If it was mine I would get a small sheet of birch veener. Look for the spots that will match the grain pattern on the shell. With a very sharp and pointy blade the veener can be cut to match the ragged hole. Same with whatever carnage occured on the inner ply or the inside layer of a solid shell. Will still be visible as a repair but much better looking than a incorrect wood type dowel with putty caked about.

Creighton

Sixty plus holes is a lot of messing around with dowels... I'd epoxy all of the holes and chips, sand, and then wood veneer both inside and outside of the shell... Take less time with a better end result..

Cheers

John

Late to the doweling party, but I'll make a different suggestion and that is to use

QuikWood, which is a stick epoxy (like Magic Putty). Slice some off the roll, knead it until it is of uniform color, and then press it into the holes.

I have fixed several drum shells with it (it's what I use for bearing edge nicks), and it's sandable, rugged, and does not shrink.

It's perfectly suitable if you're going to paint or wrap the drum; I don't know if it takes stain.

longjohn suggested epoxy; this specific putty is up to the task.

I don't use the traditional Play-Doh wood fillers for any of my woodworking any more. It's all QuickWood.

You will need to touch up that ragged bearing edge.

You might also consider just buying a new shell and transferring the hardware to it.

Thanks Brian!

Thanks all!

Erik is this what you are using?

Creighton

http://www.polymericsystems.com/epoxies-adhesives/epoxy-putty-sticks/quikwood.htm

I've used that, and the similarly-named JB Kwik Wood.

They look and work pretty much alike.

One of the things that I like about the stuff is that while it is setting up, you can smooth it with your fingertip.