Here's a close-up of the clutch. The clutch is threaded and the large, knurled nut on one side tightens onto it. This tightens it onto the hi hat rod.

Really weird. And this is as tight as it gets.

I once had a clutch similar to that, but the top nut was a wing nut. The top of the shaft is probably split into two or four ears that tighten around the rod as the nut is tightened. But mine had a wider threaded portion near the bottom so that two nuts could tighten around the top cymbal. Are there threads underneath the pad? Could the bottom nut be too high, covering the threaded portion that is provided for the absent middle nut?

Josh

Josh,

You are correct, it is split, and it tightens onto the rod when the nut is tightened.

There are no threads under the pad.

I found a pic of a similar clutch on eBay and it has 4 felt pads. Guess I'll need to go this route.