Wow. Been procrastinating on getting my rear brakes done. Got them done today. The pads edges were completely, totally gone. The thickness of the centers of the pads would have had to be measured in angstroms. The wear indicators had even been ground off. Needless to say, I needed new discs too.
Don’t do as I do. It ain’t smart. If you need brakes, get 'em done.
I must say I appreciate hanging out on a car forum where people talk casually about measurements like “angstroms.” 
Angstroms?! Wow! That IS thin.
A couple birthdays ago, I asked for gift cards and got myself a real good impact wrench (Ingersoll-Rand 231-C), My wife got me a good jack and stands for X-mas, and I sort of built an air compressor. With that and all the hand tools I already had, it isn’t a hassle to check the brakes once in a while. I try to keep pads and discs on-hand so that If I find they need replaced, I just throw 'em on while everything is apart. Saves me a heckuva lot of money! $400+ to have pads and discs replaced vs. $213 out the door for the parts. I like to take things apart and play with air tools anyway.
I’m interested in you expanding this statement:
“and I sort of built an air compressor.”
I’m picturing all sorts of things involving foot pumps and old oil drums 
Ahhhh…I hate posts like this. Since I’ve been putting off inspection of the van’s brakes for too long…
But thanks for the public service reminder. Its now on the list for Sunday.
As a proud redneck I must confess to rigging Ford AC compressors up as air compressors. Several on trucks for working on farm equipment in the field and a few in various broken down shops many years ago. A high pressure switch must be installed to release the clutch before something bursts. I hope that doesn’t spoil your mental pictures, shadowfax.
shadowfax,
I had a 17 gallon Husky oil-free compressor with a leaky check valve. I stripped it to a bare tank and fitted a Jenny air pump to it. In the process, I replaced the check valve and rigged a fitting out of iron pipe, T fittings, and hex couplings on which I put a new pressure switch, gauge, safety valve, and regulator. I used 1/2" OD copper tube for the transfer tube and 1/4" polyethylene tube for the unloader. I’m trying to post a picture of it but I can’t figure out how to do it.
Here we go! My Frankenstein compressor works very well, and is quiet enough that I can run it at 8:00 on a Saturday morning if needed.
I finally got rid of my Franken-pressor (from an old A/C system) when my brother came up with an actual pancake compressor he didn’t need anymore. The biggest problem with the other one was that it wasn’t on wheels (but that’s obviously b/c I get lazy at some point).
ångström or Å
You’re welcome!
My grandfather had a home-brew compressor that was in use for more than 50 years. It was made out of a hot water tank from the 40s and a belt-drive compressor from a refrigerated deli case from the same era. A bellows-type pressure switch, a motor he dug up who knows where, and misc. hardware he picked up off a scrap pile completed the system. Sadly it was too heavy and obsolete to take with me when he passed on and I sold his house. Because of the declining neighborhood (you couldn’t pay me to live in it), I sold the house for a song, then someone took it upon themselves to burn down the garage for kicks, and what was left of this contraption was snagged by the local scrappers in the pre dawn hours from the smouldering rubble. Sad how things change.
Your brakes aren’t worn out until you can see the wear bars in the rotors 
I’m slightly disappointed, doubleclutch. I was hoping for something a lot more haphazard and dangerous
I couldn’t find any old oil drums…
" do as I say and not as I do. "
My 12 year old daughter will be driving sooner than I think.
We’re already discussing situations a circumstances as we drive.
and THAT my friends, is a real eye opener.