I can feel your pain!! I cleaned up a set of clear Vistalites a few years ago but luckily had read the warnings about overtightening. Just curious about how tight you tightened them? I was using a quarter inch ratchet but only used very light pressure when reassembling things (finger tight).

I've got a set of blue and white pattern F Vistalites that I picked up cheap for my son now and have also purchased the Weld-on product from TAP as well to try and repair some major cracks in the bass drum. I haven't gotten to that stage yet so would love to hear your experience with it.

Scott

This is probably why most of us would love to have a set of Vistas but are terrified to try and do any refurb to them.

I hope yours work out o.k.!

electricit

Does anyone here think it's a good idea to drill very tiny holes at the end of the cracks, provided it wont show???

Dave

Whew.... the shock has warn off... I had the ratchet too... the wierd thing is that they waited 3 days to show the symptoms... AAAAAAHH

Anyway, I'm not going to be drilling them... with the Weld-on stuff, there's no need if you get a good bond.

The new rule of Vistas is... just snug enough that the lug doesn't wiggle.. and use some blue threadlocker so the screw can't back out.

Good news is, I didn't play them... and I caught it before the shells could get stressed out with it.

98% of all the damage is under the lugs.. where you can't see it.. so I'm going to Weld-On 4 all the spots, and finish my restore with my head held up. I lost a ton of sleep that 1st night... I love drums too much. I didn't play for a few weeks during the restore.. and then after the shock I was too sad.

My church called me and asked me to play in a week, so I figured I'd best not let my chops go to waste.. I sat down at the Classic Maples and played a little... I felt better.

The bottom line is... Cracking CAN BE FIXED.. and done correctly, you'll be OK. Weld-On is THE stuff to get for the problem I have... It acually chemically rebonds the separation.. so although it may show a little, it's not going to break there again unless I re-break it.. and it more than likely will break somewhere else.

In woodworking and acrylics, a well bonded seam is SUPER STRONG... the matereal will fail around the joint, but not at the joint. so I will be very careful and tedious to get the hairlines bonded before they become fault lines.

I don't intend to drill these at all... Drilling is a way to stop a big fault line from traveling.. but I would make the tiniest hole possible... one that could be used as an injection site for weld-on or a similar bonding agent. In my case, the cracks aren't clear through the shell.. they are the equivalent of a windshield chip. they arent all the way through..... Get it now... or pay for it with a fault line later.

I have been thinking about it too. Even if I ended up with a fault line... it can be fixed... and what wouldn't look cooler than putting a big cut decal on the drum... like the kind they use on car windshields... I use those on clear bass heads NOW! Add some flames or something to detract attention from the flaw... and it would still look great... and play great.

These are after all MY drums... so I need to make them my own.

in case anyone was curious, Weld-On is literally a chemical weld... it converts the acrylic back to a liquid form and bonds 2 surfaces into one.. This is neat science stuff. This is more advanced than super glue my friends.

http://www.ipscorp.com/pdf/assembly/Assembly_PB4_Apr08.pdf

Roubaix,

I don't think there's any reason to be terrified to try and refurb them. This definitely reinforces that you do want to be very careful on tightening the screws for the lugs!

Scott

Any advice on applying the Weld-on?

Scott

Depends on whether your crack is a tight short hairline, or the drum is now the letter C from t getting clear through. make sure the surfaces to be bonded are tight together... on full splits, use a strap clamp like they show on

http://www.griptoad.com

as long as the surfaces are tight together like in a hairline... use a thin needle bottle and apply it right on there... it uses "Capilary action" meaning the crack will suck it in. This is a GOOD thing! Just be sure to throw a rag under the area you are repairing so a drip doesn't get on there anywhere you didn't want it to. You will need a polishing kit too... to clean up the surfaces after the bond is complete. IPS says it will be done in 24 hrs... but I'd wait longer.. 72 hours or so before working it... just to be safe. It doesn't require air to dry from what I derive from the white sheet, but it's best to perform the action in an area of relatively low humidity to prevent it turning white. Done right, it's clear.

Tomorrow is the day the parcel service brings the weld-on... let's see how it goes.. (Cue Scary Music)