Anyone here ever made their own lug locks?

Bad Tempered Clavier

Bad Tempered Clavier

Silver Member
Typically I use Tightscrews and am perfectly happy with them. However there are no decent drum shops near me and I have to get all my bits and pieces via internet shopping which means a few days' wait. This weekend I am toying with the idea of making my own lug locks as the branded ones are absurdly expensive in the UK and if I can successfully make my own then I don't need to order a multi pack of Tightscrews when all I really need is one.

So, to those who know about these things, what sort of plastic does one use for such a thing and how thick does it need to be? Also, what gauge of drill/hole punch is best? Any ideas?
 
Go get some 12/24 stainless steel nuts and lock them down onto the lugs.
Very good fix and very inexpensive @ approx 5c each.

The only hard part is trying to find them since they are not a typical size that the hardware stores carry. Some stores have them, but at a higher price. I think I outfitted 2 kits for under $20.

5mm if you have DW's.

Can't go wrong...

I'd give my plastic lug locks if you were in the same city. They wear down and that sucks.
 
i've done it two different ways. you can put a nut on the tension rod, and snug it against the top of the lug after tuning, or, you can put a nut with a short sleeve on top of it, and tighten it upward against the bottom of the hoop (after tuning). i prefer the latter, as it eliminates the risk of damaging the lug threads. either way is completely secure.
 
I did a few years ago ....back when I was playing harder ....playing louder music that would cause the lug under my rim shots to loosen up over time

I went to a local skate shop and bought the thinnest skate board rails I could find

I think they were called Rhino Deck Armor

I cut them up in small pieces and drilled the appropriate sized hole and they worked perfectly

I think I still have some

I got about 15 out of each rail
 
BigDinSD said:
Go get some 12/24 stainless steel nuts and lock them down onto the lugs.
Very good fix and very inexpensive
Click to expand...

I recommend this solution as well, I've added 3 nuts to the lugs around the rimshot area on the snare, and both floor toms have nuts on all the lugs. I've never had any problem with detuning rack toms since the heads are pretty tight there, but it's great for the floor tom batters since the bolts are pretty loose with the desired tension.

Detuning is no longer a problem :)
 
Thanks for the responses: the skate board one hadn't even occurred to me. As far as the "12/24" nut approach goes - sorry for being a dingbat, but is that an imperial unit or something? I believe it refers in part to 24 threads per inch but beyond that I have no real clue about this kind of thing.
 
Honestly...I couldn't explain. Something about the threadcount?

Best to bring a lug into the store with you and just ask for a 12/24 SS nut. I know one thing, it is not metric.
Make sure YOU are the one that threads it onto the lug. Some knucklehead salesperson at Lowe's hardware tried to force the wrong nut on mine and almost cross-threaded it.
 
Don't know the exact measurements or whatever, but yea screws have different threads. A 16 thread is going to be bigger, less threads on the bolt. A 24 would have many more threads on the bolt.

If you look at lowes they usually have a few bolt sizing charts on the hardware isle. You can take in your bolt, try it in one of the slots and see what size/thread it is.
 
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