How to measure Brake Drum ID ?

[w30bob]

Hi Guys,

Ok, silly question I guess.......but what's the practical way (meaning without carrying around a drum caliper) to measure the ID of used brake drums to see if they still have enough meat left on them to be useable? I run across them every once in a while when I'm out and about and never know if a measuring tape will be accurate enough. What do you guys use?

thanks,
bob

[Elwood]

When I've gone to inspect brake drums, I've taken an Aamco 8500 brake drum gauge. This tool is not very large and reasonably accurate. Frankly, I doubt that a tape measure is good enough to detect a worn drum, except for the ones that are obviously beyond use as anything other than a boat anchor.