I like wrap better than stain because it is more durable when moving the drums around. In terms of the heads fitting. Get samples of what you have in mind, put a head on a table or the floor, put the shell on the head and see if you can fit two wrap swatches between the head and the shell. I'm told Rogers shells are slightly narrower in surface to surface circumference/diameter and that heads fit well on them. Glass wraps are thicker than sparkle wraps so test with what you believe you will use. Aquarian American Vintage heads will give you a little extra room and work for my glass wrapped Gretsch drums, which I'm told have the tightest head fit in the drumming world.

All craftsmen I have dealt with use contact cement and scoff at tape. I guess if you have some doubt in your skill set, tape will give you more than one shot at getting it right. Acoustic thinkers will probably argue that a glued wrap will be more resonant because the sound transfer will be direct rather than through the air between the shell and the wrap when you use tape.

Regarding your messed up 8". I wanted an 8" to go as an add on to a vintage kit. I had it made out of a Keller shell and with the edges cut to match the rest of the kit, it definitely has matched timbre. A 6x8 or 8x8 shell can't be that much money. I did my 6x8 5x5 offset on lugs because I thought it matched the Gretsch format of 5x5 offset lugs on my 6x10 tom. I must admit, I didn't check what was standard production for Gretsch 8" toms, but I also knew it was a fabricated add-on and didn't really care.

Hope that helps.

Regards,

Gary

Dix Hills, NY

Thanks for your post Gary - excellent food for thought. I am starting to think the offset lugs are the best option for such a small shell. I'm going to fix the problems with these shells and then take it from there. Thanks again.

I'm in the midst of doing the same thing with a Rogers concert tom kit. I wanted a RIMS style mount system so I removed all the Swivo mounts, taped all the empty holes from the outside and used Plastic Wood to fill the holes from the inside. the shells were badly in need of being repainted on the inside anyway, so after the PW had dried I sanded it smooth and repainted. I did have to thin out the PW a bit with acetone to get a smoother mixture. after I pulled the tape off the outside I was left with the small patched holes to deal with. since my kit is New England White and the wraps are in otherwise pretty good shape I took some touch up paint and a small brush and touched up. from 5ft away I'm hard pressed to find the touched up spots - and I know where they all are! they're all behind the mounts or on "my" side of the shells anyway so life is good! I used DW tom/cymbal stands and Pearl style spurs on the bass drum. I'm also going to have to recut the bearing edges - they're in pretty rough shape. looks like somebody used the shells to haul rocks in.

I know the "purists" are having cold sweats from reading what did with my kit, but the kit was not in a condition to be a museum piece. the shell on the bass drum is in such bad shape that it may end up having to be replaced all together - it may have buzzes and rattles inside the plys that I can't get rid of. I've loved the sound of Rogers concert toms since I had my first kit back in '73 or so. I'm just trying to get these back in a playable condition so I can hear that beautiful sound again.

I've learned a few things during this process so if I can answer any questions I'm more than happy to. I'll post pictures of the finished kit.

cheers!

Mike Croft