introduction, q about tools - Page 1

Cool forum, glad to find it. I work at Midwest Drum in wichita ks, and have had the opportunity to restore a few beautiful drums in my time there. An early 70's gold sparkle Majestic (pearl made) kit, and a 63 Ludwig WMP most recently.

I'm by no means an expert (or even a drummer at that) but I love working with them and learning about them.

Thing is, I have the opportunity to purchase a few tools (xmas) and am wondering what might be most valuable to restorer of vintage drums. I've really been thinking a smallish (5-6") random orbital buffer would make novus'ing those wraps so much easier. And maybe a dremel for polishing and removing rust from hardware?

I might be in a position to do this with some regularity I think but efficiency is pretty key. So what power tools might help speed things up or am I just going overboard and gonna destroy something? Thanks

I give a big thumbs up to the Dremel (or similar). I have one for polishing and it's a huge time saver. Mine is a Sears brand, but it's really the same thing and all the Dremel extras fit it just fine. I purchased a polishing kit as well (misc. little buffing wheels, rouge, and a couple of grinding wheels as well).

Can't speak for the buffer, although I'd be hesitant to use anything but good 'ol elbow grease on a delicate finish like a drum wrap.

Other tools you may find useful are: A small tabletop vise, cordless drill or screwdriver (take an old drum key and cut the top of the handle off and shape it so you can use it in the drill/driver), palm sander, router (and router table to cut bearing edges), various sized clamps, etc...

I use my cordless drill for many different jobs during a restoration. Everything from the obvious (removing all the hardware from a shell) to the not so obvious (cleaning/polishing tension rods). It's a huge time saver which has many uses (you can even fix stuff around the house to boot).