I've got a Yamaha double pedal from around the late 80's, that have felt beater on them. I want to replace them with a hard plastic beater. I tried the standard DW beaters that I have on the Yamaha pedals, and they didn't insert. Turns out the Yamaha beaters have one side of the shaft flattened, while the DW's are fully round in the shaft so they didn't fit. Does anyone make beater shafts with a flat side? What are my options?
pedal beater problem
- Thread starter rocker261
- Start date
C
C. Dave Run
Guest
A bench grinder will flat spot those beaters right up.
If I had one! I don't have anything able to grind that down without making a complete mess of them.
harryconway
Platinum Member
Can you unscrew the felt beater from the Yamaha shaft, and then replace it with a plastic one.
Or ..... no grinder ...... maybe a bench vice and a metal file?
I just checked my FP 901 pedal (which I'm sure is older) and it has a round beater shaft. Perplexing that Yamaha would go to something so "non-universal".
Or ..... no grinder ...... maybe a bench vice and a metal file?
I just checked my FP 901 pedal (which I'm sure is older) and it has a round beater shaft. Perplexing that Yamaha would go to something so "non-universal".
The felt beater looks to be very attached and not removable. Here's a photo of the shaft, if you look closely, you can see the flat side. I hate to buy new beaters then screw them up if I don't grind them correctly.
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harryconway
Platinum Member
Must have been something Yamaha did for just a few years. Every Yamaha I've ever seen, accepts round shafts. I don't know of any aftermarket beater manufacturer that makes a flat sided shaft like that.
Might it be possible to drill out the hole in the cam, where you insert the beater shaft? Make it round?
I tried hard to get my round shaft beaters to go in. They get part way and stop. If trying to drill out that part of the pedal, it may risk damaging the part where the set screw that holds the beater in place. Then the whole pedal would be useless. Filing down a beater shaft is less risky if it doesn't go well. But still not big on trying to work with metal, since it's trial and error. Really sucks! And must have been a short lived pedal since I can't find any shafts that have that flat part.
harryconway
Platinum Member
So it sorta comes down to ....... can you live with the factory felt beaters? And if you really want plastic (or at least the option to change beaters) ..... maybe selling this double and getting another would be the smart move. Cut your losses and move on
Can you post a picture of the pedals? I'd like to do a little research on them. See if I can find any info on them.
Also ..... underneath the footboard, there might be a model #. Post that, and no need for a picture.
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PorkPieGuy
Platinum Member
I'm not handy with tools, but do you think you or someone you know could round-out hole where the shaft goes into the pedal? That way, you could use whatever you wanted.
Oh, and screw Yamaha and their proprietary hardware and wiring.
Oh, and screw Yamaha and their proprietary hardware and wiring.
C
C. Dave Run
Guest
I made a beater out of a tennis ball. The beater shaft I used is flat spotted on one side:
It had an unlabeled wooden ball on it. No idea of the manufacturer.
Use a HSS bit with a drill press, no problem. No HSS bit or drill press? Curved files will take forever but should work.
Here is a photo of one pedal. There is no model number anywhere to be found on it, only that it's a Yamaha professional model made in Japan.
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harryconway
Platinum Member
Seems to me, I've seen that design .... but it accepted round shaft beaters. So it must've been only a few years the ran with this flat shaft design.
force3005
Silver Member
Hi Rocker261. Take a look at this Yamaha site https://parts-search.yamaha.co.jp/html/WIND_ENGLISH/index.php
Good luck.
Edit: This has all parts for every pedal even the beaters. I just checked.
Good luck.
Edit: This has all parts for every pedal even the beaters. I just checked.