Just be careful with that power sander, that last layer of veneer is pretty thin, let the sander do the work!

Looks like they used a combination stain and sealer, ugh!

Also, if the top veneer is getting "thin" consider adding another layer but with something a bit more exotic. It may be beyond the scope of your initial project but may be worth considering.

http://www.theveneerstore.com/s-14-exotic.aspx

correct me if I'm wrong isn't this a 100% maple shell?

I also read that the shell was ALL maple. I count 5 ply. Adding veneer is way out of my scope but i saw your thread and love what u did. I am sanding by hand will have update tomorrow. Any danger of over sanding and effect tone of drum?

No, not at all,!! unless you wipe out the bearing edges or snare beds. what type of sanding by hand a foam pad a block what are you using? if it where me 100 grit sand paper with a conforming pad on my orbital sander at 2000 rpms and that stain would be gone pronto, then fine sand down to maybe 420 grit don't want to get it to smooth. But Patrick you've got to remove all the stain, Once again Bare Raw Wood Nothing else will do, and stain it rebuild it and play it, period, It will be killer once your through with it.

You are correct with the maple... it is a 6-ply shell though....

EDIT: I can swear that the inner and outter plys of mine are maple but I really am assuming that the other inner four plys are as well. I don't remember the source of where I read they were all maple as my current reference only states it as "select six-ply veneer" so no telling what that really means.

wow...that is UGLY!! as ugly as mine when i brought it back to life. i won't type a bunch of stuff as i don't wanna seem to hijack your post,but here's a few pointers...

got my 8x14 collisium 12 lug snare from my old boss that someone given him. it had the steel wrap on it with rivets at the seam which was rusty on both sides of it which caused the shell to get moldy. this drum was probibly around water for along time as the inside of the shell also had mold.

the lugs had pit marks but were salvagable,except one which was engraved with someone's name. i still want to replace this someday.i buffed the lugs at home on a buffing wheel. if you are able to buff the lugs,make sure you don't burn the chrome.

wanna consider wrapping it cause that stain was probibly not applied correctly to begin with. so if you try to sand it all off,you might be working harder in some areas than others,which will probibly make you cut thru the first layer of the wood or just make it uneven. i'm not saying this to scare you from going further.just saying keep your peepers open.

my shell is the 6 ply maple/popler.yours should also be maple/popler. it looks like you can get away with cleaning the drip marks on the inside with a lite solution that won't damage the inner clear coat. if the stain is water saluible 9i shot in the dark but...) a lite rag will be enough to clean them.

your edges seem in good condition,which also reminds me...BE CAREFUL OF SANDING BY THE EDGES. its easy to round those outer edges if your using a power sander.get used to the feel of it first as it will want to run from you.you probibly know this by now.

if you have a wire wheel,you can clean the t-rods if you wanna go that far. alittle goes along way. i didn't care and just put on extras i had.

the result is what's below. the badge,shell and lugs are original. the butt might be and i has a extra throw off so i used it.

the sad thing is...after finishing it maybe 4 years ago,i have not actually played it. i even have a 26" i also repaired and never got to use yet.anyway,good luck.

Nice job Fish!

I concur....

Cheers

Wow Fish. That is beautiful.

Thanks for the advice and you are right on. This is the 2nd sanding/stain project for this drum and the fool before this fool used a power sanding without taking the badge off and they dipped too much around the badge. I have finished sanding with a hand block at 150 grit and when I tried to remove/dig into those dips I touchdowned into the 2nd layer.

A bummer but this is a learning experience and this drum is just going to be for me and my 67 silver sparkle Hollywood ludwigs (with an extra floor tom I might add).

SO! The next step is to sand at 220 (avoiding the badge area as much as I can).

My dilemma here is that the fool behind me may have just been some poor shmuck who did purposely dab the stain on for a leopard print but it may have been the wood being difficult as I read that maple and be very BLOTCHING when taking stains and VERY DIFFICULT.

What I need to know is: (I'VE NEVER SANDED/STAINED ANYTHING).

1) Can I treat the shell with mineral oil or tounge oil before adding any stain to battle blotching?

2) After applying stain 1x, do I add sealer and sand then repeat? Need help here.

3) The bearing edges seem good but I wonder what the original was like. When you run your finger on the edge, how sharp should it be.

Enjoying myself! Can wait to get to staining if it can be done right. What is the point to doing this if I just repeat what the last fool did?

Cheers!