Greetings,
I just wanted to share a tip I ran across recently. I have some vintage Ludwig Cymbal L-Arms (that go into the bass drum bracket) as well as some unidentified cymbal L-arms (probably MIJ) and some older cymbal stands that all have one thing in common: The tilter threads are very short and it's tough to get a proper sleeve, felt and wing nut on them. In all of these cases, the tilter threads are either 1/4" or 6 mm.
I ran across an ebay seller who sells small, short thread adapters (Photo 1 below). They basically turn a 6 mm male thread into an 8 mm male thread. They come in a pack of 5 for $14.99 with free shipping.
I prefer to use 8 mm cymbal sleeves. Although I let my cymbals swing freely (I don't use a top felt), the 8 mm sleeves have a little less back and forth play to them, and the cymbal just "sits" better on them. Plus, almost all cymbal stand accessories (sleeves, wing nuts, felts, fancy alternatives to wing nuts etc) are made for 8 mm tilter threading. So having said that............
I thought using these adapters would do two things:
1. Allow me to use the 8 mm sleeves and accessories I prefer on a stand that is doesn't have 8 mm threading
2. By "stacking" the thread adapters on each other (using more than one), it also allows me to gain more length on the tilter threads, so I have more room to have the sleeve, felt and wing nut. The top adapter sticks out further than the original threads to gain more length, but still is threaded on for enough to "grab".
Now of course, the Ludwig and USA stuff is 1/4" and not 6 mm, but it is easy enough to re-thread.....if you are not concerned about keeping everything original. I usually try to keep things as original as possible, but for me, the benefits on this outweigh the originality. Beside, it's not like I'm changing a bearing edge angle or drilling new holes, I'm only changing the cymbal tilter threading slightly..............a minor offense in my book! So I re-threaded one of my older Ludwig cymbal L-arms from 1/4" to 6 mm. I then used three of these adapters "stacked" on top of each other. I used JB weld so they would be permanently attached and not come off (I can hear some purist pundits now, but again, it's a pretty minor mod if you ask me. Would anyone ever be deterred from buying a kit they otherwise wanted because the tilter threads had been upgraded/modified)?
The results were stellar! Now I can use my 8 mm cymbal accessories that I prefer (and are MUCH more widely available) and I also got some extra length on the fairly short threads. I have to say, I thought that the blue felt and wing nut were maybe too cheesy at first, but I love the look of them paired with the blue sparkle bass drum! Photo 2 shows the thread adapters installed (I used three, and the third one is about halfway threaded on, and sticks up a little bit over the original threading, so it gives me just a tad bit more length). Photo 3 shows a standard length sleeve and a standard thickness felt. Photo 4 shows the whole deal!
Anyway, I just wanted to share this tip if anyone out there is fighting with too short tilter threading or if they want to be able to use 8 mm accessories on older or lightweight stands. I got tired of having to cut sleeves shorter, find really thin felts etc. to make things work. I hope this helps you!
Enjoy!
