Iron Cobra problem with drive shaft/housing

Bad Tempered Clavier

Silver Member
Have an Iron Cobra (single) that's only a few months old. Lately I've noticed that there is a slight up/down movement from the left end of the drive shaft [see picture - excuse the crudeness of the illustration] when the pedal is under tension (i.e. the spring is attached and fairly taught).

I have opened the top of the housing where the bearing (?) end of the drive shaft sits and can find nothing that's broken or visibly worn. Is this movement typical of Iron Cobras? If so is there a good remedy? The movement is very small and certainly not audible when playing but I worry that it may get worse over time and if I need to take it back I need to do it soon before the warranty runs out etc.
 

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Probably poor machining/tolerances, this was the problem with the MAPEX JANUS too.

When you're doing bearings the pieces have to fit very tight, I just don't see that happening with monkey metal. Monkey metal vs hardened steel, somethings got to give, easy to guess which one.

The new SPEED COBRA's are running into this problem too I hear.

Some will be tighter than others, its the nature of the material, pray you get a good one(?).
 
Send it back.Sometimes you just get a pedal that wasn't assembled correctly..it happens.
I have mine a few years and have never had a problem.You might be playing too hard.

Steve B
 
You might be playing too hard.

That's what TAMA wants to hear mate, their pedal has limits :)


Just plain crappy fit/finish



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Sometimes you just get a pedal that wasn't assembled correctly [. . .] You might be playing too hard

Just plain crappy fit/finish

try this first

Took the pedal back today: I already tried swapping the bearing housing caps around [as in linked video] but if anything that made it worse. When I was in the shop I asked to look at their Iron Cobra demo models which were of the same vintage [2007 design] as mine. The Power Glide had as much play/movement at the same point on the bearing housing as mine and the Rolling Glide they had was appalling - a good couple of millimetres worth of movement when under tension. The shop will apparently get on to Tama about this. TBC . . .

As far as playing too hard goes . . . I take your point; but unless one uses the pedal to jack up a car or something I can't see how it's possible to put that much stress on a pedal just by playing drums: every instance I've ever heard about on any given make or model of pedal concerning broken footboards/springs/beaters/etc is usually down to poor machining or materials. On reflection I don't think that the design of this version of the Iron Cobra is inherently poor - after all the bearing housing on the right side of the pedal seems solid - but it does seem that a particularly flawed run of models happened to slip out of the factory. And a bunch of them got shipped to this shop.
 
I've got an 80's Tama pedal that has the same issue, but it's quite severe to where it makes an audible noise. I guess this is just one of their quirks.
 
a good couple of millimeters worth of movement when under tension.

Couple of millimeters? That's a ton, probably more like 10 thousandths, it doesn't take much and with pot metal its tough to get a tight fit.
 
Couple of millimeters? That's a ton

My exaggeration, to be fair: but frankly not much of one. The play on their demo pedal(s) was truly horrific.

The story so far is that they (the shop) replaced the nylon bushings that sit inside the bearing housing as well as the caps to the bearing housing and that seems to have solved the problem. I guess time will tell on how well the pedal holds up . . . I wonder how the new bearing housing design for the iron/speed cobra will fare.
 
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