Greetings all. A little background, I am 32 and I live in the southeastern US. I recently acquired kick only shovel in a '57 frame after years as a push button guy.
I am learning as I go. I try to approach things with patience and a positive attitude and do what I can on my own and ask for help when needed...so here I am.

I took the rear tire down to remedy a situation with the rear brake. The banana caliper was in the 6 o'clock position with a near-worthless stay so when you would brake, it would send the rear axle out of alignment and shoot the chain off the sprocket. I've since rotated the brake to the 9 o'clock position with the same stay and it was seeming to work better until I noticed today there is still a little (inch or less) movement backward in the axle when braking. Also realized i left a spacer/washer out during reassembly and I am not sure where it is supposed to go. It is shiny on one side with an inward taper and rough on the other.

I also have real difficulties getting the rear axle in and out of the rim. It seems to have internal bearings held in with snap rings on both sides. They always seem to catch and I end up having to hammer the crap out of the axle to get is back in. I doused it in grease to make it simpler, which I fear may account for part of the axle movement.

Many thanks in advance, please let me know if I can provide further information that would help with diagnostics. Oh, I put this in the pan section because I think this is a pan-era frame. If it needs to be moved to a different section, please accept my apologies.

 

Mechanical brakes? "Banana caliper"? You talking about the brake operating lever? Sounds like you might not have the nut tight on the axle sleeve if it is all sliding back when braking. It's the big nut (1 3/8" I think) on the backing plate side. DON'T hammer the axle... just start it into the sleeve and work the wheel around a bit to get it aligned and it should slip right through. Also, do you have the spacer on the axle between the drum and frame? You said you rotated the brake about 90 degrees... The backing plate is supposed to have a stop welded onto the backside that fits into the slot in the frame to keep it from turning. I'm not sure I fully understand, but these are just some thoughts. Close-up pics would help. You should get a shop manual and parts manual if you don't have them.

 

Banana caliper means you are running a disc on the rear as opposed to the mechanical brake. Lots of guys would run the custom set up with the caliper in the 6 position. Properly set up it should not torque the rear end.

First thing you need to do is find out where that spacer goes. Rear wheel should be centered between the axle plates. Once you have it centered you should be able to tell where the spacer goes. Next you need to check the alignment so that the rear end tracks straight. Easy way to do this is to take off the rear chain guard and visually look at the rear chain. Sight over the chain from the rear sprocket to the tranny sprocket. With the *** end raised, rotate the tire and make the necessary adjustment so that the chain runs true to both sprockets.

Next thing to do is to mount the caliper. There has to be some type of adjustable rod from the caliper mount to a fixed tab on the frame. Once you have the proper rear chain adjustment, you shorten or lengthen the rod so that the brake caliper is aligned to the brake disc and you have equal spacing on both sides of the pads.

Not sure how you can run the caliper in the 9 position. Only seen them mounted in 6 or 12 position.

Having a hard time understanding what type of a hub you are using. Needs to be a Timken bearing set up.

You should not have to pound the axle in order to get it through the hub. Take the wheel off. Make sure the axle slides through the hub with ease or just slight pressure. Then check to make sure the axle slides through your spacers. If there is any binding, I would check the diameter of the axle vs the diameter of the bearings. A lot of times, guys get the Taiwan Tedd chromed rear axle and the axle is completely chrome. Chrome plating on the axle can definitely lead to binding on a hub. Just means you need to take some really course sand paper and remove the damn chrome. Time consuming but better that than a seized rear wheel from heat and binding.

And it would help if you post a pic of what you have. Might help remedy the problem a bit more quickly.

 

Panz- Yeah, running a disc on the rear, sorry for the confusion.
Took another look at things. Changed the rear pads out on the caliper, they were wearing unevenly. Also moved it back to the 6 position. The brake seems more solid. I tightened up the axle and that seems to have made a big difference. There is a good chance I didn't have it tight enough after the last time I took the wheel down. I haven't had a chance to really get out and road test it but in the driveway it seems to be better. The wheel seems to be right in terms of spacing in the frame. The way this setup was cobbled together, it is tough to tell what is really going on. I definitely added a new axle and bearing to my to-do list. Thanks for all of your help and suggestions, I have always gotten great help on these forums.