Good news!
The snare drum is complete/finished! It looks absolutely killer even if I do say so myself. Check it out:
[IMG]http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n632/PurdieShuffle/snare1_zpsc28c654b.jpg[/IMG]
The snare drum is one I made for my grandson two X-mas's ago. He wanted to learn to play, so I took a 6-ply Keller maple shell I had, drilled it for 10 bowties, all hardware is nickel over brass with the exception of the strainer which is chrome over brass. I added a vintage Ludwig strainer and butt plate, topped off with a new set of Evans heads and Puresound wires. The drum sounds amazing! Every bit as good as any Jazzfest I've heard. Solid, warm, woody tone. The drum has dbl.45 degree edges so it is clear, crisp and projects well. And now for some....
Bad news!
This glass wrap is so thick and brittle, it's almost impossible to cut! It took me almost -two hours- last night to trim up one bearing edge of excess wrap on the rack tom. Arghhhh! Frustrating as hell. I'm using a utility knife with fresh blades and it's still very s-l-o-w going.
There's more... the new set of Evans heads I got from my buddy Glenn (Fer428) and his son - do not fit!- This wrap is so thick, I'll have to trim it away from the bearing edges so that my grandson will be able to get heads on these tubs. Again, frustrating as hell. It is easily going to take another full week of work/labor to finish this kit properly.
Please, be patient and stay tuned. The rack tom is a work in progress, but I wanted to share a photo of it anyway.
[IMG]http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n632/PurdieShuffle/snare2_zps0ccc2d43.jpg[/IMG]
Glass wraps... tough stuff to work with. Challenging, even for an old-hand like me. I do not recommend the job to novices. If you've wrapped five or more kits in your time, then it's a job you can attempt. But I'll tell you now, you'll draw on every scrap of experience you have to get the job done right. I rate it a strong 8 on the difficulty scale.
More to come... hang in there friends.
John
