From: Greg Stevens [email protected]
Date: 06 May 2002
Time: 19:13:38
Remote Name: 202.47.56.17
Ok, this is the way I do it. First get a strong piece of wire, eg 3mm spring wire, easy to get just go to your local spring maker. Oh, I hear you say," but I don't have a local spring maker". This is all about improvising, so get up and walk away from your screen and find some strong 3mm wire, but not mild steel!
Right we have done that. Now grind it very fine for about 12mm along from one end, (actually take the sides of it, leaving it maybe about 1.6mm thick) and bend a hook. The reason it has to be strong is you are actually grinding the majority of the metal away to make a fine but strong hook.
With some practice you can get in behind the hub and hook the loose end of the spring, the other end you have already hooked on one side of the shoes. Pull the spring across behind the hub. You have already removed the countersunk 1/4 BSF screws holding the drum on. Through one of these screw holes it is possible, (with a flat screwdriver or similar), again with some practice, to push the spring hook over the hook of the shoe.
It will take some "fettling" of the hook to get it the right shape, I tend to have a 180 degree bend at the other end to grab, allowing me to pull on it, as it takes some force to pull the spring.
This should give you all some homework to do, I have been doing it like this for years. I for some reason had a bad run on alloy shoe springs breaking. Sure beats disturbing a perfectly ok hub fit!
I put a request out on this subject a long time ago on this forum, to ask for some other method. Due to the lack of response I have stuck to this. Let me know who and who doe's not have success.
Greg