There is indeed virtually no snare bed. I though the shell was just damaged at first cause they a very subtle. I agreed I thought it was way too nice of grain to just be wrapped over.

Got access to any yearbooks from that school... say...1966-69... you just might find your drum. Wrapped. And maybe what the original color was.

I think we all agree it is a dyna wood shell. Ploughman had a great idea of finding out from archive pics as to what colour it was wrapped in. Even as is properly plugged will look great but IMO id go for WMP and have the interior finished with a lot of clear laquer. Get your self all the period correct hardware and even some heads from yester year they are out there. Then you will have a great sounding/ looking drum. What a great resto project you have there. That is my opinion and route for resto. I'm not a rogers expert but as a restorer myself of English drums you can bring that drum back to life.Cool1

I also noticed the horizontal splice and thought the same. Since the script badge was removed, I think the original covering was removed and drum was refinished. It could be a decent player, especially at the $0 price tag.

I agree with the statements above. There is no way that was a natural finished drum from day one. Even the grommet is suspect because it does not appear to be chrome-plated, though I suppose it could be very badly tarnished.

Nice project though. I suggest an onyx wrap. I had a PowerTone done recently with blue onyx. Someone had put basic silver on it. Other than that it was a very nice drum. Now it is much nicer. Precision is even carrying a translucent black onyx again.