While nylon isn't my first choice the 2 newer Luddy kits we have here both use nylon washers. 1 kit is 7 years old and the nylon washers are holding up fine. I'd think stainless would be the way to go but nylon is holding it's own here.

Same here...my 2006 Ludwig Classic Maple kit has nylon washers that are holding up just fine. I don't care for nylon washers on my vintage drums, but that's just my personal take on it. If they work for you, then go for it! It actually does make the drums pretty easy to tune...

I put both on all my kits. The stainless goes under the head of the tension rod and the nylon goes against the rim. The stainless washer adds the necessary durability to the nylon washers. My opinion is that this system removes the metal to metal contact at the rim which protects the components (especially on snare drums where tensions are higher) and it does make tuning much easier. Most of the current manufacturers would seem to agree as this is how many current drum kits are sold.

To me it falls under the category of, "we have developed some new technologies over the past 30-40 years that actually do improve things", so why not use them. I use RIMS mounts also. In both cases these can be removed thus restoring a drum to it's original condition whenever it is deemed necessary.

BTW, I buy the nylon washers in bags of 100 from Drummaker as that is a really cheap way to go.

Ok thanks Guys, for your replies...

I will buy some of each and give the "tnsquint sandwich" a try... makes sense to me..

Also on the older kits I see a bit of corrosion around the rims caused by washers.. the washer mostly seems to be the first thing to start rusting..

So I'm going for "Sticksaver rims" with "Rimsaver washers"

Cheers

John

"Rimsaver washers" ...that is a good one! "Tnsquint sandwich" ....hmmm...

I am complete agreement. There is even a gentleman on ebay who sells coloured nylon washers at a very good price. He even custom-made some turquoise ones for me which came out perfectly. No extra charge!

Brian

I'm against nylon washers, but only theoretically. The same properties that cause an easy turn of the tension rod will also allow the rods to more easily go out of tune. A steel washer creates more friction, and will hold a tuning better. In reality, the nylon washer may still cause enough friction under tension to hold the rod secure, but I've heard stories from heavy hitters (which I am not) that the nylon washers do not work for them.

This raises the question of : why do drums go out of tune? do they go out of tune because plastic stretches , shrinks and expands with temperature changes and the aluminum hoop expands and contracts with temperature changes; the shell deforms temporarily due to tension, expands and contracts with humidity and temperature changes( if wood) and many hoops give slowly under tension or is it because the tension rods vibrate loose over time?

I'm not so sure that back slippage against the washers is a huge factor but I do think that nylon compresses, while steel, stainless steel and brass do not----under the pressure encountered beneath a tension rod.

If you use skin heads ,you have a whole other problem related to humidity but less of a problem than plastic related to temperature.

I've worked on medical laboratory test equipment for over 20 years (do I sound like an old codger yet?), and I can tell you that vibration will cause a screw to back off if there isn't sufficient friction between the screw head and mating surface. Nylon washers are almost like a lubricant in this respect. Split ring washers are OK, and star washers are even better. The plastics and metals used in drum construction are pretty stable, as are ply shells due to the method of construction, so IMO, I think washers are the biggest factor. And, being an experienced engineer, I can also tel you that I may be all wet, and that things are not as they appear :) Comes with the territory.