Hi Poetman!

The Maxwell Rail takes 7/16" nuts, just like Ludwig and Slingerland. Here are some pictures of the rail on my 1967 Slingerland kit. Hope this helps.

-Mark

Thanks a lot, Mark. Are the nuts the same size for both the upper and lower bolts? When I replaced my two bolts, the upper nut (where the tom sits) ended up being smaller. The hardware store guy thought that the originals might have been specially made?

Mine (top and bottom) are the same size on my Super Classic. Really wouldn't make sense to use two different sized bolts and nuts.

That's what I thought. But on the original bolts, the top one is slighter smaller in diameter than the bottom one, but the nuts are the same size.

At the hardware store, when I get a bolt to fit through the top (narrower diameter) hole, the nut ends up being smaller in diameter as well, and thus requires a different size wrench. Any idea how to get around this? Am I missing something. The original top bolt and nut stripped, so they have to be replaced. Getting a new bolt/nut for $3 is better than buying a whole new assembly for near $100.

Yes the nuts were/are custom made for this application. You use the same size wrench on both but the lower one is tapped out with a bigger hole.

The makes sense that the lower one is tapped out with a bigger hole because the originals both fit the same size wrench, but the replacements are causing problems. I tried two different size wing nuts, but I couldn't get enough torque to keep the pieces secure. Is there another option to salvage the original mount? I can't imagine that Maxwell actually gets custom bolts and nuts for his repro. piece?

Have you contacted Maxwell to find out if they offer replacement parts? I would imagine you could buy one from them if it's a custom part. You'd have no place else to get it. Makes me wonder why they designed it that way.

John

The point is to be able to use one wrench for all the adjustments but it wouldn't be a huge deal to simply carry two wrenches if need be (or find a combination wrench that has both sizes you need or an adjustable crescent wrench). That or try a smaller carriage bolt in the lower position.

Maxwell probably has loose parts so maybe you could get the necessary nut from him.

KO-thanks for the helpful suggestions! I did contact Maxwells, but he said he didn't sell parts just the replacement mount. I'm going to head back to the hardware store today and see what I can muster. The (very) friendly by helping me said that he sees enough musicians to know that parts they need are usually custom made. He said he has one guy who spends hours in the aisle only to leave with a few special bolts. There might be some other drum spots who that have an extra nut? Hopefully.