Hey all, I was recently looking at a pre serial 602 20" ride that really sounded great. Problem is there's a crack radiating out from the hole maybe 5mm long. The seller was fairly sure it would continue to get worse and so was offing a pretty low selling price. I've seen rides with far more drastic keyholing that still lived on so I'm wondering what's the wisdom here about just using/repairing a cymbal like this. Thanks!
Steve
A grommet will probably do the trick. There are metal ones which permanently attach. There are rubber ones used in electrical boxes. Buy the correct size and they pop right in.
[img]http://www.hvccycle.com/images/hvc20083.JPG[/img]
You might find you have to switch your cymbal stand over from the plastic top to just having the old fashioned washer. I've got a couple of plastic tops which I cut down to just being like a washer. Then a bottom felt on that, then the cymbal with the rubber grommet. I don't bother with a top felt or wing nut at all. Looks like this in use:
[img]http://black.net.nz/drums/jazetop.JPG[/img]
You might also consider using some JBWeld on the crack at the same time.
You might also consider drilling out just past what looks to you like the end of the crack. That's a more invasive step.
Don't overtighten the wing nut so that your cymbal is constricted in its movement. It needs to swing freely.
In my database small mounting hole cracks (or "hairlines") drops the price of a 20" 602 ride to $70-$120 (based on tracking all eBay sales since 2006). Without photos or more info (like does it buzz?) yours would probably be in that range. If it was an Istanbul K you would want to do lots of work to preserve it. If it is a plain old garden variety 602 20" then I wouldn't pay too much, nor put too much into fixing it. You can get one without a crack for under $180 on eBay if you bide your time.
Thanks very much for the tips and info! I figured if I could get it for $100 or less I'd go for it. It's a beautiful sounding cymbal I just don't know what the future holds for it. The crack is small so maybe the rubber grommet idea would keep it going as long as I used it anyway.
Steve
Just a quick update. I bought the cymbal for $100 which may have been too much but I'm very happy with it. The sound is just perfect and works great with my existing cymbals. No buzzing or odd noises. I used the rubber grommet as advise and will keep an eye on the crack to make sure it doesn't enlarge. It's a pre-serial 20" weighing about 2300g I might be hooked on the 60s sound! Thanks again for the help and tips.
Steve
I'd say that's good buying. I had a 20" Zildjian A with a similar crack except longer by the sounds of it. I put a tiny drill hole at the end of the crack and it never got worse even without a grommet.
Hey, I'm needing a 6x10 (depth x diameter) tom shell for a special project. It needs to be multi-ply with no re-rings, and it don't matter what the brand name is.
