Very helpful Anthony. I've been a Rogers fan for a long, long time, but stilling learning thanks to your reseach and video efforts.

Looking at this label from a 14x14 floor tom, how would you date this drum, taking into account the speckled interior, star-type washers used to install the knobby mounts for the legs and slotted hex head screws mounting the tension casings? I believe all the hardware was original to this 14x14, but off course it is now very difficult to be sure of that. For example though, there was no shadow in the paint that might give rise to the idea that the floor tom leg mounts once had fender washers or any other detectable changes like that.

This drum was included with a set that was otherwise all flat gray. In addition, the other drums all have slotted round head screws and the two different sized fender washers typical of Covington drums. All have the square head tension rods while this 14x14 had the later rods with a bit of a round shoulder at each quadrant on the rod. The tags for the other drums are as follows:

8x12 - 69313 - Dayton, Ohio

14x20 - 69725 - Dayton, Ohio

5x14 - 16170 - Cleveland, Ohio (as late a Cleveland label as I have seen on a PowerTone)

In your view are these likely to have all been together since day one, when according to the guy that sold them to me, he had bought the set from the original owner who got them in 1965?

Thanks,

Dan

Hi Dan

Not possible for that drum to have been built in 65

That is a left over type in tag... it is a Dayton drum.

It was most likely built at the same time as your other drums which at the earliest is 1968.

Zolatone interiors started in 1968 upon the move from Covington to Dayton.

Thanks Anthony. I had never seen star washers inside any drum that hadn’t been built in the Fullerton era and beyond the stage of the ‘Holiday’ labels, i.e.,the Powertone era just before the introduction of the 9/72 drums.

It seems to me that the plate with the star washer was added later.

It's possible but they were all the same. Even if you got a new knobby you'd likely use the original mounting hardware. In this case, maybe not. However, as mentioned earlier, no shadow in the speckled paint to indicate that there were once fender washers instead of the star version. Just another Rogers oddity.

What I mean is many people added plates after owning the drums for some time.

second or third owners etc...

It was not uncommon to go to a retailer to have the drum drilled for a plate.

Or even to do it at home.

I suspect that is what the case is here.

I may have not been clear on this topic. The photo isn't showing a single plate added to the drum - as was sometime found with a knobby on the top side of a floor tom to hold accessories or to set up the floor tom and snare as a cocktail set. All three knobby leg mounts on that floor tom had the same star washers and everything indicates they were on the drum from day one.

PS - To further expore the question, are you aware of whether or not the use of the star washers began before the move to Fullerton?

possibly.

It doesn't matter

be well