for some old wheel weights.The guy told me he was getting 68 cents a pound outta them....back to the concrete.Carrying on a war sure gets expensive.

 

[jwmorris]

http://www.ohiosteel.org/homepage/Spark Testing for Mystery Metals.pdf

Is a handy link for identifying unknown metals.

 

[Soundguy]

I've seen lots of toplink brackets that were cast steel, vs cast iron. Cast steel is a bit more forgiving and not as picky as cast iron..

soundguy

If you weld them, you can forget using them as brakes anyymore... but you didnt have that in mind anyways.

Last summer i welded a broken top link bracket on my brothers '65 Zetor 2011. It still works fine. I welded it with MIG/MAG and welded only a centimeter at a time, in opposed directions, to spread the heating of the material over multiple spots and wait a minute or 3 between every centimeter i welded.

Welding cast iron works if the load is not too demanding, and if you make sure the heating of the material happens gently and evenly, to prevent heat cracks.