Good thing I decided to paint them: the 14” has mahogany outer ply! In fact, the 10 and 12 are both 5-ply with Maple outer ply, the 13 is 10-ply with maple outer ply, and the 14 is 5-ply with mahogany outer ply. I think it was near the end of Slingerland in Chicago.

“Hey Floyd, grab me a 14 off the shelf, wouldja?”

“Herb, which one do you want?”

“Whatever is closest to you.”

I tried to locate a nice stencil to evenly place stars on the drum, but no such luck. I bought some stick-on stars, but then I needed to figure out a way to evenly space them. I made a template out of kraft paper and mapped out the best spots for the stars. Then, using a nail set, I punched out small holes 1/8” above where I want the top of each star to be. I also punched out a hole directly below the star to make sure I placed each star straight. After painting the base coat of white, I will wrap the template around the drum, tape it in place, and spray a light coat of blue. I’ll locate the stars via the pairs of blue dots and stick the stars to the drum. I’ll paint the drum blue and hopefully remove the stars to reveal white stars.

Josh

Josh, according to Slingerland historian Dr. CJ Wenk the first Cut-a-ways in '77 were made with multi ply Jasper shells. Looks like your 13" is one of those.

Slingerfan,

If Dr. Wenk didn’t know, I figured YOU would know what’s going on.

So does he say anything about the 5-plies? The serial numbers are near consecutive and they were all covered in the same yellow plastic wrap with the same adhesive. I have a hard time believing they didn’t pop out of the factory at the same time.

Josh, I take zero credit for knowing this, it is 100% Dr. Wenk. It is also mentioned in Rob Cook's Slingerland book. Here is an old thread where Dr. Wenk mentions the use of Jasper shells. Your mix of 5-ply and Jasper shells certainly makes sense.

BTW, what are the serial numbers? http://vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=508&highlight=jasper

19050, 19053, 19054, 19055 in order of smallest drum to largest. These drums wear the giant rectangular badges, not typical Slingerland ovals. I am thinking the serial numbers don’t follow any established format.

Here are the latest photos:

1. After spraying blue through the template and using the blue dots to line up the stick-on stars. They have foam backing and are covered in glitter.

2. The 12” after spraying the metallic blue and removing the stick-on stars. Looks pretty good! Will follow with a few coats of clear after 48 hours.

Very Cool, Josh! The paint job looks 'period correct' and I think they will be an impressive set of toms!

Kudos to you!! Nice work so far!!

Cheers

Hey Josh! Looking good!

-Mark

Thank you all! It’s a fun project.

Nothing subtle about this pair...