Yeah- you definitely want the t-rods to tighten and loosen easily. I would rather lube them than not, as I don't want to see what it's like to try and find lug inserts for something old because the T-rod was seized.
That being said, I use just a teeny bit of vasoline on the threads.
I understand, but bearrings and the principle behind the screw are not the same concept. The hydrodynamic wedge is a good thing for bearrings, but not for adjustable tension screws that rely on pressure from resistance to maintain a hold. If you were to lubricate the lug nuts on your car wheels, they wont stay tight for long !!
You logic is flawed here. Lubricating threads will not make them more prone to loosening.
Here are a couple of links for lubricants made especially for lubricating the threads on fasteners. Head bolts are usually supposed to be lubricated during assembly, especially on high performance engines and it doesn't cause them to back out.
You logic is flawed here. Lubricating threads will not make them more prone to loosening. Here are a couple of links for lubricants made especially for lubricating the threads on fasteners. Head bolts are usually supposed to be lubricated during assembly, especially on high performance engines and it doesn't cause them to back out.http://www.klueber.com/en/applications/components/screws-and-bolts/?PHPSESSID=79e30b65396c4f80dc9bf1e8f939b8d5#21835http://arp-bolts.com/pages/arpultratorque.shtml
Ha ha Those lubes may be over kill for a drum kit, but that's a very, very good analogy. The big thing is that you will never play maintenance free, so to speak. We just have to accept that we have to retune and retune often in some cases. Heads will stretch throughout their life. We have to retune.
I'm in the lube the t-rods camp.
Now, I am also going to go back to a time when bike frames were made of steel and seat posts were made of aluminium. If you didn't lube that seat post before inserting into the seat tube, you WOULD end up with the post frozen in the tube. Lubing the seat post didn't effect the ability to tighten the seat post into place.
So what I am saying is that lubing the threads wouldn't necessarily make them prone to loosening.
Lubricant's prevent metal to metal contact as long as specific clearances are maintained. Once you crank down on a bolt there is very little if any lubricant present between the two contacting faces of the threads. It all get squeezed into the gaps between the threads.
You logic is flawed here. Lubricating threads will not make them more prone to loosening. Here are a couple of links for lubricants made especially for lubricating the threads on fasteners. Head bolts are usually supposed to be lubricated during assembly, especially on high performance engines and it doesn't cause them to back out.http://www.klueber.com/en/applications/components/screws-and-bolts/?PHPSESSID=79e30b65396c4f80dc9bf1e8f939b8d5#21835http://arp-bolts.com/pages/arpultratorque.shtml
It can`t be flawed because you`re still talking fasteners and I`m still talking tension screws. When I tune my drums, the torque is just a little bit above finger tight. That bolt is suspended between two forces. I know this because if I put a flat palm on each side of the hoop, then press down firmly on the hoop, all the bolts are free of tension and turn and shake loosely. If it were a fastener, I could not do that. Lubricant in a fastener prevents oxidation and moisture entrance so to prevent "freeze" so removeing and tightening are not damageing or hard to turn. If you lube a tension bolt you leave it suseptable to vibration and that`s all a drum does !! If either freeze,..a good penatrating lubricant will make it eaiser to move wich is not what you want on a tuneable drumhead, and that`s why I have a wire washer tugging across my T-rods through the insert.
I understand why people would oil up their T-rods for ease and protection, but that`s a matter of condition of the threads and or tap.
One of those situations where there's no right or wrong answer.
I like a wee kiss of Vaseline (like vermouth in a martini). I feel like it gives a bit more control in tuning and I've never had trouble with the rods backing out.
Lubricant's prevent metal to metal contact as long as specific clearances are maintained. Once you crank down on a bolt there is very little if any lubricant present between the two contacting faces of the threads. It all get squeezed into the gaps between the threads.
I agree to a certain extent, Ludwig has been using axel grease for decades. Its not so much to do with the rods backing out as it is to prevent metal loss. Without a very very small amount of heavy lube on each tension rod, over time They Will Loose Metal! As will the female portion of the lug leading to a sloppy fit over time....!!!! Lube to prevent metal loss only, that's the rule I learned.
Cool1Never thought of that,but it makes sense
I have always maintained that if it has a moving part it needs to lubed. Metal on metal. When you clean a gun you lubricate it. Some tension rods/lug receivers have finer threads than others. My buddys Pearl masters kit is very sensitive and smooth with tuning whereas my old Yamaha Maple Custom toms had very unforgiving tension rods lube or no lube. My Recording Custom lugs are very standard and tune really easy. Personally, I think all drums need to be tuned and maintained on a regular basis so unless you club your toms like a seal, you shouldn't have back out issues too much. My old Gretsch drums with die-cast hoops stayed in tune no matter where I had them stored, play them, etc. The hoops really make for a clean and concise drum sound if you know how to tune. I usually use wd-40 to clean them, towel off the excess, and then use vaseline or not. The thing about vaseline is that if you do use it you have to make sure to get off all the excess vaseline because when it gets dirt in it it turns black and can ruin clothes or towels just but brushing against it.
