Those are tension rods. Those are REAL easy to replace. Gibraltar makes 'em and you can get 'em cheap. Same with the steel hoops.

Tension rods! That is right, sorry about that.

Where would you buy them from? Website?

I saw the hoops for $10 and up, depending on the size. Can you find them cheaper than that?

Also, I was probably just going to sand down the wood hoops on the bass drum and have them repainted black. There are some deep cuts in them that can perhaps be sanded out. What kind of paint would I want to use on them?

I look forward to seeing your drum you are working on and the freaky bass wrap your wife suggested.

For some of the sources for your tension rods and rims, you can link off this Forum. Go to Links at the top left-hand side of this page, and that will take you to a selection of several companies that deal in various parts you will be needing.

Also, there's TONS of Ludwig parts on Ebay all the time. Anything you need is generally available there at most any time.... if you don't mind playing the game.

Congrats on a great kit ......

Thanks kevins, I have been clicking on those links already.

Well....NEW the classic lugs sell for about $8-$10 EACH depending on where you go.......you might want to go to the local autoparts store and buy a can of chrome polish instead. I'm sure the exsisting lugs will clean up fine. And as far as the tension rods......scotchbrite and a cordless drill do wonders to bring them back to life.

Ruh-Roh!

Sounds like too much work! LOL!

Can I take everything to a sandblaster and have him sandblast the hell out of everything and then have it all rechromed?

Sandblasting won't remove chrome just give it a scuffed dull look. And re-chroming is EXPENSIVE. Trust me on this one....get a bottle of chrome polish from the local autoparts store and try that. It usually removes most of the crud and rust. If the lugs have scuffs and deep scratches in the chrome, not much you can do about that but replace the lug, since its in the metal at that point. I think you may be going a bit overboard on this one since these drums do not have much collector value, but they are great players drums. Just clean them up, play and enjoy the sound.

It seems such a shame to have nicely beautifully finished shells and then have to put old pitted looking lugs on them. But, I will give the chrome polish thing a try and see if I can sleep at night by the way they end up. I am very finicky when it comes to things...Sumo Dude

I finshed stripping all of my drums last night and some of the mounting screws inside the drums were disintegrating...so I will be needing to buy some of those along with the washers. Where do you buy those, just at the Lowes or Home Depot?

I contacted a wood maker and he said he would charge me $20 per drum to seal and coat my drums with polyurethane...so that comes out to $160.00 total for my eight drums. Judging from my pics, would putting the poly on it make the wood stand out real nice? Or is there something else that should be applied to make them really "shine"?

First, the screws can be purchased at Lowe's. I'm pretty much the expert on what NOT to buy, so you may want to hold out for someone else to give you the exact ones to purchase.

Second, if the guy is a professional, I say do it. You may even wish to have him stain 'em a bit. Your call on the color. You can go 'blonde' or any shade darker.

Do I dare mention OSMO??? Probably not. (Google it if you like)

So, this will be a very nice kit when complete. Your call on the lugs. Personally, I would polish the snot out of those and replace only the ones that were just too far gone. I would strategically mount the best lugs on top and in front and the less than desirables on the bottom and in the back. That's me, though. The alternative is just too painful. That's a serious chunk of dough when you go to replace over a hundred lugs. That's simply not an option with me. I recently sold a Rogers kit because I couldn't get the lugs as clean and smooth as I wanted. I wasn't about to replace all those lugs. No way. Too much money for one kit. My wife and I sat and discussed it and we both agreed to let the kit go. I had more than enough to keep me busy at the time, so it was no big deal. I will get another Rogers kit eventually. You can bet the lugs will be nice when I do.

If you replace all lugs, rods, and rims, it will be well over $1000....

Just 100 lugs at $8 is $800....

You could buy a kit that's much closer to the condition you like for less than that, and work on the one you already have a little at a time, and have two stellar kits.

Just a thought....