I just finished drilling my bass drum for the ludwig classic curved spurs. The standard spurs were the telescopic type. I just happened to have another bass drum laying around that had the large curved spurs. It is a 24" so I measured my 72 Vistalites 22" bass drum to figure out excatly where the holes are supposed to be drilled on this shell. 1st I drew a line inbetween the center lugs on the bottom of the shell. Next i measured 12" in either direction and made another mark. then measured 3 1/8" from the edge of the shell and made another mark. Next i drilled a 7/64" pilot hole one both sides from the outside of the shell. The pilot hole allows the forstner bit to drill exactly where i want it to. next i drilled the 3/4" holes with a forstner bit from inside of the shell, with a piece of wood under the shell. This avoids the shell from splintering as the bit goes through, but if there is minor splintering it will be on the outside of the shell which the wrap will cover. Ok now its time to drill the 5/16" holes that hold the spur mounting bracket on

I set the 2 shells on the table side by side to make sure I drill these holes correctly. I simply held the back up plate of the bracket for a template to mark these holes. I wanted to make sure they were straight so I did do a little measuring to the closest lug holes to make sure the holes were parallel to the lug holes. I also inserted a 1/2" socket through the hole in the shell and the backing plate, makeing sure all the holes would be in perfect alignment, so the curved spurs will slip in and out not dragging on a misaligned hole. Mark the holes. Again I drilled small pilot holes. Drilling a small pilot hole will assure you that you drill exactly in the center of your mark. Without the pilot hole the larger bit tends to slip or walk and you might not get it excatly centered. If this occurs you would have to ream the hole out to make the bracket fit. If done correctly you will get a perfect tight fit. measure twice and drill once. After drilling the pilot holes i drilled the 5/16" holes. I then installed the spur brackets and inserted the spurs. Everything came out perfect. It is important to mount the parts to the bare shell, in case of a bad fit. You wouldnt want to find this out after you have installed your new wrap, then have to do surgery on the newly wrapped shell.

Ok now, on to the small tom. I have filled 1/2 the lug holes in this tom to convert it from standard lugs to small classic lugs. 1st I made a tiney mark in the center of the remaining lug holes on each end of the shell. next I draw a line inbetween the lug holes. Measure the distance between the lug screw holes, set my little machinest ruler to make the marks where I intend to drill.

Now then, I drill 7/16" pilot holes again. Another reason I drill these pilot holes is this: I make all my marks on the outside of the shell, but plan on drilling from the inside of the shell. This way I dont have to mark the inside of the shell all up. I drill the pilot holes from the outside then drill it from the inside. This way when I'm all done the inside of my shell still looks all new. I have a set of drill bits I got at lowes that the end of the bits fit in my smaller screw gun. this small screw gun with this type of drill bit allow me to drill from the inside out of this 12" tom. My dwalt 18 V gun wouldnt be able to do this.

Before I drill the shell I check my measurements one more time. I hold a lug up to the marks to make sure everything is correct. Looks like my marks are a hair off, so I drill right on the left edge of the mark. I check every single one before i drill, and everything turned out perfect. The lugs all fit as tight as if Ludwig drilled them. Now all the shells are ready. Next Ill be polishing and making the big decision on which wrap to use. If your reading this and haven't voted on my poll, please vote,

Thanks

Ok Y'all I have all my parts layed out to start polishing. I figure there is approxamatly 265 parts to polish, which doesnt include cleanin the lug screws and springs, or refinishing the bass drum hoops. This is the most tedious part of a good restoration or a through cleanin' I use a cloth polishin' wheel with this polish that comes in a stick. I have decided on wraping this in citrus mod. It is by far the most unusual and hardest to find on original kits. It looks more psychedelic than the psychedelic red does anyway. Im a ole hippy from way back. I will be ordering it from jammin sam's tomorrow. I already got my 3m glue from precision. Im sure the wrap will be here long before I finish polishin' all theses little chrome parts.

Ok I got my 3M fastbond 30-NF from precision.

Does anyone have any tips on using this adhesive? I have used solvent based contact adhesive all my life. I have never used this Water-based stuff.

I just want to make sure I dont screw this up.

ThanksHelp2

The stuff is real easy to use. I use a foam "brush" to coat the shell and back of the wrap. Just make sure its thoroughly dry before putting the shell and wrap together. The back of the bottle says dry in about half an hour, but that varies. If you can see any shiney/wet looking spots on either the wrap or shell, it's not dry yet. The other tip......make sure it's lined up correctly before applying and go slow. Once this stuff hits itself, it bonds quick and it's very difficult to remove if you make a mistake! If you do make a mistake and have to pull the wrap up, you'l have to get all of the loose glue off and recoat and start again. Hope this helps. :D

I've been using this stuff for the last five or so years, and long term, it holds up very well. I don't think you'll be disappointed. And the cleeanup is so much easier than with solvent based contact cement too.

Ok here's what the back of the jug says:

Application: Apply a uniform, generous coat of adhesive to both surfaces with a

nylon brush, roller (texturing type), or spray. One coat is usually sufficient on most

surfaces. Dull spots when dry indicate insufficient adhesive. Very porous material

may require more than one coat. (Allow adhesive to dry completely between

coats.) A uniform, glossy film indicates sufficient adhesive.

Sooo.... should it be glossy or dull when its ready to stick?

I tried the hibond water based on my ludwig marching snare and it was a disaster. I ended up having to remove all the glue from the shell and the wrap and went ahead and used the solvent based we use at my shop.

Use the finger test. If it is tacky it is good. And I would use two coats, at least on the shell.

I use contact adhesive often on the job. We tried to go 'Green" and use waterbase contact and the drying time was killing the jobs. Plus it does not adhere as well as solvent based IMO.Also if 2 parts dry at different times it makes it makes it more difficult to get it to stick. I have done 2 and 3 coats depending on drying time and material, sometimes 2 on 1 piece and 3 on the other half to make it stick. One problem with solvent is it will bleed through certain newer wraps and eventually eat at some newer wraps. I have not used 3ms yet. I used a neoprene based one. Is 3ms neoprene based?

Cheers,BigE