Well, I use cotton by just wrapping it around the spring. I have it is far cheaper to use what you have, rather than go looking for felt. Either should stay put if you wrap it all the way around. Once inside the lug, the pressure will keep it in place.

Thats why I use weatherstripping, because I have it all over my shop, but I have plenty of felt that I removed from drum heads that were used as mufflers

I wrap felt around all my springs in all my drums, just in case. Better safe than sorry. Don't want to find out that a drum is buzzing when I'm in the studio ($$$) and it's all tuned up and sounding good otherwise.

Seems to me the bigger the drum, the more the vibration, the more likely the need for the felt.

@Texray1: The second one.

I put one and a half rounds of felt around and it just stays there.

The buzzing develops 'cause the spring sits normally very close to the lug and so that little space clamps the felt.

Ralf

So really the idea is just to put some pressure on the spring in some way to eliminate free space for vibrating, yes? Wrapping is no more effective than just shimming something in there, if I'm understanding it correctly. Just looks prettier.

It's not so much about pretty, or pressure, it's about isolation of the spring from the walls of the lug casing. I would not want to jam something in there. There are reasons why the springs are allowed to move, so that the heads and hoops can move slightly under vibration, therefore having a "live" head. Movement in the vibration of the head is a key element to a freer, more open sounding head. It may be only so slight, but it does move under intense vibration. That is what causes buzzing. When the springs vibrate, they move about and can and do "buzz" against the walls of the casing. That is what causes the noise and drives sound guys and drummers alike crazy. the guitar may not be able to hear it because he is 10 feet or mare away, but the guy sitting in the booth and the player can hear it and it sux.

Well, I've got the hang of it now. Full speed ahead on all future rebuilds.