It's been a while since my last post here and I am sorry but sometimes life gets in the way. I have a few projects that I will share now and try and get back on track.

And now for something a little different.

This drum head came off a French brass bass drum from 1883 that was mounted to a circus organ (Calliope) and had torn. There is a guy in Westerly Rhode Island that restores these things for a living and he contacted me about new heads for the drum. This is the original head and had been removed from the drum prior to arriving at my shop.

[IMG]http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm231/rainbowlove44/Windmill%202.jpg[/IMG]

This is the head that my artist painted to recreate the original head

[IMG]http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm231/rainbowlove44/Windmill%203.jpg[/IMG]

Here are the heads side by side

[IMG]http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm231/rainbowlove44/Windmill%204.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm231/rainbowlove44/Windmill%2027.jpg[/IMG]

And here is a picture of the drum on the circus organ. The drum on the right was also dropped off and is finished but I can't post that picture yet because the customer hasn't picked that one up yet. I will post pictures of that later.

[IMG]http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm231/rainbowlove44/IMG_4465.jpg[/IMG]

Much more to follow.

Wow! So cool! Good to hear you've been busy Matt.

Matt,

Nice to hear from you and thanks for posting pics of your latest project. I especially appreciate those shots of that circus organ bass because, as you know, I restored one of those a while ago. Circus organ bass drums and snares can be very interesting due to the wide variety of unique metal hoops and tensioning systems used, usually quite different from the normal wooden hoop and claw systems offered on marching drums of the same period. Really nice job there replicating the original painted artwork on the reso head, but nothing less than the quality of work I'd expect to come out of your shop.

If you don't think it would be out of line, could you forward a shot of my circus organ bass to your R.I. customer for his expert opinion. I'd love to have an expert positively identify the manufacturer and age.

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Keep us updated on these interesting projects, and see you at the CT Drum Show.

Mike

Mike, I'll see what I can come up with for you.

Once again, very nice work Matt! So what size is that bass drum in the organ?

The bass drum is 24" and the snare is 15"

A lot of those kick cymbals were K Zildjian,...is that one ?

Not sure, I haven't seen it in person.

New heads for Drummers Dream drums, a 24" logo head and a 24" hair on cowhide head.

[IMG]http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm231/rainbowlove44/DSCN3246.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm231/rainbowlove44/DSCN3238.jpg[/IMG]

Once again it has been a while between posts but there has been a lot going on business wise on my end. I will have reviews of my calfskin heads coming up in not one but TWO drumming magazines so I am very excited about that. I have also been very busy with the museum project and will post an update in that thread as well.

So, for today I will start with the first of several rope drums that were brought into my shop in the last few months for restoration. I have been getting a lot more of these from high end collectors and from museums so I guess I'm doing something right.

This drum is (supposedly) and Eli Brown drum from 1837. I received the drum as pictured here, with just a shell and two hoops. If you are a fan of rope drums or know anything about Brown drums (from any member of the Brown family) then you can appreciate the cool factor of this drum. One of the reasons to be skeptical of this being a Brown drum though is the tack pattern on the drum. I have seen, both in person and in photos, over 100 examples of drums from the Brown family, and none match the tack pattern on this drum or are even close.

[IMG]http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm231/rainbowlove44/Sistack%201.jpg[/IMG]

The other reason that I am was a little skeptical is because the original makers label is gone and has been replaced with this one.

[IMG]http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm231/rainbowlove44/Sistack%203.jpg[/IMG]

The drum measures a little over 18" in diameter by 18.75" in depth and is very similar in size and construction to Brown drums from this time period. There was also some other handwriting on the inside of the shell that did give me reason to believe that Eli Brown or another member of the Brown family did have something to do with the making of this drum but I can't give away all my secrets.

Here is a close-up of the ivory vent hole grommet and surrounding tack work.

[IMG]http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm231/rainbowlove44/DSCN3255.jpg[/IMG]

Lastly for this set, a picture of the bearing edge and some of the striping on the inside from the Tiger Maple used on the shell.

[IMG]http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm231/rainbowlove44/DSCN3302.jpg[/IMG]