HELLO.THE T-RODS THAT YOU HAVE ARE METRIC MOST LIKELY.1/4-20 THREAD.HOW MANY DO YOU NEED? I DO HAVE ALOT OF THESE TYPES[METRIC THREADS] IN MANY STYLES..IF YOU COULD P.M. ME WITH A PHOTO OF THE ONES YOU NEED THEN I CAN MATCH THEM UP.. OR POST A PHOTO HEAR..MIKEx-mas3

Mike, I'll try to get you a photo asap. I think you are right, they are probably metric. But they are thinner than 1/4" & the threads are finer.

Hi,it Sounds Like You Have Odd Metric Thread T-rods,[ Common For That Time 1/4-20] But They Also Used Odd Metric Ones Also..in The 60s Many Types Were Used On These Drums.threads On Your T-rods Could Be Like 10mm Up To Like 16mmor??its Hard To Tell With Photo.anyway I Do Have Many Types Of T-rods From The 60s-70s.iam Sure That I Can Match The Ones You Have.. Mike

Hey all,

Brand new to the forum...brand new to owning vintage drums too.

At any rate, I am having the same issue!

I got a '60s Zim-Gar Japanese set, and the t-rods on the toms are slightly smaller in diameter than the rods on the kick.

I'm thinking, after doing research that i need a rod that is 3/16" in diameter, or .190mm, according to wikipedia's info on screw sizes and threading.

This all translates to either a #10-32 or #10-24 tension rod. Every single place online, that I've seen, only sells 12-24 tension rods. Where the heck can I find what I need? Am I going to have to hit up the hardware store and try to come up with some kind of tension rod on my own... I really don't want to have to resort to that.

Thanks!

*Update*

So I checked out the rods in question at a local hardware store.

Turns out the Bass drum tension rods are M6, (metric)

and the smaller tom t-rods are NEITHER M6, M5, 10-32, or 10-24.

Basically it seems to be something like a #10 diameter with about 28 threads per inch. I have no idea what size and pitch will fit these holes...

Old thread but useful,

The old Japanese tension rods for toms and snares are 28 TPI, (28 teeth per cubic inch), they are 1 3/4" long, and 4.9 mm (5mm) in diameter. Strange. I need 12. The Sonor tension rods resemble this size, but I'm not sure if they are.

Just confirming the newer Sonor tension rods ARE NOT the same as the old Japanese tension rods. I checked today with a Force 3003 kit.

The biggest problem is matching them. I have some drums that came to me with 3 sizes of

t-rods. So, take a lug, go to the drum shop, and pick up new rods and swivnuts to match. It's the only way to keep your sanity, unless you mail Mikey a t-rod for him to match. Gibraltar makes many different sizes and types. I know they aren't original, but they all match, and likely no one is going to ever care, since we are talking our Japanese kits.Cool Dude

I agree with you- switching out the screw inserts and just getting a new set of t-rods is a good idea. Another option- I bought a set of 16 1960s Pearl Lugs, screw inserts, and t-rods on Ebay for only 39$ for a kit I was restoring. I think you might be able to do that- you could use just the inserts and t-rods or swap out the whole unit. Good luck hunting them- they are on Ebay pretty often.Sumo Dude

These Japanese lugs will drive you crazy trying to get a normal tension rod or bass drum T-rod to fit. You can go through your parts drawers and try several that are wrong threads or wont even fit. Then you try to replace the lug inserts then they wont fit inside the lug casing. I have one Japanese tom that will only take the silver colored ugly aluminum? tension rods. On one snare that i got so frustrated with and i swear i almost smashed it into pieces, i just drilled out the mounting holes larger and finally put some real Slingerland lugs in place of the Slingerland copy lugs.