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24" Premier Bass Drum restoration

premier bass drum
Posts: 473 Threads: 64

Hello.

The past year I got a mixed up drum kit, with parts from different british kits.

I didn't restore anything lately due to busy schedule. Now that I got some free time, I decided to restore the bass drum.

It is a 24" Premier with black wrap finish. It has all the original hardware and hoops, with the matching inlay.

The tom bracket is a mistery. It has a 70s Lokfast tom bracket placed over the badge. Something is wrong with it. Maybe she was a virgin right out the factory, but she isn't anymore. I don't think Premier sold virgin BDs at that time (maybe custom orders). I will let the Premier guys solve this for me :)

The wood seems to be African Mahogany. No major damages found nor extra holes, beside the (eventually) DIY job on the tom bracket. The wrap has some scuffs and cigarette burns and the shell has ply separation, close to the spur bracket, that will be

easily repaired. The BD hoops have ply separation too.

She's gonna be a players. Anyway, I will restore it the best I can.

Keep tuned and feel free to leave your comments and suggestions. Peace.

Posted on 4 years ago
#1
Posts: 473 Threads: 64

More pics below

Posted on 4 years ago
#2
Posts: 473 Threads: 64

More pics. Pay attention to the glue leftover between the edge and the reinforcement hoop. It seems to be factory made. The bearing edge profile is OK.

The other picture shows the ply separation.

Posted on 4 years ago
#3
Posts: 473 Threads: 64

More pics.

You can see the bracket elliptical hole from the inside.

The bass drum hoops have some separation like that one. They are in rough shape, since the claws were very tight and damaged the wood. Some scuffs on the inside of the shell.

Posted on 4 years ago
#4
Posts: 473 Threads: 64

Let's start. Cleaning time.

The shell is disassembled. You can see now the tom bracket hole from the outside. The wrap has some cracks arround the hole.

It is very dirty and has tape residues on the top.

Posted on 4 years ago
#5
Posts: 473 Threads: 64

Cleaning process is finished. It came out nicely with a cloth and warm soapy water, and patience.

I was planning to wet sand the major scuffs and then polish and buff the sheel. Before that, I have to decide what to do with that hole.

I have some ideias:

1 - leave the bracket

2 - cut the hole to round shape, fill it with wood and apply a matching wrap circle. Do the same to the 4 small holes. The cracks arround the oval will force me to do a big round hole.

3 - cut a wrap section, between the top lugs, plug the holes and apply a new wrap rectangle on top.

4 - fix the holes and do a complete rewrap. It is a orphan so I don't have to stick with this finish.

Any better ideia?

Posted on 4 years ago
#6
Posts: 6583 Threads: 644

I just sold a Virgin 24”..in Gloss Black also...early 70s....could have been 1/2 of a double bass set...

"Always make sure your front bottom BD lugs clear the ground!"
Posted on 4 years ago
#7
Posts: 473 Threads: 64

From blairndrums

I just sold a Virgin 24”..in Gloss Black also...early 70s....could have been 1/2 of a double bass set...

Yes, it could be. Didn't think of it. Thanks.

Edit: In fact Premier did sell virgin bass drums. They advertise them on '69 and '72 catalogues, for example, right at the beggining. There are pages exclusive to BDs.

Posted on 4 years ago
#8
Posts: 16 Threads: 6

Could it be a conversion from a marching band drum? Also were the spurs as roughly done as the Tom mount?

Posted on 4 years ago
#9
Posts: 473 Threads: 64

From scottser

Could it be a conversion from a marching band drum? Also were the spurs as roughly done as the Tom mount?

The spurs look original to me. The shell is perfectly drilled.

Posted on 4 years ago
#10
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