A light Colonial Maple stain applied.
I'm not sure about the color. I will finish it using Shellac and maybe try a French Polish on it, in that case if I don't like the finish and or color it would be a lot easier to remove just by using alcohol fro the shellac and light sanding for the stain. I will also try to post a small video of my "Sanding Jig" on You tube.
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A quick video of the sanding jig
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjTl8py-A6g&feature=youtu.be"]My Movie - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAC_EV8EC-g&feature=youtu.be"]My Movie2 - YouTube[/ame]
Looks like you made a lot of progress. I've never seen a 6-ply with an outer poplar layer, or at least the outer ply looks to be poplar. I guess anything is possible with Ludwig.
If indeed it is a 6 ply Maple/Poplar and the inner ply is maple ( as I would suspect) then the outer must be poplar. And since it was black cortex originally they did not care about the outer ply. I would assume the kit with the natural finish have to be Maple. I do not plan on selling the kit once I'm done. I will pass it along my grandson. Either way I'm loving this project every step of the way, it is my therapy.
Interesting thread. I dealt with the glue issue on my mid-70's Pro-Beat kit; not fun! It looks like you're making great progress, continue with the updates. I'd love to see how it turns out.
Been away for a while on a business trip but here we go
The first piece of the set complete. This was more like an experiment in term of finish. So since I'm satisfied with it I will continue with the rest to complete the set.
I used a light coat of Minwax colonial maple stain.
Sanded down with 400 grit paper and then applied a French Polish finish using shellac. It was a bit of a tedious process but very rewarding. I love the finish and the picture do not do justice. There is a natural sheen to it not like those heavy coat of varnish but a very subtle sheen. I finish the coat by sanding very lightly with a 2000 grit sand paper and the surface is so smooth it feel like glass.
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Ludwig would have chose those shells to wrap because of the "undesirable" wood grain. I think your floor tom has a unique birthmark, that no other drum has.
I love the sanding rig. Now that you are set up to keep doing this, you should build an octa-plus!
[QUOTE=clubdate64;388009 I love the sanding rig. Now that you are set up to keep doing this, you should build an octa-plus![/QUOTE]
Thank you !!
BTW sorry my ignorance.. what is an OCTA Plus"?
I love the birthmark. The uglier the better!
Ludwig would have chose those shells to wrap because of the "undesirable" wood grain. I think your floor tom has a unique birthmark, that no other drum has.I love the sanding rig. Now that you are set up to keep doing this, you should build an octa-plus!
It surely it is one of a kind. And the same birth mark shows on the bass drum too.
Incidentally it seems I have no choice but replacing the bass hoops. ( too bad of a shape) I was looking at Keller maple 10 ply or 12 ply 1 3/4 wide.
Which one of the 12 or 10 ply would best fit a 78 Ludwig classic 6 ply shell ?
