Kev, Wow, sorry to hear you're having so much trouble.

Pics below show my 1958 Super GK with... not one but two... leveling washers on either side.

Notice also that the wire set tab end seems slightly askew, however, somehow it actually aligned itself properly for equal tension side to side, in spite of the screws being as tight as I could make them.

If your problem is the Clams' being mounted too low for the snare beds, it may be that your only solution is to give up on extended wires and jerry-rig attaching a non-extended wire set.

BTW, I responded further in the original thread.

Ron

Thanks, Ace.

I noticed you aren't using the set screw washer.

Is that by intent?

And your set screw looks to be different than mine, or is it something you

chose to change to get the set-up right?

Thanks!

Ron great stuff thanks for posting. As the saying goes a picture is worth 1000 words I can see lowering the snares with a couple washers would really help. Do you know if the original Slingerland snares for the CS used thicker snare ends or had some kind of spacer shape pressed into the ends? I know from other venues as parts get repopped some things change. Either to fit/work on a broader range of things or by design flaw. And not realize it in the process until the parts are in service.

In your photo, the wires' end piece is shown detached and off center so I can't tell what is happening.

My set screws came with the drum, which I acquired second hand.

It never occurred to me that they might not be original but, in any event, it wouldn't matter so long as the threads are the correct size. They screw directly into the pivoting square bar's center hole.

There is no need for a washer under the screw head. As you can see in my photo, the washers act as shims between the wire set end plates and the attachment bars. On my drum, the snares are a little too tight without the washers. I experimented with washer thickness to achieve the best result. The need for shimming with washers could vary depending on the mounting position of the clams. I suspect Slingerland QC was somewhat variable in the late 50s, if not before!

Ron

Those set screw washers are factory items, that was what I'm asking.

Do you have yours and elected not to use them?

I just parked it up there to show you how they are used in case you're not familiar with them. Understandably, these go missing lots of times over the years.

I'm experimenting with different levels of washers between the end plates and the pivot bar as we speak, I clearly see them in your picture.

Making progress!

To answer your question in re snare ends: there is no appreciable difference in thickness between the original and the Puresounds. I replaced the original wire set with the Puresounds because the original wire set was a bit misshapen.

The Puresound set is the type with riveted metal straps which came to me mounted on a 1938 RK w/3-point throw. As they were the correct length for the 1958 Clam, I removed the riveted straps (which left holes for the attachment screws) in order to use it with the '58 clam.

BTW, IMHO, those metal strap attachments are awful... being much too inflexible for sensitive snare tensioning.

I replaced the metal strap Puresounds on the 1938 RK with a Pearl extended wire set for $8.99, if memory serves, and it works splendidly!

BTW, my 1938 RK was retrofitted with a later throw which was designed to accept the metal strap mounted wire set.

The original throw would not have had the single screw hole for attaching the metal strap, but rather, a small hole pattern for a cord attachment.

Ron

Gotta be some more clamshell owners out there with some tips ??

:):)

Thanks for starting this thread, kevins! Thank you, Ron, for sharing your tips. I'm mainly posting so I can follow this thread, as I will be tackling mine as soon as the parts for it come in. I should receive them in the next 2-4 weeks, I believe. I'll post again when I get it together and let you know what works for me...at least I pray it works for me. :)

Hey Kev, what type of washers are you using? I don't have a clam shell so I am not an expert but have you tried plastic shims? I have a set that I use with my dado blades for my table saw. They come in varying thickness. Maybe you can't achieve the proper spacing with metal washers.