Updated progress on the orphan project. Rainy Saturdays are always good for doing those household chores your wife has been after you to get done...right? :p

WOW! They look fantastic and that is very fast work. Did you do the rewrap yourself? So, how do they sound?

-Doug

Thank you so much Doug! Yes, I did the re-wrap myself, wrap is the silver sparkle from Jammin' Sam. I did the 12" first, figuring the smallest would be the easiest. Used his method of just using the installed tape at each end...it looked ok, but I couldn't get it 100% gap free between the shell and wrap, to my eyes anyway. Out of fairness, it is an old drum shell that wasn't in the best shape when I got it, so it may not have been perfectly round. The "gap issue" was really not that much though...more my OCD than functionality. I went ahead and put the hardware back on and tuned her up...sounded great! For the rest of the shells, I decided to add more hi bond tape to each panel instead of just the ends. I went slow, pulling it tight, panel by panel, and I was much happier with the result, but again...it could have just been the first drum, so no disrespect to Sam's tape method. I've heard arguments for and against it, but being a novice and just learning to do all of this, I thought it the best (and easiest) way to start my journey. :) I still have a 15" marcher waiting in the wings...and then the champagne Slingerland project...and then...and then... :D

Beautiful job. No longer looks like an orphan at all, although, I thought the kit looked good when it was still in its orphan condition as well.

Thanks Jim...I did too! I took on this project to scratch two itches...I always wanted some Ludwigs and just never got around to it, and I was also interested in learning to do a little work on drums. My uncle used to work on them when I was younger, and it always fascinated me. :)

Sorry, I failed to answer this question in the prior post...they sound...like a bass player is playing them! :p (albeit a enthusiastic admirer of all things having to do with old drums!)

A couple of my drummer friends think they sound great, so I will defer to them on that...I already thought so, but I am a biased parent! :)

I love the sound of the 60's and early 70's Ludwigs.

Great job, and almost looks original ! Glad to see you decided to keep the diamond plate on the bass drum.. I may be biased, but my favorite Ludwig era is the 70's, simply because i'm a child of that decade, that, and some of the best rock drummers in history used Ludwig at that time..:D Enjoy them as much as you can !

FYI- If you really want that authentic looking bass drum logo head, you can use some Acetone to remove the Remo

logo very easily, and it wipes right off..

Thanks for the kind words! I debated whether to keep the post mount or not, obviously not an original piece on a 66 bass drum. Prior owner must have installed it, judging by the hole in the shell, it was definitely not professionally done :( He also installed, then removed a TWO bolt consolette rail system! I knew that wasn't original either, since Ludwig's rail has 4 bolts. Best guess is that it was originally a virgin kick, and he tried a couple of different mounting options. (I have since seen a few two-bolt systems by other manufacturers) Plugging the post hole and keeping a consolette would have been more period correct, but I already had two toms, and since I am wanting them to play and not sell as "collectable" I stuck with the post mount he put on to accommodate the toms.