Thanks Purdie, I was planning on using Miwax Wipe-on Poly for these. But it's basically the same process as tung oil. I know, everything at Home Depot is crap, but check out this article: http://www.wwch.org/Technique/Finishes/WipeOnFinsih/WipeOnFinishesp.htm
It's an article from fine woodworking magazine that compares different wipe on finishes. It did not include pure tung oil, but there are a a couple tung oil variations in there. The Minwax came out as the overall best in the test. I especially like the drying time of 3 hours. I'd like to apply a lot of coats, and using tung oil would take me a week. I've seem some great examples of finishes done with the Minwax stuff.
Here's what I'm wondering now: as far my knowledge goes (which isn't that far), the natural finished Ludwigs had maple as their outer ply. I was under the impression that "Red Mahogany" was just the name given to this finish, and not the actual wood used. From looking at the scratches on these drums, it looks like a light blonde wood with some red finish and then some black paint. To me, this looks like they sprayed a red tinted clearcoat directly onto an unstained maple shell. So when I strip them, I'll be left with a light maple. Does that sound accurate to you guys?
If that's the case, I'm thinking that I'll use some Transtint "Reddish Brown" dye and then Minwax Wipe-on Poly (or I could mix the Transtint directly into the poly). That should get pretty close to the original finish. I was thinking of veneering these only because I assumed these drums were originally wrapped, and therefore had a Mahogany outer ply that wouldn't look that great stained.
Sooooooo..... I guess I won't be needing that poll anymore.