Hi all
One of my many avocations is making and repairing drums that have natural skin heads. I made a heading jig a few years back that has 16 evenly spaced 1/4" all thread rods with hooks to catch the rims and wing nuts to tighten them evenly so I can gently stretch the heads onto the shell and hold them while the head dries to fit (natural skins are cranky, you put a bit of torque on them and they tear).
I've probably put on 50 heads with it now and some of the all thread is wearing a bit from the constant tightening and loosening (particularly the 4 stainless rods I got mixed in, won't make that mistake again). So it's time to replace the rods and I've been wondering if I could get some better grade that won't be so subject to wear and jamming. I looked into Acme, but the smallest I could find was 1/2" and way expensive. Is there a tougher grade of all thread than the plated steel stuff you get at the average hardware store? What do I ask for, specifically, since the number of grades out there is baffling. I remember cat 8 bolts from when I worked at Boeing, but I don't see any cat 8 all thread.
Thanks
Jim