That's the reason I'd use tape - undo-ability. If I was going for permanent I'd use petroleum-based contact cement. It just feels better to me personally.

Just realized how old this thread is! There are certainly businesses with that attitude, don't like it go somewhere else. While it's entirely up to the business owners to be that way, I think it's good to be forewarned about it so if you need to do business you can go in with an accommodating attitude, sort of butter them up if you will...:)

As some may know I experimented with DIY sparkle wrap a while ago. It turned out well but was "open" on one side and wood-glued to the shells. Well I'm on the warpath again to make wraps out of hex glitter [flat] and crushed glass glitter [chunks]. This time it will be sandwiched between two layers of Dura-Lar, with acrylic gel medium as the bonding agent. [I've been doing some reading on Dura-Lar and what works bonding-wise]. The backing layer will have a coat of paint to enhance the look, as in the putty coloured base of Ludwig silver sparkle.

If it turns out well I'll post a thread on it here. I plan to sell it cheap tho I guess, given that it won't be "real", it'll be mainly for MIJ kits...except for one Club Date kit...mine. :)

Mitch

Please feel free to start a thread with your recent DIY experiences Mitch! The last one was great stuff! Sorry for OT!

I've had generally ok interactions with JS. Some sparkle wrap I ordered from him a while ago was not very impressive, but he did and does have colors that I can't find anywhere else. I recently got some solid yellow from him, which looks great and isn't available elsewhere.

He's often kind of grumpy on the phone, but whatever. My biggest problem with him is that he's hackish in his insistence that taping wraps is better than gluing them. I've done both and can say that it's much easier to get a good result with glue, and it will actually end up costing less too since he charges a significant amount for his double-sided tape. Haven't done a shootout to determine which sounds better, but I suspect that gluing is a little less dampening.

To me the only advantage to taping wraps is ease of unwrapping. Taping doesn't save any significant work time, as most of the time that goes into a rewrap is in disassembly and reassembly anyway. And it leaves no room for error if your shells are a bit out of round, as most vintage drums are (at least a little).

I think that's gotta be the attitude to have, given that the point of the interaction is to get the stuff you want. Of course, the OP *didn't* get what he wanted, but again, that was two years ago now...:)

I do believe if the OP had been given a heads-up to approach Sam in a certain way, maybe he would have gotten his stuff. I would take this thread as that heads-up.

Thanks! It may take a while, not really sure if I'd sell it. I'd love to see someone else try it too - it's just the two sheets of DuraLar, some gel, and some sparkle...:) The idea of two sheets is to make it removable if you want to use tape.

Mitch

Can't agree with this at all. You should NEVER have to kiss a merchants ass to get what you want. I never treat my customers that way. I bend over backward if I have to, to earn their business. Any jackass who thinks he can act with impunity and treat their customers poorly because he thinks they can't go somewhere else is a fool.

I find a little courtesy goes a lot further than an attitude. If you can't sell them what they want, all you have to do is politely tell them "I'm sorry but I just can't." There's no reason to be rude, and certainly no reason to put up with rude vendors.

I would take this thread as a different heads up; you don't have to settle for rude customer service and inflated prices. If you wan't good drum wrap there are other options. I know, I am one of those options.

I don't disagree but note my comment was entirely concerned with getting the stuff you want and not at all with what should or shouldn't happen.

The threaded grommets and the solid yellow wrap are two items which, according to comments here, are/were only available from Sam. This will happen in life and I'm sure the very first vendor ever to exist was called Crusty Bugger :) Well maybe not but they aren't exactly in short supply. So if I'm about to deal with one I'd want that information beforehand, and would approach with caution. If you know before calling that the person in question will be gruff as a matter of course, it takes the personal sting out of the situation. We're dealing with some fairly esoteric items here and I'm just saying that personally, I'd rather get my widget than stand on principle and lose access to a valuable source.

Mitch

Sam is a great guy. It seems obvious to me that once you have reached his level, his way is THE way and if you disagree, fine, take your business elsewhere, he will survive without you, trust me.

Clicking around on google images last night for pictures of vintage silver sparkle kits, I came across Sam's site, where it lists a price for grommets with no wrap purchase, and says "If you need more, give us a call." This is either new [remember, this thread was started 2 years ago], or the OP called on a bad day. He should have been able to order some grommets...

It also says the grommets are only available from Sam's, so if I ever need some, I'm going to try to strike up a conversation first, begin a relationship, and then ask...:)

http://www.jamminsam.com/vintage-style-threaded-eyelets/#seven16

Mitch

He's really trying to discourage people from buying the grommets without buying wrap too, just look at the difference in those prices with and without accompanying wrap. But hell, if he posts it he should at least honor what he's advertising and allow folks to buy at the prices on the website.

I've noticed several times over the years that he is very bad about keeping his site updated. Lots of wrap colors are advertised that are no longer made and which he no longer has any of for sale.

I recently wrapped a set of Ludwig orphans (79 to early 80s) using Jammin Sam's super tangerine glass glitter. The drums sound incredible and look great as well. There's something special about Ludwig drums.

Anyway, the wrap from Sam was cut precisely to the sizes requested. I used 3M glue as well as Sam's tape. The tape makes it very easy to get the wrap situated exactly where you want it.

I've ordered from Precision and had a good experience with them as well. I've heard good things about drummaker.com in Nashville too.