John...I have to ask, where did you send your reso tom for inner shell replacement??? I have an 80s black shadow 16" floor tom that arrived from an unscrupulous seller (ebay) with both the outer birch shell and inner beech shell destroyed near the leg block mounting hardware (looks like someone took a sledgehammer to it). I had heard a rumor that Mr. Gilby was still manufacturing his brand of resonators and might be making replacement inner shells and/or completely new reso kits. At this point all I have is a contact who used to own a Premier retail outfit in Wichita Kansas that claims he knows how to install the inserts if I can "find an insert" to install...not easy to do. I know it's going to cost me a ton of $$$ to repair this drum. I know I'm insane to consider it...but nobody else loved this puppy and I want to try. Also, the 24" bass from the same seller has a few plies of the inner beech peeling away at the top (like an 8" piece that is connected to the rest of the inner shell with glue...). I was going to heat the inner shell with a blowdryer and then apply wood glue to it and clamp it with wood clamps and let it sit for 2 to 3 days to dry. Is that a good idea or do you think I should send this monster to a pro???

Help!!!

DJ

Hi DJ

Unscrupulous seller indeed- anyway treating a black shadow like that is definitely uncool !!

Basically I am very lucky in having a high end bespoke furniture maker nearby and all I did was take the drum in to them. They removed the inner shell (it was "sprung" into place on my kit)- it came out by sliding a very thin pallete knife in between th hoop and the inner shell and prizing it out. Then they cut a piece of matching birch ply to the exact length and thickness, re sealed it with a spray matt finish and sprung it back in, they applied a small amount of adhesive around the hops and chamfered the edges to meet the hoops. I watched them do the final parts and it is amazing how it literally sprung into the shape of the drum.

The outer shell on yours sounds like more of a problem as I recall Black shadow drums have a lacquered finish and that would be tricky to match.

I advise seeking out a furniture workshop in the high end with skilled cabinet makers and polishers for the work. My inner liner replacement was very cheap and took a few hours to do, the lacquer and polish on yours sounds like it might be costly.

I followed this up by removing the inner shell on the bass drum myself to replace the spurs- it's actually very easy with a bit of confidence and the right thin knife !

I'll upload some pictures of the finished tom so you can see how it was done. I also recall searching on line for information on this subject and found a guy who had step by step instructions and photos on how to do it.

Best tip I can provide is to find a furniture workshop with skilled woodworkers !

Hi DJ

I forgot to add that I would recommend again taking the bass drum into a skilled furniture makers, I removed the inner shell on mine as I said but it wasn't damaged. The bass drum inner shell obviously has cut outs to allow for the central post and steel supports and I did not need to re-make it but I would assume that would have been tricky if it needed to be re-made.

However your initial idea of re-gluing the ply and applying clamps has got to be worth a try, it might be easier if you remove it first. Mine had two small nails at the back where the seam is at the top of the drum in line with the central post which I carefully removed before taking the inner shell out

hope that helps