Backstage junior brake modification

[axel ebermann]

Hey guys,

 

Let's spell out what we already know:

 

The cart is great. The brakes are laughably bad. I am always carrying to sandbags

as 'wheel stoppers' but I feel I am at the point in my life to get over that.

 

Mainly because I get sick and tired of telling people "secure the cart - these things roll away'.

 

Anybody got a genius McGuyver idea ?

 

(no - I will not buy an inovative cart at this point)

[brett.mayfield]

i disassembled my wheels, put the brake portion in a vice, and bent it downwards. now it gets better traction. putting it back together isnt tough, but you may have to do it a few times before the on/off slides into the correct position.

while youve got the wheel off, clean it with baking soda, vinegar, whatever, and grease the wheel and pivot bearings with white lithium grease.

 

only other thing i can think is grab a few camera wedges (from your ac of course) and shove em in between the brake and tire.

[William Demeritt]

Anyone tried making a bicycle wheel brake (not a disc brake, the friction rubber-to-rubber) that has a handle on the cart's handle? Run the wires to the wheel, and when you depress the "hand brake", the brake comes off the wheels (lets you move). Hands off, brake is automatically applied by spring.

 

EDIT: brakes on the dumb wheels obviously, not the smart wheels.

[Alan Rencher]

Try a floor lock: http://www.mcmaster.com/#floor-locks/=slljp1

[Thomas English]

The simplest modification I've seen is simply to tap a large threaded hole into the side of the metal wall and screw in a large bolt. When you want lock you just screw the bolt in a couple of turns and it touches the metal wheel wall and locks the wheel. Super simple and you don't need that much pressure. I've not done it myself but it did work well.

[axel ebermann]

Thanks guys.

I thought about the screw solution. But I already bend over so much in life that this might not be the solution

for me :-)

 

That floor lock looks it might be snazzy. Anybody been using it ?

[Alan Rencher]

I bought some anti-slip tape to increase friction on the metal brake. It works pretty well. We'll see how time treats it.

[William Demeritt]

I've got a can of PlastiDip, I might just coat the brake and see if the rubber-on-rubber is effective? I figure it'll wear down, but then I'll just reapply.

 

The floor lock solution, however, is sexy.

[Brian Freesh]

I did like Brett, I bent the brake into a better position. I just grabbed a pair of vice grips and did it with the break still attached to the wheel while the cart itself was fully built. Took all of 10 seconds to do both wheels, works great now. My tires were also a little low, so I re-inflated them.

 

Be aware that fully inflated tires may rub the brake in the UNlocked position if you adjusted the brake before inflating. Easy enough to fix though.

[RonBaldwin]

When I saw this thread I was incredibly excited that that the brake solution for these crap casters might actually come from a guy named Axle

[Jens Piotrowski SOC]

Or this

[Alan Rencher]

Jens, I've seen those before. Who makes them?

 

P.S. - Sweet filter

[brooksrobinson]

I have the same wheel chock as Jens. That is certainly the easiest, least expensive, and most effective way to stop your cart from rolling, short of buying another cart. Mine was about $25 through a local LA grip. I'm sure you could get one made up from your best boy grip for free next time you are on a show. I've seen them made out of both wood and metal (mine is metal). Simple, inexpensive solution that you can leave on your cart until needed. Good luck.

 

Brooks

[Jens Piotrowski SOC]

Rick Kangrga

 

(818) 279-4544

[axel ebermann]

When I saw this thread I was incredibly excited that that the brake solution for these crap casters might actually come from a guy named Axle

 

It's called karma my friend.