When did Rogers change from the square headed tension rods to the ones with the little fillets / gussets? I have Cleveland era drums with the square headed rods, and other Dayton drums with the rods having the fillets. I am wondering what is going on.... I think all the drums from fullerton and on had the fillets /gussets on the tension rod heads. Is that right?
I don't know why I am obsessing over this stuff... I am shut down now and have nothing better to do , I suppose....
John
I, too would like to know as well! I have a Cleveland, wood Powertone (#14664) 1966? with square heads, if that's any help. My 8x12 Dayton tom has the little flares-fillets-gussets, but I am not the original owner, so they may have been replaced by a previous owner.
Finding one owner kits will be the solution, I suppose.
Hi all!
The change to the tension rods with the little "blips" began during the Dayton era, around 1967. There were still plenty of Dayton-tagged drums with square head tension rods as inventory was used up from the Cleveland era. Also, most of the Dayton shells were still made at the Covington factory. There were some drums made at Dayton until the move to Fullerton in 1969. My 1966 Cleveland-tagged headliner has the "blipped" tension rods on the toms, but still has the original tympani-style rods on the bass drum. My theory is that the shells were already built and tagged in the Covington factory, but made their way to Dayton for final assembly. Just a theory, but I'll probably never know for sure!!
-Mark
Hey blue-onyx!
About you obsessing about the tension rods. All us vintage drum nuts do the same thing! We obsess about all the details of our drums, trying to determine what was factory issued and what was replaced with later parts. It's part of the fun! Don't fret about your "obsession", just join the party! LoLoLoLo
-Mark
I, too would like to know as well! I have a Cleveland, wood Powertone (#14664) 1966? with square heads, if that's any help. My 8x12 Dayton tom has the little flares-fillets-gussets, but I am not the original owner, so they may have been replaced by a previous owner.Finding one owner kits will be the solution, I suppose.
Kdg!
Here's a picture of my 1966 Cleveland-tagged Tower snare drum, #12853, where you can see the original square-head tension rods. BTW, I converted this beautiful Tower to a Powertone with the addition of a Swivo strainer and matching die-cast butt. The butt is attached to the shell with an adapter to use the wider spaced holes from the original stamped metal butt.
-Mark
Mark!
That's a beautiful drum you got there! I've always had a thing for Blue Glass Glitter.
I wonder if Rogers made their stuff "in-house" but then eventually realized they could save time and effort/labor by out-sourcing to another company (i.e. the tension rods)??
Kurt
Would you guys say that a characteristic of true vintage Rogers tension rods is a slightly elongated head? ( At least for Cleveland/Dayton drums) I bought some tension rods that the guy claimed were Rogers. They were for a good price and of course they work with the drum (they are for a 13” Dayton tom). But I wanna see what yall have to say. I may upload pics later if needed
Well, i found this....
https://vintagedrumreference.com/tension-rods/snare-tom-key-rods/
I talked to a machinist friend of mine and he told me that they don't actually cut the threads on a machinists lathe anymore. They start with a wire, and use a heated die to create the head. Then they have pair of rolling dies that form the threads. There is heat and pressure but no cutting of metal. He thought that the square heads were probably harder to make, required more pressure than the ones with the gussets (or blips).
and I also found this
https://www.accu.co.uk/en/p/105-how-is-a-machine-screw-made
which seems to corroborate what he told me.
This is all TMI I am sure, but hey, I have nothing much better to do these days,... not many gigs.
John
