Can't believe the stuff you guys find over there. I see you have the new owner right there ;-) Well done.

WOW - those are beautiful! Those are made by Pearl - this I know because the Pearl made Whitehall I have feature the exact same lugs. What sizes?

John

8x12

9x13

16x16

14x20

Do you have any of those lugs for sale or know where I can get a floor tom's worth of them?

Think that is true. I have a 14" Whitehall tom , in the same glossy wrap. The drum looks identical . The build quality , is a cut above the norm for this era ,out of Japan. You got a very good buy on those.

You are right on Calfskin....they were a cut above the entry level stuff...

A neighbor had a set in around 1972-74...they rocked out pretty good.......

The foot pedal said Pearl on the under side of it in small letters........

6 lug BD on the set.......how much more for 4 lugs??

What do you think that wood is in the BD, it's obviously not the same cheap Luan they used in the toms.

I do not have any of those lugs - other than the ones that are on my Whitehall - and indeed I am missing one so I am on the lookout for one myself. I am in the process of buying another Whitehall drum and am waiting if the seller has any more of these lugs. I will let you know.

Based on what you have told (written to me) you seem to have discovered how great these drums can sound (Vintage MIJ) - regardless of what badge it has or does not have on it. This kit has some great solid hardware and it appears you have some great shells too. All you need now is about $150 for new heads!

Enjoy!

John

JamminSam.com dude, $80 for all the heads all around, can't beat it. Gonna order some this weekend!

Japan's tropical wood imports were at a peak ( 25 million metric tons) , when these drums were made. The heavy dependence on Luan , began in the late 40's . It was the cheapest wood to convert into veneer because of it's easy availability from first the Philippines, later Indonesia , Malaysia and the fact that it's conversion rate during peeling was high. The trunks were big and straight. The use of Luan in all kinds of consumer goods , was an offshoot of the enormous Japanese postwar housing boom. There were almost 9 million metric tons of mostly Luan plywood, mfg. in Japan in 1973.

By the 70's, supplies of Luan and tropical woods in general were running low and there were log export bans beginning to come into effect.

Two other woods used around 1973, were Kapur( a harder ,more teak coloured tropical) and Sen, a native Japanese tree, one species of which is a source of camphor. Sen wood , smells a bit camphorous.

About 70% of Japan is still forested and since the tropical hardwood restrictions of the early 70's , Japan has shifted to other sources of imports as well as the development of their domestic wood supply. Currently , Japan exports Sen plywood to North America!

Walnut is out of the question, for a cheap ,Japanese export product----way too expensive.

My guess would be Kapur.