An additional question: should I sand the interior of the shell??

C'mon experts.... I need some help, or else.... well let's not think about it!

:o

DO NOT sand the interior.

Do not alter this drum in any way as you will certainly diminish the collector value.

As for hydrating the wood, I recommended a good oil for wood. try to find one that will not change the color of the shell interior. I'm thinking salad bowl oil which they use for wooden bowls and butcher blocks.

Make sure it's JUST oil. No poly or urethane additives.

For cleaning and polishing the hardware and wrap, I recommend PEEK.

Salad bowl oil! I never woulda' thunk!

Great tip -- I sure feel like I should sand this a little smooth. It's really pretty grainy - it could be a function of the drying out process...

grainy. yeah. maybe could be the drying.

Edges look a bit rough.

Put the oil on in fairly thick coats. let sit for 10-15 min and then wipe off excess. let dry over nite.

Apply another coat....same as above. do this for 3 or 4 days and then after the last coat, let the shell sit for about a week. See what the shell interior looks like then.

Don't sand if... you want the drum to sound -warm- (FAT.) Mahogany shell drums are notorious for sounding warm and resonant. Not much volume or projection though. But... the 'classic' vintage drum sound.

Sand and seal if... you want the drum to project better and have more attack. You'll be sacrificing some of the shells natural warmth for volume and projection increases.

That's the deal. Make up your own mind depending on what you're looking for. If you go the sanding route, use three or four coats of Tung oil applied with 00-00 steel wool to seal the grain. The inside of the shell will be hard and smooth as glass. Ergo the increased volume and projection qualities.

Capiche?

Johnbaby crawl2

Awesome. No sanding. Oil, no additives

I think I'll be off in search of "salad bowl oil." I'm far more interested in the vintage sound...

After all...

You guys rock. I would never have known the oiling routine: fairly thick coat, clean excess after +/- 15 minutes. Repeat the next day.

This is SUCH a beautiful drum. I want to do right by it.

Thanks!!

I know Lee Valley sells it.

Joe Partridge is a professional drum repairman, an artist of wood sculptures and owner of Famous Drum Company. He can be reached at [email]jepartridgejr@gmail.comT[/email]his email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or search for Joe E. Partridge, Jr at facebook.com

This guy recomends teak oil for the shell. Here is a link to an artical that I have been looking at,,,

http://notsomoderndrummer.com/nsmd-online/columnists/joe-partridge-s-repair-bench/radio-king-ressurection.html

Jeff C

You may also wanna take a white candle and run it a bunch of times over the edges to fill in all those pits that will not allow the head to tune evenly or without much friction.

There are guys hear that can tell you what you got !! Patience !!

The badge grommet has been cut, so I absolutly think it`s a re-wrapped drum, Collector value = gone, so fix that thing up nice and you`ll have a good player drum !!