OK, here is my next round of projects. I have a stack of snare shells, all different type of shells, a thin Star (Stewart/Apollo blue sparkle 3 ply w/re-rings, a thicker Star 6 ply and a really old Pearl (no-name stencil) WMP that is a 4 ply mahogany with huge re-rings, under the curly maple veneer inlay, of old growth Asian variety and a newer World Max 13"x5" of mahoganybasswood/maple.
First up is the easy one, blue spark. It is all there, but I hate the strainer, so off it goes in favor of an OLD long-arm Rapid Strainer type throw I got in box of parts recently. No idea it was there and I was stoked to find it as anotrher member and I were just trying to get one identical to it functioning properly. His was a bit more worn that this one is. The edges were very clesn and only needed a light sanding and oiling. It is a roundover and I will leave it like it is. I lacquered the interior and edges and packed the lugs with cotton. I unroll a cotton ball and wrap a piece of it around the spring.
Next will be the WorldMax because it is all taken apart and needs the most work. I will lacquer it all over, interior, exterior, edges...then I will paint it crimson...maybe a shot os cream for OU colors....anyway. The edges, factory, were terrible, not well cut at all. SO I tested my router on a really crappy MIT shell, got decent results and took the WM to it. Now it has a smokin' double 45 and deep snare beds so it ought to really cut like a razor when it is done. After that....we'll see.