Excellent process used. We live in a 'throw away world' and the art of engineering is slowly dying off, however, as seen in this video the working life of a brake disc can be extended if engineered correctly. The obvious benefits are less cost when compared to a new disc, less waste and the feeling of job satisfaction. It's a pity other people don't appreciate the process and skill used to engineer the discs as shown here. In summary, good explanations of the process used and the most critical point is that the process makes the car safer to drive

I clamped mine backwards in a 4-jaw chuck and trued them up with my indicator on the inside mounting surface. I was then able to turn both sides without having to take the disc out and turn it around.

I’m about to embark on similar, but my lathe is much too small. Fortunately I have a decent sized mill that I’ve just trued up the ways on, so making an arbor to mount in a BT40 facemill arbor will be this week’s job on the lathe. And for those saying it’s a cheap part, it isn’t if you buy rotors that are made from decent metal, these stop much better even when warped/hot spotted and are worth resurfacing.

Loved your idea and video. Made my own arbor like yours and now my brake discs are no longer throw away items. Saving the planet bit by bit.

Excellent video! If I could add my 0.02c worth. When you're running the lathe tool across the face of the disc you are essentially introducing a 'thread' or spiral like pattern to the surface. When the brake pads are applied they will try to 'screw' into (or out from) the center. This can cause squealing until the the discs burnish in again - sometimes they keep squealing. I've adapted a home made chuck grinder with a 3" sanding disc attached and finish the brake disc face with an omnidirectional pattern - sort of a hone finish. That seems to fix the issue.

Was also thinking of building an adapter for this , But I found a way to do this on the lathe ,The center hole is clamped on the outside jaws of a 3 jaw chuck and indicated with a dial gauge , resurface the face then turn the large diameter in the rotor "this is for a true surface with the turned rotor face at 90 degrees for clamping in the chuck " Then turn the rotor to complete using the outside jaws and indicate then resurface . Works well for me !

a lot of work for an inexpensive replacement park but much respect for your initiative and resourcefulness!

Great idea. And thanks for mentioning that some disks aren’t made to be resurfaced today. Always google the disk and see if it’s resurfaceable.

Wicked cool British Made Steel Big Blue Shop vice in video! No doubt made of melted down bits of Surplus WW2 Enfield MK3's and recycled bumpers of old Austins! I could tell it was English because of the Embossed printing on the side!Also if you look Very closely the Vice is wearing a small Bowler Hat and is carrying an Umbrella! "Ripper" Video ! Cheers Mate!

No disrespect here but I do have a suggestion. I have turned rotors almost the same way you do. You had me till after you faced off the steel tubing. Lol. I also chuck a piece of steel tubing in the lathe and face it off but then, I put the outside of the rotor up to it and run a bull nose live center up to it to hold it in place. And it's also centered up. Then you can take both cuts in the same setup and avoid rotor runout from multiple setups. Hope this helps. 👍

Very cool!! I enjoyed watching the process.

Thanks for the video. Way better than just mounting it in on my 3 jaw chuck

Awesome work! I enjoy building stuff out of garbage. We do live in a throwaway world, even the people are throw away nowadays lol 🤣🤣🤣

I work as a machinist and I see nothing wrong here. Nice job on the resurfacing!!

Bloody awesome! Thanks mate. Cheers from Australia!

Great video and nicely explained

Nicely done. Ive watched too many people go about doing this all wrong. Loved your fixture and actually referencing off of the correct surface.

A relatively simple operation made very complicated and not a great result. From a former brake specialist. GG.

Dear Friend, I have done something similar to this that you show but only to remove heavy rust scale, however, To give good service life the surface must be made smooth like a ground surface. The surface you leave will not stop well and tear- up the linings/pads and shorten the service life.

very nice processing & making adopter plan

Great video, especially when the cat makes an appearance. When making the final light (finishing) cut, how did you know that the lathes tool slide (compound rest) is 90`deg to the lathe axis?

lots of critical comments like all KZfaq video's. I, for one, appreciate your effort and thank you for the video. I intend to do the same thing, it was good to see someone else's approach.

You remind me of Wil E Coyote. Spends $25,000 on equipment to catch a bird that is worth about $50. Just joking. I am impressed with your equipment and talent. Cheers.

Thanks for the great video, newbie here, learning.

This could be easily done on 3 jaw chuck without the need of spending hours making fixtures etc. Just put it in a Lathe and clock the hub surface true and skim the disk. Then turn round and clock the surface you just turned and skim other side. Done. Just done it last night on 3 jaw Lathe. Took me 20 minutes and all vibration under braking is gone now.

Very informative. Thanks.

very nice! did not miss a thing!

This is the correct way to do it on a standard lathe if you don't have access to a brake lathe👍

Enjoyed your video thank you

This was an awesome and informative video, keep it up!

Great video 👍👍, thank you

I have the old wheel hubs from when I did the rear bearings on my 03 mountaineer. If I had a lathe, they would be perfect as a fixture for turning rotors.

awesome work...

I miss being a Machinist and performing this type of work. I'm in Info Technology now but eventually will buy me a lather and would like to start making money turning parts for profit

Brilliant idea 👌

I admire your resourcefulness. Should work fine. Not for everybody, but completely acceptable process.

We always buffed over the rotor with a surfacing disc on and air tool after it was cut and still spinning to give a semi non directional finish to help seat the new pads.

Very interesting channel " subed" and thanks!

I liked the fixture! The biggest problem I fight on the lathe are harmonics. Seem like a rigid fixture would help alot.

Ahhh, wooly pully sweater. Who does that!? Great video ...helpful. S/F

A face plate would be a lot quicker and useful for lots of other jobs .Worth looking out for one to fit your lathe if you don't already own one.

An excellent video. It shows what can be done by a skilled person who has all the neccessary equipment. Me, I would have to go to Autozone and buy the rotors.

Well done video! I own a lathe big enough to do this but I think I will just get new rotors. I have resurfaced the brake rotors for my airplane but those were small disks that didn't need any fixture to mount them in the three jaw chuck.

Good video, thank you.

I used to turn brake rotors and drums when I was a kid at my dads auto repair shop. They just don’t make them like they used to. Pads have become more reliable with so many different types, but it’s so much cheaper to just buy new rotors and pads no Adams for what shops charge to turn them.

I appreciate your work and your idea to recycle!! But I don't have a $3000 lathe and can afford to buy one to save $25-40 USD for a rotor. :) I LIKED!! the video!

Hello sir, your video was interesting to watch and do some learning from! We had a longtime family friend who was a mechanic, machinist and tool maker at his home shop his entire life. If he didn't have the tool, he made it! Unfortunately, he passed away several years ago but the memories of his shop, work and spending time around him will last forever. I'm curious, what is the size of your lathe? I'm getting ready to purchase one for my shop and don't want to spend the big money only to find out that I didn't do my homework and ended up buying a tool that's not large enough to fabricate or repair pieces on. I'd definitely like the lathe to have the ability to turn automotive rotors on but will use it for ATV and ATC parts. Thank you!!

Great work buddy 👍👍

The reason people replace their rotors is because it’s only a few dollars more to buy them then it is to resurface them. The two other issues are 1) after resurfacing them they become thinner which in itself can cause warping of the disc 2) the spaces between both surfaces are there to dissipate the heat from the friction of braking. They become rusted and can’t dissipate the heat which can also cause warping of the disc. Usually each rotor is stamped with the minimum thickness they must have to be useable. Better off tossing them and buying a cheap set of new ones if you ask me. I do like your setup you designed for turning your rotors. Pretty resourceful.

Interesting video thanks.

Good work Thank you.

Thanks for the video very nice. Quick question do you resurface the pads that you are reusing if so how?

I think some of the disks have the min thickness stamped on it. it's a good video - good idea.

As a machinist in the navy, I often resurfaced both discs and drums for the command vehicles. I made a jig for doing both sides of the disc without having to remove the disc insuring both sides were parallel.

This is very logical and straightforward. I have a crazy suggestion. Do you think you could make a 3D printed fixture to spin the rotor and then do the cleaning with a rigidly mounted but lightly cutting angle grinder?

a used hub flange can be used to bolt the disc to the lathe Even a new one would be cheap enough to invest in as a tool for resurfacing discs, you could add extra pcd patterns and use spigot rings to centre other discs.

very hard work and very skillfully

Nice tutorial - Adnd I am particularly glad to see you had proper guidance under the shop supervisor!!! You may want to cover the ways of the lathe with cloths prior to doing this as the cast rion, as you mentioned, is not good for them!!! Keep up the great videos! PS I don't care where your from black cats are good luck!!!

Super videos 👍🏻

I have machined several discs and drums with no problems, just bare in mind as others have said about minimum thickness. I made my arbour differently to yours. I welded my mounting flange onto the middle of a fairly stout round bar, then machined the whole thing between centres. That way I could mount the disk, machine one face and just turn the arbour round and machine the other side. Don't suppose it saved any money but it gave me satisfaction. Keep up the good work.

If only I had a Lathe!

good informative video

Increíble muy buen aditamento

Parabéns pela iniciativa, aqui no Brasil nos recuperamos discos de freios, você poderia tornear o tubo e prender o disco com uma barra roscada passando através do buraco do torno, faceando o disco de ambos os lados sem virar-la.

After machining the first part you could have turned the other side with a left hand side tool with out turning the disc and like that you will be 100% sure the faces are parallel thats how I do it never had any problems!!!!

Good one, Its all about straight lines and perfect circles!!

Fantastic job sir thanks

Nice video i love it

Side note, a lot of disc's have the min thk printed somewhere on the disc

Keeping this as an example, the next time my electricity drops out I'll just pop on down and buy myself a nuclear power plant and make my own electricity from now on.

Excellent video! Well explained and shot. Only wish I had a lathe, I guess I'm stuck trying my rotor with a bastard file 😜

Nice job

Appreciate the skill and ingenuity involved; however, if you need to pay a mechanic to do this, the time involved will cost far more than buying replacement rotors. It’s simple economics based on the cost of labor.

Good job ! Now where do I find an affordable lathe ... And where to place it ... ?

great job

Well done! Now you have a possible extra source of income from turning brake disks! Smart thinking!

Looks like your making this a very complicated job. But what do I know I never turned anything bigger than 10cm on my lathe. You're result is great and that's what matters.

They are made of nodular cast iron also referred to as ductile cast iron. Normal cast iron are prone to crack under large temperature differenses

Good job, good video. First Class Fitter & Turner here, so I know a good engineering job when I see it :)

I used to do these on a rotary surface grinder.

Fantastic 👍👍👍👍👍

Most brake discs rotors have the minimum thickness cast into them in a area that is not important. Sometimes very hard to find depending on the amount of rust they have. Otherwise like you said, check with automotive dealer. Good job. Been watch a bunch of your videos and enjoying them very much. Keep up the good work. Cheers Willy

Impressive skils, but really worth it for the average DIYer? Rube goldberg machine comes to mind.

dyi? this is on another level

Nice money saver. One extra thing I would have done though, which is to use the dial indicator to mark the high and low spots before removing the discs from the car. It is reassuring to find the same spots, with the same runout when you chuck the discs up. If there is a big difference, there is another problem, maybe in the hub.

Some things: 1. It is possible to warp discs but this is not what usually happens - what typically happens is the brake pad material gets overheated and is unevenly deposited on the disc. Check out Carroll Smith's essay on the subject: 'The Warped Brake Disc and Other Myths of the Braking System'. Skimming will rectify this but it behooves one to break in the brake properly which probably caused the problem in the first place. 2. It is a good idea to keep track of the original rotation of the disc - I have had discs fail when out of desperation I reused some old discs without knowing the rotation. A lot of them sheared at the bell hat and I put that down to reversing the stresses in the original aged discs. This may be down to the particular design (Peugeot 304) but it was not a pleasant feeling. 3. Your time is obviously not valuable given that new discs are for most cars dirt cheap these days!

I was trying to figure out what was the problem you just now sorted the problem out for me thank you very much for your important video I'm really impressed I'll be on the case this weekend to grind my

I was just on the local sale listings looking at lathes, I thought jeepers I'm gonna have to buy a lathe, make an adapter, nope, better head to KZfaq. Perfect a DIY, haha still gotta buy a lathe and make an adapter! I was waiting for you to surface it in the back yard on an old axle spun up with a clapped out scooter. Anything specific I should look for in a lathe to do this specifically?

Hello friend, is it safe with an armored Yogen? Is it better for us to exchange the disc?

I assume this is your workshop at home... This is a hobby, a pastime or a way of saving money. Then good for you. If you are trying to make money you may have a way to go. There are better ways of doing it but the result was good, you enjoyed it and you saved a few quid.

Good job! Not sure if it’s been mentioned elsewhere but it may prove of value to mark/spray a thin layer of say red paint on the low-point (or even over the entire surface of the disc if the low-points and concentrical over the entire surface). That way (as you are skimming more and more across the entire surface of the disc with each pass) it should serve as a visual indicator as the paint mark will progressively disappear. You should be able to see the paint even when the disc is rotating at speed; when you have skimmed low enough to approach the low-point by then the paint would have almost disappeared completely. At that stage you will then have to rely on your micrometer to measure how close you are to being done. In effect it should speed up the beginning part of the skimming process with less risk of accidentally over-skimming between measurements. I hope this proves of value.

Hey. I'm a noob, but I'm curious to find out why you did not think it was necessary to resurface the internal hat surface, that which makes contact with the hub. Thanks!

Hi, after resurfacing surfaces of the discs, you should resurface the hub to clean, shiny metal and the inside disc contact surface with hub, now is done half wrong way. You may experience something wrong with brakes, such as beating brake pedal ... Greetings :)

Yes it's good to see a simple way to get a 2nd run on a pair of discs fine if there expensive to buy new too

Liked the video, tell the people that min. dimensions matter & they are usualy stamped or cast onto the disc.

Worked in an autoshop here in Australia, where we would skim the brake pads as needed with each service. Pretty much we did very similar things, only, we had a dedicated "lathe" that came with tools designed for different size and shapes of brake disks. There was only ine thing that you missed im this process, and that was grinding with an emery cloth on both sides with the disk still in the lathe, which smooths up the surface and gets rid of the machining marks. The tools you made were pretty much the exact same as the dedicated lathe, aside from the obvious that the lathe I used worked better and ran on it's own, turning itself off when it was done.

Did it work ok? Did you get any brake pedal movement from runout? I like the fixture 👍

You can replace the bolt by pushing a plate against the disc with a live center. Only need to turn the register diameter and face, I use old engine pistons for that. If you mark the orientation, it can even be rechucked in a 3 jaw chuck and still run true enough.

Now, all I need is a metal lathe. And a welder.

Bravo job very well done. and thanks from a environementalist, my disc always serves me 3 sets of pad.