Tension Rods

Tension rods come in two basic styles. The most common rods are the modern ones that require a drum key to use. On older drums and some of the modern vintage remakes, you’ll find T-rods. I’ll show you both of them below and then you can check out the replacement rods available.



The rods above are the most commonly used. You’ll notice that they come in different lengths, so if you are purchasing replacement rods, be sure to measure the length of an old rod to be sure you’re buying the correct replacement part.



These rods work by sliding through a hole in the drum rim (hoop) and into the lugs on the drum shell. You can learn more about the different styles of drum rims here.



T-rods are a little different. You don’t need a key for these as you can simply use the design to tune your drums and fasten your hoops. I’ve only ever seen them used on bass drum hoops with a claw mounting system.



T-rods use a claw system (shown above) to attach the hoop to the shell. The rod slides through the claw, through the hoop and into the lug. The claw slides over the hoop and keeps the rim snug against the head and shell.

Tuning Rods, Lugs, Washers & More

Now that you know about how lugs and clamps work together to keep your head tension tight, you can replace your gear and maintain your drums with the products below.

Use the arrows to flip through the pages for more rods, washers, and even lug lube. Personally, I’ve never used lug lubricant, so I can’t really recommend it one way or the other.





Return To:

Parts of the Drum Shells
How To Change Drum Heads
Learn How To Tune Drums Using Tension Rods