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Soldering snare wires

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Hello all,

I am currently restoring my 60's Premier Royal Ace. As most of you know, its almost impossible to replace the snare wires. I still have the original ones, but some wires are lost, others are unusable (s. photos).

So I decided to go that route of soldering the wires. I baught some Gibraltar 15" with 20 wires, so I can cut them down to the right length.

I found this threat, where the soldering of the wires is explained quite well.

http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=6252

A friend of mine recommended NOT to use an elelecric soldering iron, but a soldering torch instead. I own both of theem, yet I do not have much experience with it.

So yesterday I started to experiment and I found it very difficult to solder with the torch. To me, it looks like that the best method is to go like this:

[LIST=1]

[*]Remove the old wires, clean the plate with a suction device

[*]Clean the plate with a piece of cloth or kitchen towel

[*]Put some solder at the plate first (!) and let it harden

[*]Set up the construction like shown in the threat above to fixate the wires to the plate, so they stay in place

[*]Heat the plate and the wires, so the wires stick to the plate

[*]Now solder from the top and cover the wires properly

[/LIST]

Can anyone confirm that's the right method?

Or is it better to use a soldering torch?

How is it done originally by factory? What kind of solder they use (hard/soft) and what soldering tool?

Thansk a lot in advance!

2 attachments
Posted on 4 years ago
#1
Posts: 5295 Threads: 226
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Have you been practicing to see what works best on another set of wires?

Cheers

1976 Ludwig Mach 4 Thermogloss 26-18-14-14sn
1978 Ludwig Stainless 22-22-18-16-14-13-12 c/w 6-8-10-12-13-14-15-16-18-20-22-24 concert toms
1975 Sonor Phonic Centennials Metallic Pewter 22-16-13-12-14sn (D506)
1971 Ludwig Classic Bowling Ball OBP 22-16-14-13
1960's Stewart Peacock Pearl 20-16-12-14sn
1980`s Ludwig Coliseum Piano Black 8x14 snare
1973 Rogers Superten 5x14 & 6.5x14 COS snares
1970`s John Grey Capri Aquamarine Sparkle 5x14 snare
1941 Ludwig & Ludwig Super 8x14 snare
Posted on 4 years ago
#2
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Cool! I'm not the only one to try this. The only thing I learned is that if you use an electric soldering gun, make sure that it is powerful enough to melt that much lead and keep it melted until it moves around.

Posted on 4 years ago
#3
Posts: 5295 Threads: 226
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How did you make out?

Cheers

1976 Ludwig Mach 4 Thermogloss 26-18-14-14sn
1978 Ludwig Stainless 22-22-18-16-14-13-12 c/w 6-8-10-12-13-14-15-16-18-20-22-24 concert toms
1975 Sonor Phonic Centennials Metallic Pewter 22-16-13-12-14sn (D506)
1971 Ludwig Classic Bowling Ball OBP 22-16-14-13
1960's Stewart Peacock Pearl 20-16-12-14sn
1980`s Ludwig Coliseum Piano Black 8x14 snare
1973 Rogers Superten 5x14 & 6.5x14 COS snares
1970`s John Grey Capri Aquamarine Sparkle 5x14 snare
1941 Ludwig & Ludwig Super 8x14 snare
Posted on 3 years ago
#4
Posts: 6524 Threads: 37
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I'd like to know as well how it went.

How can anyone prefer an electric kit over a torch and iron is beyond me. I've used a butter knife attached to a stick as an iron once. It wont stay hot very long as production goes but I got the repair done.

It`s a drum,.....Hit It !!

.....76/#XK9207 Phonic Sound Machine D454/D-505 snares !i
Posted on 3 years ago
#5
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i tried to replace a couple of wires , using a torch, every thing heated up & all the wires fell off! i'm thinking you need a holder with a clamp to hold every thing in place, then heat up so solder floods every were, clamp holds in place while it cools down?

Posted on 3 years ago
#6
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Ok, I have to admitt my trial was not 100% sucessful. it is not as easy as some folks described in some forums. I posted some photos so u can see my workflow.

Most difficult part was to get the solder evenly over the plates with the wires. The tension later has to be absloutely even, otherwise it doesn't work.

Well..after 2 trials I almost got there, but when I put the wires on my snare, I lost 2 wires after 2 minutes playing it.

Finally I found a guy in Serbia who makes replacement-wires for almost every Premier Snare. Even in 3 different thicknesses (0,5, 0,4 and 0,3 mm). Great guy! And very cheap, I paid 25 Euros for one. You'll find him on Facebook in one of the Premier forums. Just search for Zoran Bibin.

Posted on 3 years ago
#7
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Howyas,

Not as easy as it might first appear eh! Myself and a very good chum have been making up repro sets for the last 3 years or so, some of you might have even bought them.

It took a fair amount of trial and error, lateral thinking and a happy accident to get to the well oiled bi-yearly fun fest that is our production line. Just how Premier did it back in the day is a frequent topic on these occasions. The conclusion being that they were likely assembled by small hands in some well ventilated back room.

I would doubt that the original creators got anything like the satisfaction out of it as we do ...

Good luck!

Spart

Posted on 3 years ago
#8
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