Well, after lurking for quite some time, I decided to finally become a member. I spend quite a bit of time on the Pearl Forum, but since my threads there are generally about fixing up abused vintage gear, I figured an account here owuld be appropriate. Thanks everyone for all the great pics, info, and inspiration I've recieved from this forum already!
Anyway, my local 5 Star drum shop has a large surplus of old shells in various stages of decay. Most are physically damaged, some seriously so. While poking around, I came across what I'm fairly certain is a pre-war 8x14" mahogany/poplar/mahogany. Certainly, it could be a 40's era as well but the patina and the look of the shell's build compared to other period pieces lead me to believe it's a late 30'a shell. Decades ago, someone tried to unwrap the original WMP without realising that pearl wraps were blended into the plies of the shell. Needless to say, a 5x4" section of mahogany was completely missing from the drum, and over time the snare-side re-ring was coming loose at the scarf joint as well. I love a seemingly unsavable rescue animal, and since I've been trying to learn about drum construction, I decided to give it a go.
Here's the shell after reparing the hole and reattaching the re-ring. Not having any african mahogany, I used maple plies from a Pearl ET shell and Minwax wood filler to fill the voids.
[Attachment: 32522]
And after an initial sanding. The shell's inside and both re-rings were covered wtih duct tape, perhaps in a bid to keep the loosening re-ring attached? Had the original owner heard of glue?
[Attachment: 32523]
After cleaning up the interior mahogany and prettying it up with Restor-A-Finish and wax. I used a sanding table to get the repaired area completely falt in preperation for wrap.
[Attachment: 32524]
Here's the shell after applying the wrap with contact cement. I used Antique White Pearl from Precision and gave the shell about a 3mm countercut to blend the wrap and get rid of all the chip damage to the edge of the mahogany outer ply.
[Attachment: 32525]
The cloud badge. I wanted an original, but that wasn't cost effective so I scored a Gibson era TN badge off eBay for under $30. It was important to at least have the cloud badge form factor in honour of the drum's roots. Those are the lovely aftermarket Radio King lugs that C&C uses.
[Attachment: 32526]
