So I have determined that these are indeed not wraps haha...sorry for my confusion on that part. Now I need to decide if I'd rather just refinish or wrap. I had it in my head that a good majority of the old gretsch drums of the day were all wraps (especially with the jazz guys and their sparkle kits). I was going for more of a jazz/big band kit, and the wrap usually gives a bit of a more focused sound...so i'm still undecided.

How are heads fitting now? If you add wrap to those shells, the likelyhood is; you'll have problems getting heads on without severely cutting back the wrap at the bearing edges.

They're -your- drums, buddy. You can do what you wish with them and it's really none of my business. All I'm saying is; (if they were -my- drums,) I would strip them down to bare wood, fill and sand the shells, then stain them to the same color they were when they left the factory. Several good clear-coats for protection of the finish and the drums are good to go for another 50 years. They will look spanking new after you're done. If you can't do it, then it's worth your while to pay somebody else (a pro) to do it. You only paid $85. for the kit. Investing another couple/few hundred dollars to fully restore them is more than worth it. In the end, you would have gotten a kit worth $1000. for under $500 all in.

Your call. Wrap may prove to be a real problem though. Think about it and measure the drum diameter carefully to make sure you'll still be able to seat heads on them after you add the thickness of the wrap to the shell. If heads spin freely on them now, chances are good that you can get away with adding wrap. If they are already snug... it's a no-no.

John

Yeah I agree with John measure them if u are going to wrap. One other consideration if the checking / gouging is to deep is a professional automotive finish after filling and sanding. I believe john got a sneak peak at my masterpiece I have been working on. Email me if you want to get a look at what I am talking about.

Larry

[email]Lrcollura@gmail.com[/email]

Tested the heads and they seem to have quite a bit of spin room until you spin it about 3/4 turn as the shells are not completely round...the heads seem to get snug in one spot then loosen up in others.

+1 what John said. That set will look great if refinished properly and worth more than if you rewrap them. Then you can sell them or trade them for a sparkle set. But I doubt it after you see how great they look. Those shells weren't originally made to take wrap. Nice find!

I'm currently speaking with a drum maker in my hometown here (EPEK drums if it rings a bell) They make some pretty great stuff. Only problem is they don't offer lacquer currently...just wraps and a satin finish (which is $$$). I'm going to check what my options are with him. He's offered to touch up the bearing edges and wrap them for $350 which is pretty great.

Hello

This looks like the same vintage as my kit which I restored last year, and if so, you may struggle to restore the walnut finish, as whilst it's easy enough to strip the lacquer, getting all the stain out is virtually impossible with a six ply shell, as the colour will probably have leeched all the way through the outside ply, and possibly even soaked well into the one below. If you don't get all the colour out, the result will be very blotchy, which is why I took the advice of the No 1 restorer here in the UK and had them wrapped. Unfortunate, but I'm over the moon with the result.

Full story here ....

[ame="https://picasaweb.google.com/116410754577390367293/RobbieSKitRestorationProject"]Picasa Web Albums - Robbie Murray - Robbie's Kit:...@@AMEPARAM@@https://picasaweb.google.com/data/feed/base/user/116410754577390367293/albumid/5882622846430542993?alt=rss@@AMEPARAM@@116410754577390367293@@AMEPARAM@@5882622846430542993[/ame]

Robbie

Norwich, England

Apologies if the link in my previous post causes any problems - I kept trying to disable embedding, but it reverted as soon as I posted ....

Drums are now on eBay UK -

[ame]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131125164039?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT[/ame]

Robbie

Maan, I want a Gretsch kit for 85 bucks too! Congratulations, they got tons of character!

Robbie,

The link in your post doesn't show, but is love to see the kit. Also, can anyone identify which series of drums these are? I can't find an exact match in any catalogue.