TS 1925 Rear Brake

[Rob]

Hi,

I am wanting to put together the rear brake for my TS but I am missing a few pieces and information.

1) Material for the brake block?

I have seen in a past post for veteran brakes that hardwood is suitable. Any feedback or suggestions?

2) Shape of the block?

Obviously the face of the block is the shape of the "V" of the rim, however the rest is a mystery to me.  I have a CW block, is it similar but shorter?

3) I am missing the compensating spring pin, nut and cap.

A sketch or photo of what is required would be appreciated so I can reproduce / find some.

Thanks

Rob

[Alan Cun]

Hello Rob, About 15 years ago a friend of Douglas fame from the Illawarra District sold me a set of CW or OB hard rubber inserts that had been created from a full circle of material on a lathe. I think the cost then was about $50 each. At the time I was assembling around 12 TS Dougs to move on to finance other projects. I took the block of the hard rubber to a rubber proceesing place in Murphy Rd Virginia who informed me from their tech people that they had no rubber of that hardness and they also thought it was quite an achievement to produce the block by using a lathe.

I then went home and found some alluminium stock offcuts of about 2 X 5/8 which I shaped and with the aid of 2 counter sunk screws I attached a section of C section belt. Not like the original I guess but an effective brake. I have also heard of other restorers making the block out of 90 mil form ply.

I am sure someone will come up with a better alternative, my 10 cents worth to get the subject rolling.
regards Alan

[Dirt Track]

G'day Rob
The new idea is to use a "wheelie bin" wheel....carve out the shape you want.
Should be available at most hardware shops for not many $'s I would imagine.....has anyone else experience of these brake blocks.
Do the VMCC of UK have suitable brake blocks for the TS in their brake block scheme?
Howard.

[MRD]

Hi
The latest edition of the VMCC mag has just dropped through my letter box.
On the page headed VMCC Specialist Products ( Brake blocks)

Code BB95R
to Fit Douglas 4HP 1918 - 19 and 2 3/4 HP 1918 on
Price £33.37
I hope this is of help
Regards      Martin

[Rob]

Hi,

thanks for the replies.

As a trial I have gone with the wheelie bin wheel suggestion. With a wheel from the local hardware ($9.00) and the help from a jigsaw and stanley knife I have a block that seems to look the part.

It will be a while until I can test it under road conditions. The material was quite easy to work and I suspect it may be too soft.  When trialling with just a spinning wheel it grips a bit too well.


Rob

[Alan]

Hello there....when I had my 1924 TS, it came with a hardwood rear brake block and this worked remarkably well..
 I did get hold of some very hard rubber but never bothered to get machined to shape as the wood was fine..the wood was at least an inch longer than the support bracket on either side but this didn't cause any problems whereas rubber might have distorted.
 I was told by some people who had fitted a hard rubber block that this could have a tendency to grab.
 Hope this helps...Alan                     


 

[MRD]

Alan
Your right, I had a couple of occasions where the back wheels has locked up, but that was when the rubber compound was worn right down. Also with the rubber you have to make sure the belt rim is perfectly round as this will also cause a lock up.
Regards   Martin

[Alan]

Managed to find some pics of my 1924 TS showing the wooden back brake block...if I have managed to work out this attachment thingy they hopefully should be attached..

[Alan]

Sorry about that !! 

[graeme]

Hello Rob, About 15 years ago a friend of Douglas fame from the Illawarra District sold me a set of CW or OB hard rubber inserts that had been created from a full circle of material on a lathe....I am sure someone will come up with a better alternative,.... Regards, Alan

Hi Alan
Did you try using the blocks that Kevin made? We did on the OB, with disastrous results. The brakes virtually don't work at all, with very minimal retardation, until the bike is doing about 10mph or so, then the brakes lock solid! My brother managed to break spokes on the rear wheel with this material fitted. Perhaps they work ok on a CW, but I doubt it from our experience. Shame really, because as you mentioned, they are beautifully made.

I like your idea of the piece of C section belt - this might be worth a try. We are always on the look out for something suitable for the OB - the brakes on these models are truly dreadful, particularly considering their performance potential.
Cheers, Graeme

ps - I have some wheelie bin wheels, not bought, but taken off our garbage bin. I let the council pay for new wheels! I've been trying to work out the best method to shape them - seems a linisher might be the way to go.  G.

Edit 05/05/2008: Quote tags adjusted.  A.

[Ian]

I have used hardwodd on my TS - works great - Jarrah I think

[Alan Cun]

Hello Graeme, In Answer to your question on the blocks Kevin had made no I put them aside for the OB but to this day the OB along with a modified OB with OC brakes and the OC sit amongst the collection 90 % restored waiting the final burst to complete. At the moment I have been distrated by the restoration of a 27 T Ford Tourer so any progress on the Dougs falls on the old mate Des.  regards Alan

[Clive]

Thanks Alan
Regards
Clive