"A lateral cut around a 13" tom shell would require a table saw [don't have one] and some care, and then I'd have to remove and re-install the re-ring, whereas I'll just be hacking straight across this thing with a jigsaw, squeezing it into a 13" head, marking off the extra, and one last cut."I may be missing something, but cutting down a 9x13 gives you the 6-hole layout - just drill the bottom holes. And seriously, a handsaw and sandpaper, maybe a file, some glue and clamps are all you need. It's not hard. Your project is cool, but all the filling and redrilling seems like the hard way to me. Maybe I misunderstood.
Hello Floyd! I think the key element here is that a 14" Pioneer shell, with issues, is what I had lying around. If I'd had a 13" tom shell, with issues, lying around, I definitely would have worked with that!
Still, I'm glad I didn't have to chisel off a re-ring - they seem rather well-glued on there [tho I've never tried it - maybe they pop right off?] Also I'm not sure the top hole for a classic lug would put a bowtie in the middle of a 5+" deep shell, so there might have been about the same amount of filling and drilling...again not sure. I definitely would have had to add snare beds to a 13" tom shell...
All in all I do certainly see your point, but feel it might have been six-of-one etc....and as I say, the 14" Pioneer is what I had to work with, so there was never really any question.
Mitch