Like I mentioned in my Jazzfest conversion thread, I decided to attempt a 15x12 Ludwig Marching Snare to 15x6.5 School Festival conversion as my next project.
So far, things are going a lot smoother. I actually started the shell cut-down from the correct end this time. I purchased a 1976 15x12 6-ply B/O badge marching snare from *bay. It had all of the parts, except the P-85 slide cover. The red sparkle wrap is bright and in very good condition. It has a little shrinkage on the seem, but not bad.
I saved the bottom half to keep the snare beds and I only needed to drill holes for the top Classic lugs, the badge/vent hole and the muffler. I cut a 45 degree bearing edge on the inside and a round-over on the outside. I tried to match the bottom bearing edge, as close as possible. The drum head will actually ride on the 2nd ply from the outside of the shell.
Here are some pictures of the bearing edge and the shell with the lugs re-installed. Since it was a marching snare, it also had a leg brace with 2 holes drilled to the right of throw-off (3rd picture). I'll fill them and patch the wrap with some donor wrap from the top part of the shell.
This snare should sound big and fat when it's complete. :)
-Tim
