Additional pictures of the interior and badge. There are a few numbers written in pencil, but nothing that looks like a date. I'm guessing that the heads are original to the drum for two reasons: Both hoop seams are lined up perfectly with the shell seam, which looks like a manufacturer touch. Also, the inside of each head is stamped "Jos B Rogers, Jr Extra Thin Warranted". A little research revealed that Joseph B Rogers, Jr was the grandson of Joseph H Rogers, maker of banjo and drum heads back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Making calfskin heads must have been lucrative back in the day, because the little company that made these heads became what we now know as the Rogers drum company. Based the mark, this head was made at their Farmingdale, NJ facility, which opened in 1919. This is about as close as I can come to dating the drum.

Done with the history lesson, now back to the reason for my post. I could use some advice on wood cleaning and restoration, maybe hand rubbed finish?

Thanks in advance.

jim

sweeet!

You gonna fix 'er up and play it?

Sweet drum!

Anyone have any W&A catalogs/scans from around 1948?

Blair

Will be fixing it up- but have no idea how it will sound. Won't get much play. I find all sorts of interesting books and sometimes catelogs at www.google.com/books

OK cool........thanks

Hi Jim,

You beat me to this one on the bay! I was about to pull it down myself when it disappeared only to reappear here. Regardless, it's good to see it go to a caring home! This one looks like mid 1910s - 1920s to me based on the hardware some of which was shared with other makers of the era.

I deal with a lot of this type of thing (drums by the early 20th century New England builders) and for what it's worth I'd be as hands off as possible in 'restoring' this one. There are only so many of these sitting around in one piece these days.

Take it apart nice and easy, use a damp cloth to get the dust off, then apply a little lemon oil with a lint free cloth to the shell and hoops. That moistens the wood a little though the shine fades pretty soon as the oil absorbs or evaporates. It looks like there may be some water damage to the wood there which can't really be undone so it won't look like new even if you were to refinish it or put another coat of lacquer on the shell. The pencil markings are a testament to the hand craftsmanship that went into the woodworking so don't rub those off!

The rusted hardware is what it is but where there is nickel plating intact, it will shine up nicely with cape cod polishing cloths. It takes a bit of elbow grease but it does no damage to the original plating. Anything abrasive will damage the nickel which was done in one, thin single plating as opposed to modern chrome which is more durable and typically triple layered.

New calf heads are simple enough to do. There are other posts about that around here somewhere. That would finish it up along with new gut snares if the existing ones are shot.

I'm of the preservationist mindset so that's all I'd do. But it's your drum so do as you like. My thought is just that while these things aren't altogether uncommon, it's nice to see them preserved for future generations to discover and appreciate rather than morphed into a custom 'restoration' project of some sort!

Just my two cents. Hope my ramblings are useful in some way. Feel free to PM. Enjoy your drum!

-Lee

Thanks for the advice. The same seller has another for sale, which looks in better shape than mine but with replacement heads. I think it has a day or so to run. I'm currently the high bidder, but don't really want two of them. I'm planning a cleaning, calfskin heads and not much more. The pictures appear to include water damage, but it's more like uneven flaking/peeling of the old finish. I could probably remove 60% with a dry paper towel!

I appreciate your advice.

jim

My lucky day. I took the drum to a local woodworkers store to get some additional advice and met a guy who previously restored instruments for a museum. He was convinced that the heads are not original, and that the drum dates to the early 1900's, not 1920s to 40s. He suggested lemon oil (just like perclee) on the outside only. He also suggested that I number the lugs and other hardware, so that each piece can be reinstalled in its proper location. As for the metal, he suggested nothing more than a clean damp cloth. I'm liking the idea of Cape Cod Polishing cloths and will likely give them a try too. The nickel finish under the hoop clips shines like a new car bumper - when cars had bumpers.

Thanks

jim

Work in progress: Lee's suggestion of Cape Cod polishing cloths was excellent. They work like a charm to clean and brighten the nickle finish. Some of the rust can not be removed, so I'll just call it patina. The 3 tension rods on the left were cleaned with the Cape Cod cloths.

One of the rims is stamped with a number 2880 and also has what appears to be the Roman Numeral IIIIVXXXXX cut in with a sharp knife. It's not a valid roman numeral, however. The drum is also stamped 2880. It's slightly out of round, by maybe 1/4 inch.

In the 3rd and 4th pictures, you can see that the drum was originally very light in color. The exposed finish has nearly all turned to dust. It can be wiped off easily with a dry rag. The drum must have been sitting in one spot, maybe near a window for a very long time. The finish on one side is more in tact than the other.

Next up, I'm going to give it a lemon oil rub-down, continue cleaning the tension rods and other metal work. Where can I get snares and calf-skin? I'm planning to tuck them myself.

Thanks

jim