Pennypacker,

Dowels are definitely the way to go. First thing you want to do is go to Home Depot, bring the drum shell with you. Go to the tool section and look for a Nicholson 6" General Purpose Round File". Now head over to the wood dowels, somewhere in the wood section. You'll find an assortment of dowels, don't try to find a dowel that is an exact fit, get one that is slightly bigger in diameter than the hole you are going to fill. Once you have the dowels and file you're almost there. Now find a local general purpose hobby shop, call around and see if they carry the "Mascot" line of tools, they are a popular line of tools amongst model builders and hobbyisits. Mascot makes a small aluminum mitre box and saws that will allow you to cut a small slice of dowel to fit perfectly in the hole and about the thickness of the drum shell.

Once you have the tools it's time to fill the holes. You want to gently open up each hole to accept the dowel that is slightly bigger than the hole. Using the round file, gently open up the hole so the dowel will fit tight in the hole. File a little, test fit, file some more until you are able to push the end of the dowel into the hole, tight fit is important. Once you have a tight fit push the dowel into the hole until it is flush to the inside of the shell. Make a pencil line on the dowel on the outside of the shell so it will be almost flush to the outside of the shell. Now you've got a small hole plug marked on the dowel; cut the plug in the mitre box. Now it's just a matter of applying a little wood glue around the perimeter of the plug and pressing it into the hole. A small hammer is helpful here.

When the glue is dry you can gently sand the plug flush with the shell inside and out. This is an easy technique and if you are patient and careful it'll look like a professional job! Good luck

Regards

Don

Wow, thanks Don! That was quite detailed. I'll let you know how it turns out. It could be a while, but I'll get around to it soon, I hope.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]I have a similar suggestion...BUT...instead of dowels, use chopsticks. They work for various size holes and you can really stick 'em in there good and tight. They are bamboo, so they cut/sand easily.

Now, for LARGE holes, I keep a few trashed shells in various diameters from which I actually cut patches.

Good luck, keep us posted on the project ![/COLOR]

The dowels definatly work well if your gonna rewrap the drum. When you go get the dowels you will notice there are different colors of dowels. I found one that was about the same color as my shell. I agree to get one larger and then make the hole where the dowel fits real tight. I used my dremel with a lil saw blade to cut my slice, I didnt cut a very thin slice, and then used the sanding attachment to sand it then hand sanded it with course sand paper then fine sandpaper. On the wrap part of your job. I have tried the killer hibond tape method and it works excellent. I tried the waterbases contact glue method and I though that suxed. I have also used the wrap your drums for 59.00 on some kids drums I built. That workd out very well for that kit, but I definatly would not use that on a valuable vintage kit, especially if it is going to be played. Jammin sam, drummaker.com and precision drum all have very high quality drum wrap. Drummaker is the coolest one to me. Good Luck!

I've re-furbished two sets, all Slingerland Orphans; The SBP one in the late 80's, finished the red set last October. I am firmly in the "glue the wrap on camp". The wrap on the blue set I did in the 80's including seams is still tight. The only problem I encountered was the inlay on the BD hoop. I had run out of the contact cement I used and went with some petro based hobbyist glue I had on hand. Within two years the inlay had buckled in a few places, no doubt a reaction to the cement. Tape is certainly more forgiving and easier to work with. I had the wrap wander on the 12x15 tom on the red set. After the panic attack subsided and my pulse returned to normal, I used a hair dryer to remove the wrap. It came off in one piece and I was able to remove the glue from the wrap and the shell AGAIN and get it on right second go round. I'm sure those that have refurbished sets will agree it's more fun than you might imagine!

Regards

Don

Thanks guys for all the suggestions. I think I'm going to try gluing the wrap on this kit. I've never done it before, so I'm scared to death, but I want to try it just to see if I can do it. The kit I'm wrapping is made up of some old 6-ply Ludwig shells, so I'm not too afraid of messing them up. If that one goes well, I'll may try it with some vintage 3-ply shells I have. We'll see. I'll try to post the results whenever I get them finished. It may be a while. Thanks again for all the help! I'm glad I found this forum.

Try using a wrap that does not have a horizontal line in it for your first wrap. Use a sparkle or black diamond. Also, order the wrap a half inch to an inch wider (deeper) than your drum. The exra $5 is worth the insurance in case you go crooked. :)

Yeah, I'm probably going to go with a sparkle (maybe gold or blue), although I recently thought about going with the mod orange wrap from Jammin Sam. Not sure yet. And thanks for the tip on the extra inch for the wrap. I was actually thinking about doing that, and it makes sense. It would definitely make it a little easier if I happen to get it crooked. The only thing that makes me nervous is cutting that close to the bearing edge. What's the best thing to cut it with after the wrap has been glued on? I'm assuming it would have to be VERY sharp.

I cut the leftover with sissors to about a 1/4" above the edge. I then use wire snips to go down to the edge, I tilt them at a down angle while cutting. Next I take a fine grade file and work in an upward motion to "feather" the wrap to the edge.