For me, taking cortex wrap off of 70s-80s drums isn't that bad with a hair dryer and a scraper.

Taking the glue off without sanding is a job. I spent 2 Saturdays getting glue off of a bass drum using goof off, a rag and mostly my palm and fingers. Still have the calluses as mementos. It was worth it in the end though.

I once dropped a washer and it seemed like it disappeared into oblivion. I spent ages looking for it. I moved furniture, I had my hand in every nook and cranny of the sofa where I had been sitting at the time. I checked inside my shoes, the creases of my clothes. I even checked in the other room in case it had bounced 10 feet. After much F bombing and head / butt scratching, I decided to continue without the washer. I pick up the snare drum and there it is resting between the tension rod and the shell on the bottom hoop. These things only happen to me.

Cool, Thanks for the replies.

Found many missing bits inside lugs, caught in the lip of the shell, in shoes. Never did sort how a lug washer turned up in the cat liter box... It wasn't passed so figure one of the kitties put it there for safe keeping.

FunkyPoodle you are a trooper. I have a magnet taped to a wire to fetch bits that fall between the cracks in the deck. A 2 story drop would be bad.

Creighton

I once had a snare drum shipped to me and when breaking up the cardboard box I found some white string that looked like Ludwig, used to attach the snares to the strainer / butt plate. It was hidden within the cardboard "flaps" at the base of the box. Clearly the box had been used before to ship a snare. I needed the string too. Was a pleasant surprise.

Just when you mentioned the cat box. :)

I think it still involves restoring vintage drums because I needed the string to complete a project so not off topic. ;)

Haha that's brilliant! You're not so alone as you think though...:)

With the S8 cams, there was the additional horror-option of a tiny screw falling *into* the camera workings - needless to say it could not stay in there...

As it happens I've always lived in places with wide-slat hardwood floors, with big gaps between the slats - magnets and flashlights are of the essence...:)

Mitch

Removing glue, definitely my least favorite part. Getting the old wrap off is quick and easy by comparison.

The bright side is drums are not like a car restoration. Bit goes missing in a cylinder or valve train very bad. Drums just wrap some felt and all good :-)

Creighton

I had a screw drop from my table, into my pocket. You can imagine that would be the last place I'd look. Until the end of the day when I take them off and don't need the screw anymore.

As far as the worst part of a restoration....I hate having to patch a hole from a ludwig double post mount. Or a pearl...or from a shotgun or what ever makes those hideous gaping wounds on bass drums.

Secondly, I really hate cleaning hoops too.

Third on that list, I hate trying to decide to buy heads or not for a kit i'm gonna sell. I like to buy project kits and fix them up. I play them for a little while and then sell them. Kits that most people wont or can't handle. There's a lot of good drums out there that people pass on that can still be brought back. Most people would be surprised. Anyway...after i've revived a kit and i'm on to the next project, I go through this internal struggle of "do I buy heads to pretty this thing up or not"?

Jason

I can sympathize with the glue removal, lost washers etc but I spent two months with a right arm that could barely life a cup of tea without pain (I'm an Englishman... I need tea).

They should rename 'tennis elbow' 'drum restoration elbow', at least for a few of us. I had to lay off it all for quite some time and should really go see a physical therapist to stop it all coming back when I fire up the workshop again. Gotta be some exercises that can help out.