I put an Evans G 2 on this drum, and it's pretty nice. Two pieces of gaffer's tape, and she sings just long enough, but has a nice, nice tone.

Wow, was this drum a surprise!!!! DId they make an 18" floor tom?

They may have made 18" FTs later on, sometime in the 70s, but those would be pretty rare. There have been sightings of 18" bass drums from the earlier made drums, but those are also pretty rare.

Aquarian also makes a 'double thin' clear head. I've never played one, but it might be something to look into. I'm pretty adamant about using coated heads, I like the way they sound and feel on these types of drums.

Now I want a set of Apollos. This tom was just to finish my mongrel Premier kit. I now call her the "International Bastard Kit", as she has several different nationalities: an early Cloud badge Slingy parade snare, a '70s Premier gigmaker kick and late '80s APK tom, and this Apollo floor tom.

Bunnyman, what part of the country are you in? If you are anywhere near St. Louis, a set of old Apollos is never far away. Hell, I'm on the West coast and I scored a set of WMP teardrop Apollos at a pawn shop. Seems that it was a popular name.

I am about ten miles from where SLM used to make Ampeg stuff.

There is a 24-12-13-16-18 in the "for sale" section right now, I believe. Look in there. As for the other questions...(may not be an Apollo, but it is a later vintage anyway...never seen an 18" floor tom in this ply configuration, only a Star bass drum).

When sanding edges, it really depends on the type of shell.

If it is a thin shell w/rings, such as this one, I lightly sand them only to even them up and get the roughness out of them. I use, depending on condition of edges, 80-100-220. If they are in relative good condition, then only smooth them out with 220.

If you have any damage that needs repair, I suggest using "Plastic Wood" brand wood filler, because it it is an epoxy base, and use it as sparingly as possible. If you have a roundover edge, then I suggest only slightly "sharpening" the inside edge, like a Gretsch roundover outer to 30* inner, if it is not already that contour. Please note, I do not suggest changing the contour of any edges in any drastic way, unless you have a very poor edge. If it is a sharper 60*, then I only smooth them down to mellow the tuning range.

Also, these thin shells are the ones that I, personally, prefer to smooth all the roughness out of and use a coat or two, no more, of lacquer, not poly as poly will add a "plastic" quality to the sound that is out of whack with this era of drums. I use, and again it is only because it is what is available and least expensive for large scale use, "Delf Brushing Lacquer" from Lowe's. Doesn't really matter if it is satin or gloss. For this application you should not need but a half pint.

Jonnistix-

I just merely "kissed" the surface with the paper. There were a couple of low spots, but nothing serious enough to merit filling. And like I have been preaching in this thread now- they didn't need much of anything. I did add some tape to the logo portion of the head- not to cover the brand name, but merely to kill a tiny bit of over-long sustain. This tom sounds GREAT with an Evans coated G2 head.

I will lacquer the edges when I get around to recovering this set (which will be be this summer). I am thinking blue/white onyx or WMP. Both happen to be on sale at Jammin' Sam's.

I am bidding on a mongrel APK 18" FT right now. I am hoping the fact that there are no badges and that the drum was drilled for kick drum spurs will get it to me cheap. I will not spend over $60 for a floor tom, especially an orphan that got the crap drilled out of it.

And thanks for the pointers, Jonni!!!