If they arent spaced the same, then the lugs on at least one of the drums isnt spaced equally.

Yep. It's an algebra thing -pi and all that! ;) The rims are indeed interchangeable.

True Thanks Ye Wise Ones -

I suspected as much - Kind of a "D'oh" kind of question. Pi indeed! DOH

I wasn't sure if manufacturers made their bits somewhat unique to keep customers "loyal".

It makes me think of a friend back in the '70s who had an egg-shaped bass drum - Trixon? That'd keep ya buying from them Hurting ~ Still a cool look.

Does anyone find any real advantage of Sticksavers over the Ludwig Standard rims, aside from the Sling's apparent higher quality - It kinda seems like a matter of "Inny vs. Outy". I know they're both an improvement over the old non-flanged hoops in regard to "stick safety". The root of my inquiry is probably more cosmetic, I suppose. I think the Sticksavers look slick.

Or is such a "mating" considered too "un-holy" in vintage circles?

[COLOR="DarkRed"]It's not really a foolish Q. Some hoops have a lotta lateral play L-R in their holes...others have very little.

It's a bear trying to use old Premier hoops because of this. Their holes are basically dead-on round...no play whatsoever.

Also, consider that...the old-skool single flanged hoops with claws didn't particularly require spot-on placement of the lugs since there are no holes to align to. So...you may find that you need to use hoops with some play in their holes (i.e. rectangular or oval shaped holes in the hoops).

But, yes, unless someone did a bad job of drilling for the lugs, you should be fine.

[COLOR="DarkOliveGreen"]I can tell you a most horrible story how...on a deadline, I had to drill holes in n 8" Keller shell which was already wrapped...and I gabbed an old janky Japanese hoop to use as a stencil for the holes. I drilled 'em, mounted the lugs, then grabbed the 2.3 MM new hoop I was actually gonna use on the finished drum...

I need not say more...

...the crappy ol' asian hoop was not built with holes equidistant...and I ruined the entire shell.

That was the fastest shell I ever made. I cut it to proper height, edged it, sanded it, wrapped it, drilled it, assembled it, headed and tuned it in about 1-1/2 hours one afternoon...a good 20 mins before the buyer came for the kit.....[/COLOR][/COLOR]

:eek:WOW! That IS a horror story. A good object lesson to underscore your point. Your do-over must be some kind of record in the custom drum building world. Kudos Cool1

That extra play in the holes is a very good point ~ both my Slingers & Ludwigs give that 'little extra room' - makes a lot of sense. That's, no doubt, why they seem almost 'self aligning' when re-heading.

Thanks Jaye! I don't feel so DOH after all.