...canned response...

You should not cut edges unless you can't get a sound from the drum!

...collector response...

You should not cut edges as it impacts the history and the value of the drum.

...drummer response...

Dude, you have to play the thing. It's already an orphan. I wouldn't worry about resell or collectors value. Those are already shot. I say, get the drum sounding good...period.

enter selection now...

My take is similar to my revered friend Michael, I will say this: If they are nothing more than rough, do not change the contour. How about posting some pictures so we can see what you see? I do "recut" vintage edges, just not with a router. I use sandpaper and then let the drum "tell me" how to contour them. Send me pix to my email and I will geive you a good, honest run down on each. If you have to router them, then you have no choice, but making them tunable is the key. They are, afterall, musical instruments, and as such need to be tunable. You will get all types of responses, and most will be clearly Don't Do It!!! If they don't work, you have no choice. Period.

My email is: [EMAIL="karsten_boy@yahoo.com"]karsten_boy@yahoo.com[/EMAIL] call me, I'll tell you the truth.

I agree, they need to be tunable and sound good, but I think that before you consider doing anything, just try putting some new or newer heads on to see how they sound as they are before messing with the edges. If you cannot get a decent sound, or get them in tune, then yeah, maybe the edges need some work. But just try switching heads first.

More than once I've snagged an orphan drum or a set for cheap because it sounded terrible. But you take off the ebony Pinstripe that some teenage boy has taken out his sexual frustration on, throw on a coated Amb or Emp, and there you have it... tone and resonance, without even giving the edges a thought.

If they do need to be 'recut,' then I agree with John. If the edges are just a bit rough, give them a kiss with some 220 grit sandpaper to 'freshen them up.' If you have bigger problems like major gouges/dings/missing chunks, etc, I cant offer much help. But if they seem mostly ok, I wouldn't mess with them too much. Ludwig knew what they were doing when they made these.

Thanks guys, that makes a whole heap of sense. I'll snap some pictures for you so that you can all see what I'm looking at. Some of the shells have been painted on the outside, inside, or both. Others are in fairly original condition (but not in very good overall condition). I'll post some snapshots tomorrow.

I wouldn't even cut my flat bearing edges on my c 1950 WFL , they sound

great with coated diplomat batters and clear diplomat resonant heads...

Its not the one in a million pristine kit. You are wrapping them so cut em, just keep the original profile.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]I agree with Lucky.

Orphan shells, rewrap projects. Ain't much collector value left to these. But they can still make a kick#ss kit.

If you cannot hand sand 'em back to good, go ahead and re-rout. Oftentimes with old Luddy shells, you need only re-rout the outsides using a round routing bit (i.e. an 'outside roundover cut') ....usually no need to recut the interior bevels.

I usually get a nice, flat piece of plywood and glue some 50 or 80gr. sandpaper to it.

Lay the shell on the sandpaper and rotate the shell back and forth applying light pressure, 'til you have the edge heights level & equal. Quick sand with 80-100gr., then do the routing.... and final sand with 100gr., then afterwards maybe 150-180gr.

Apply a coat of Tung Oil using a cloth, to the newly cut edges. Let dry for 12 hours. Option to light-sand with like 250-300gr and apply a second coat of oil...or not. Your call.

Never fails in making a nice drum. And, quite honestly....I would challenge anyone to note any discernable sonic difference between the original edges and the recut edges. You just need a profile which is close to the original.[/COLOR]

Thanks again guys! That is some great advice. It appears to me that they might be sandable (except for one of my 12" shells). Here are some pictures of the orphan shells that I have. Like I said, some are wrapped, some not, some have been painted, most have no hardware. You will notice some glue on some of the edges where a previous owner brilliantly glued down some naugahyde to wrap the drums! What do you think? Does it look like I can get away with a simple sanding job? Looks lik eI may need some solvents to get rid of the glue perhaps. I'm getting pretty excited about the project. It's actually looking like I can make 2 kits... all I need is to find another orphan floor tom (hopefully in Champagne Sparkle!... hint, hint... anyone??).

The edges, themselves, don't really appear to be that bad -just lots of paint/glue gobbed up on them. I can't really make out the small shell very well, though.