This is a tough road. You will pay quite a bit for the kit when all is said and done. It's not a profitable move with resale in mind. Consider, you can get the real deal for about what you will have in it. There is no buyer incentive to move on this. I will say that for personal use it would be cool. No doubt. If you do go this route, it will become one of your favorite kits BECAUSE you built it.

Exactly. This is why I abandoned the 16x18 Leedy floor tom project. The real ones are just about non-existant, so I figured to replicate one.....until I figured out it would have cost me almost $700 in parts to build one! I have since sold the rest of the kit off......next project was supposed to be taking Gretsch orphans and making a kit to go with my recently restored Grestch snare......however, after looking forever for orphans and finding that EVERYONE wants STOOOOOPID money for anything with the Gretsch name on it....that project is abandoned as well. I'm sure the snare will be for sale before long.

I guess if you take the resale out of it, and think about how the Downbeat has begun recently to climb, especially in Campaign sparkle, it does seem to me a better route.

Think about this. Every one of them is "pristine" until you have in your possesion, then "it's 45 years old, what do you expect? Of course there is some minor pitting in the chrome, and the bass lugs show their age."

A 24x14 sell, in todays' version of a 6 ply shell, which is nothing like the old days, only about 5-6 mm thick, is sold by AIT for $79+ shipping. You get three drums out of it, a 14x14, 5.5x14 and 4x14. Then a bass shell is $100 for a 20x20, so you will have a 14x20 bass and a "Mickey Hart Special" if you like, and then a 24x12 is $74, leaving you with the possibility of 3 almost 8x12s. So if you go right down to only those you will actually use for THIS kit, and think about it, you have a good start on more sets.

So let's review: $253=a minimom of 7 usable shells, 34 of which are dedicated to this kit, assuming Downbeat confifuration.

100+/- for hoops, using triple mflange and 10 ply maple, 225 for lugs, beavertail, or 190 Sound King. Now, the t-rods and claws, t-screws and rail are all thatis left. Plus wrap, or stain. Wrap can be realy high, or not, if you shop the discon or sale items.

Less than 800 plus wrap.

I agree with my two other forum members. also, with my experience, the bolts for the lugs are metric not standard, and my lugs didn't come with them i had to buy them and they where not cheap, i am a little confused you used Ludwig configurations but you are showing slingerland lugs?? if you go this route it will be costly and it will not sound vintage, when all is said and done you'll easily be over the $1000.00 mark and they will have less than 1/2 the resale value!!! but if you are doing them as all time keepers GOfor it!!!band2

If I were going to build a kit, it would be a modern custom. Re-production stuff does not satisfy. Better to buy real vintage. Way more cost effective.

Only because I don't know what the Slingerland configs are called, and I am too hurried to search them out at the moment. Also, You can't really get the Ludwig lugs as reproductions, they would have to come from Ludwig, and I can only imagine what that would cost, and what the reaction would be.

"Hi, I want to rip you off. Can I buy some parts, I am building a modern reproduction kit and need to be as authentic as possible..." I don't see that phone call going over well.

I agree with the sound thing, I know the aged wood is going to sound much better. I am only thinking about this as a way to get my hands into building. I don't like the sound of new, or thick, heavy shells. The thin, 5 & 6 ply maple shells coming out of Keller right now that I have heard have a really nice resonance. That said, they are hard to come by. If I call Keller and ask for 5 ply shells, I pay almost 50% moree from them than from Anderson. Why? Makes no sense to me. I understand the volume and stocking and all that, I've been in business a long time.

Anyway, just a thought, and I know the amount of time, and the fact that I would have a ton of cash in them, and the resale may not be there. But then again, it may. Look at SJC, GMS, Spaun, those are some seriously ugly drums, and they bring 10K....I can't fathom that. Please doin't thrash me for my opinion, I think they are, for the most part, gruesome. Some of them are very nice looking kits, but mosat are just....ugh...For that kind of jack, you can build and buy many nice sets of old cans.

Or, I could order a few cartons of Chinese shells in any lay-up I want for about what a few Keller shells cost....

Yeah, i understand, And believe me I'm not trying to talk you out of it, i was just pointing out the pit falls that follow, I have come very close to doing it myself i have been looking at the vaughncraft solid shells, super nice and expensive,Haven't pulled the trigger yet!!!Clapping Happy2