Here are the photos I took of inside and the beds. Thanks again for all the help.

Curtis

John that snare looks awesome as well. Love the tube lugs. What did it cost to have it stripped and polished if you dont mind me asking?

I'll be damned! Straight edge on the turn-over, but it has a pre-serial badge and crimped beds. That drum must have been assembled in the few months in late 62' to early 63' that the company was transitioning over to Ludalloy. It has to be a very early example.

Curtis - It cost $140.00 to have the shell stripped and then machine polished. If you shop around, (either local plating, or motorcycle shops,) I'm sure you can find a competitive rate for the job. Do some comparison shopping in terms of price.

It was worth it for me. I got a great drum out of it that I enjoyed for awhile and that I eventually sold for a good profit. Win/win. The tube lugs are Chrome over Brass that I bought from Worldmax. If it's going to be a 'keeper' then it's very well worth doing it. You'll also be saving a rare old snare drum.

John

Hey John,

Do you have any kind of clear coat on your polished Supra?

Check out my Acro...

[IMG]http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m530/ElMoonlightDrummer/Snares/2011-02-18194023.jpg[/IMG]

El - The guy that stripped and polished it also added a protective clear-coat. That's why the job cost $140.00 First they had to strip the chrome/nickel/copper layers off the shell, then machine polish it (I asked for a shiny, mirror finish,) and add the clear-coat to seal it.

Love your Acro shell! I see they left a matt finish on it which is appropriate for an acro. They went a step further with mine and they buffed the surface until you could comb your hair in it. Looked better than chrome. Richer. Below is a photo of the shell the day I got it back from the plater.

John

thats the original finish on the acro,right? those are few and fat between. probbaly some of the same ludalloy shells like the drum that we started this conversation about. just got drilled for 8 lugs and not chromed. great drum!

mike

Yup...that's the original finish on the Acro. I was thinking the same thing...it's probably from the same batch of early Ludalloy shells as the Supra that started this thread. I have to admit...it's the best sounding Acro I've ever heard...has a great pop to it! It also has COB hoops top and bottom...love this drum!

Here's another pic.

[IMG]http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m530/ElMoonlightDrummer/63%20Ludwig/63acro.jpg[/IMG]

Excellent, Smithers, excellent! The acro came out sweet.

EC - I hope the examples we showed you of what can be done with a badly pitted shell will help in your decision process. You'll be saving a rare-bird. Not many Ludalloy drums around with crimped snare beds and pre-serial badges. The baseball bat muffler is another cool feature of your snare. Well worth saving in my humble opinion.

Either way, tune it up and enjoy it. It's a classic sounding snare drum.

John

I have collected several acro over the years. I found 2 at a pawn shop once. A black one and a old ugly one. I sent the ugly shell and had it chromes and replaced all the hardware with brass hardware. It turned out really sweet!