Hey I am getting things done, just sized up 27 door panels on the table saw.

Glenn, the veneer is overall very smooth but the grain has thousands of tiny holes. I will use my secret wepon, Level sealer. You can spray up to 10 mils wet without it sagging. Two or three coats with sanding in between will fill all the holes. Then top coat with a clear gloss and bazinga!

Ya my paint colors came close but the shimmer part was the failure.Anyone need any blue finish?

Bill, ship those shells over and I will shoot them for you.

Okay, now back to work.

Jeff C

Shipping them might be possible... since they'd easily nest inside each other...

We'll have to discuss that when I get closer to being ready. One of those sets is in the works right now, as the 60s BOP FG Ringo set is still in "process" (holes filling, sanding, curing, etc. and as for curing, it's sure been DAMP around here that last couple of days, which don't help any!).

Bill

Look what else came today, my strainer.

I use ambassadors top and bottom on all my vintage sets.

Hey, dug up the thread on your kit. I forgot how nice they were/are. I was thnking about buying the cymbals back then. Did you keep them or hide them from the wife, lol.

Here for others to see,,

http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=33374

Wow, Jeff. What a great figure in that wood! The set will look killer rich and classy when done.

John

Yes please! I especially like seeing people do this stuff and the more detail, the better. Yes Sir

I spent about an hour laying out the sheet so the interesting part of the grain will end up in a good viewable location.

It's easy to clamp a staight board down and cut the veneer with a "new" utility knife blade. I will cut for lenght using a framing square. I am cutting the width of the veneer to the same width as the shells, for lenght it will be 2" overlap, for now.

I will wrap the veneer around each drum and hold it with masking tape. It will sit there all week, this way the veneer will get used to being in round and the veneer and the shells will all share the same temp.

And for the best part. I could not believe my eyes, the last picture is a scrap peice of veneer with just one coat of clear lacquer on it. I cant imagine how it will look after being sealed and finish coated. The lacquer just brought out all the colors hidden in that wood. I see some gold, can you?

Now that I have the veneer cut to size I am ready to make some marks on the shell where the veneer will start. I set the shell on my table saw (nice flat surface), wrapped the veneer around it and held it with a strap clamp around the center of the drum. Then folded over the veneer back and marked the end of the veneer on the shell. Do this to both ends. I also marked the end of the veneer where it overlapped the starting edge. Since this is the bass drum and the joint will be on the bottom of the drum, I made and X on the veneer and the shell so I can remember which edge is the starting edge and where it starts.

I laid down some clean cardboard on my work table for spraying the veneer sheet. The shell was placed on a turntable that I use for spraying cabinet doors. I have made different types and sizes of attachments that easily lift on and off of the turntable base. The one I am using is great for drum shells. You can get contact cement in an aerosol spray can. It is easy and clean to use but its not as good as brushing or rolling the adhesive because the spray with is not consistent, it sprays a nice 2 or 3 inch wide pattern but occasionally it will clog and spit out a small stream and mess up your pattern. But, it still works just fine, you cant feel any bumps or rough spots after the veneer is applied.

I moved the sprayed veneer from the clean cardboard, flipped the cardboard over so I can place the sprayed shell on a clean surface. Now simply align the starting edge (X marks the spot) with you pencil marks. Start buy sticking the corner of one end while holding the other end up away from the shell. Remember, if the veneer touches the shell it will bond instantly. Once the first corner is on the pencil mark slowly align the opposite side.

Once the sheet is aligned with both pencil marks use you fingers to press/rub the first inch or so down to the shell. Then slowly work the veneer to the shell rubbing with the palm of your hand as you go around. I tried using a small round pipe to act as a j-roller but I did not like it. With using your hand you can feel how smooth it is going.

Jeff C

Originally I was going to overlap the veneer but being the bottom of the bass drum I decided to butt the two ends. I clamped a framing square on the shell for a nice straight edge to cut against then used the utility knife to make the cut, of course be very careful so you don’t cut the shell.

The last time I veneered drums I elected to cut the veneer 2 inches wider than the drum. This way I would have some wiggle room if the veneer went down a little crooked. Then trimmed it with a utility knife after it was adhered to the shell. After learning more and more about bearing edges and how delicate they are, I decided to cut the veneer to exact size (about 1/8” shy of the edges) and hope it rolls around the drum nice and straight. That way I would not have to do any trimming close to the bearing edge with the risk of damaging it.

As you can see from the picture, the starting edge came out within a 1/8 of an inch of being aligned with the ending edge. I had to take my utility knife and remove a sliver of veneer on one side of the shell, no big deal and I think with the next shell I will leave the veneer oversized and carefully trim the excess.

Jeff C