If it says WFL on the footboard it is a WFL Speed King. :)

Best,

Magnus

Thanks. It doesn’t so it isn’t!

It doesn't necessarily mean it is from the 50s though. WFL logo'd Speed Kings and Snare stands were common well into the 60's. They must have had a ton of WFL Speed King foot boards and snare basket castings in stock at the time that they bought back the Ludwig name from Conn. They continued to use them rather than scrap them. Either that or they didn't want to, or have the capital to have the tooling modified for several years after getting their name back.

They even continued to reuse catalog artwork with the WFL logo on the Speed King as late as '67. We don't see Ludwig branded Speed King footboards until the '73 catalog. This doesn't mean they were still making Speed Kings with the WFL logo this late, since it was common to reuse catalog artwork for many years unless there was a compelling reason to spend the time and money for new artwork or to have it airbrushed. However, there are new pictures in the '67 catalog of snare kits where you can clearly see the WFL on the snare basket casting so it is possible they were still making pedals with the WFL logo this late.

Mine doesn't have a WFL imprint on it so it must be from later on. Is there any way to date these pedals?

Hi there Kiwi! Send us some photos and we can help you approximate the vintage of your Speed King. There were some minor changes to the thumbscrews and also the two "stops."

I dunno the real name of the two "stops," but they are the two vertical pieces that touch the wooden hoop when you push the pedal into place. The 1960s vintage "stops" were longer (larger) than the mid-1970s stops.

I'm no expert on Speed Kings, but I've had a number of them, and still use them exclusively. I'm sure there are other guys on this forum who are far more knowledgeable than I am, and they'll chime in once they see photos.

Regards, MB

If you're on Facebook, find Vincent Ward. He has quite a bit of knowledge on Speed Kings.

Mike

Kia Ora Marty and greetings from God's Own! Thanks for the advice and info. I've attached a few photos to assist if anyone can fill in the blanks.

Thanks, Mike, I'll see if I can find Vincent. I wouldn't mind some advice about greasing the bearings as well. Seems to be quite a bit of play in mine and not sure if that's normal?

It's got the later-vintage shorter "stops," so it's 1970s or later. I've never seen the bottom screws (for spring tension) screwed in that deeply. That SK must be really gummed up from hardened grease. I don't think the numbers on the bottom can be used for dating. I believe they are merely casting numbers or part numbers or parts-subcontractor codes.

Regards, MB