I love the ears with the eyes in them! Very cool!

Okay, getting back to a "Normal drum" for a minute, this is the drum that I just finished building and is the 4th snare drum that I have done for the 1st Company Connecticut Governors Footguard. The first three snares were are rebuilds to some extent so this is the first one that is a ground up build for them and subsequently, the last drum that will be made under the CT Pro Percussion name. I will still be keeping the name for the shop but all drums and heads built in my shop going forward will under the name of Charter Oak Drums.

Here is a couple of pictures of the shell before it was assembled completely.

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/IMG_20140731_160006_529_zps331222ac.jpg[/IMG]

Vent hole and snare adjuster

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/IMG_20140802_112751_251_zps7b65f15a.jpg[/IMG]

Assembled front / side view

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/IMG_20140818_144605_372_zps5ac8c2f6.jpg[/IMG]

Brass feet added to the bottom

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/IMG_20140818_111253_456_zps91845453.jpg[/IMG]

Side view

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/IMG_20140818_144624_675_zpse6aac0b1.jpg[/IMG]

And now a look forward.

The new name for all drums and heads is Charter Oak Drums and here is the new logo.

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/charter-oak-drums-2_zps9dc49c1c.jpg[/IMG]

And now a loo forward. The first drum that I will be producing under the Charter Oak Drums name is a custom 16" x 16" rope tension snare for a customer in Delaware. We didn't want to go with a standard Keller shell on this and wanted something that was going to stand out a bit and she also wanted a much lighter colored wood. So, I contacted some friends of mine in Georgia at Outlaw drums and they were very happy to team up with my shop and do something just a little bit different. They make shells out of 100% reclaimed and recycled wood and the shell is a stave construction made with reclaimed North American Yellow Pine. The grain is slightly raised and is what they call their weathered look. The raised grain is going to get stained and it will leave the rest of the grain in the light yellow of the pine that you see in the picture.

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/image-2_zps166531fd.jpg[/IMG]

Inside view 1 (Crossbars are for support during shipping)

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/image-5_zps332397bb.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/image-3_zps791f34e8.jpg[/IMG]

The grain on the drum is pretty intense and I can't wait to start working on this one.

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/image_zps81ad0f6f.jpg[/IMG]

More to follow.

Matt,

First of all, our new GFG snare looks absolutely amazing, but nothing short of what we've come to expect from your shop. Can't wait to add that one to the other three in the drum line.

Okay, so tell us how you're going to stain just the raised grain of that old reclaimed wood on the stave drum. That's going to be one hell of an interesting looking drum when you're done. Keep us posted.

Oh, and I love the new Charter Oak Drums logo.

Mike

Wow lots going on Matt. Amazing snare drum it's another beauty. Each drum you do is a work of art. And that new shell from Georgia is sweet! I dig the new name too. Classic CT heritage for sure!! Good stuff thanks for the update.

Matt, you do outstanding work, one of my favorite threads to follow. And I love the re-claimed wood shell, especially that one knot, love it!

Thank you all, I am still amazed at how many views this thread has and all the kind words. I will definitely keep the photos coming as I progress with new drums.

Okay, been a while since the last post here so time for a bit of an update.

This is a shell that was made for me by my friends at Outlaw Drum in Georgia. It has been transformed into a nice 16x16 marching snare. It is a stave construction made with North American Yellow Pine.

I cut the bearing edge to a round over to keep in line with the style of the drum. There is no need for a reinforcement ring on this one since the shell is .5" thick. It's a monster in the thickness department but the grain makes it worth the extra couple pounds

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/DSCN9168_zps4684c284.jpg[/IMG]

Since the shell has a weathered finish that was sand blasted I did the whole shell in a semi gloss urethane and did the darker raised portions of the grain in a full gloss urethane to create even more contrast between the light and dark grains.

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/DSCN9172_zps3a61a620.jpg[/IMG]

The shell was drilled and a strainer with a throw-off was added per the customer request because the drum will also be used for some orchestral work.

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/DSCN9348_zpse2e22615.jpg[/IMG]

My customer is also a fan of fantasy so her name was added in an Elvish font on the hoops.

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/IMG_20140929_181452_702_zpsef4795ec.jpg[/IMG]

And then some floral work was added to hide the name a little bit. The lettering is all hand painted in a copper leafing.

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/IMG_20141030_100611_068_zps775ea069.jpg[/IMG]

Custom ears were then added to the drum as well as a custom leather carry hook to keep the rustic look of the drum intact.

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/IMG_20141101_224817_621_zps9a407b1a.jpg[/IMG]

Kevlar head on top with a 16" Remo hazy snare side head on the bottom

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/IMG_20141101_224809_606_zps7aef354f.jpg[/IMG]

Got this one roped up and will add the gut snare today and it's ready for delivery.

[IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o750/Connecticut_Pro-Percussion/IMG_20141101_124810_173_zps41b9c478.jpg[/IMG]

A Kevlar head?

Pardon my ignorance but is a rope tensioned drum going to work with a modern marching head?

Great looking drum BTW...