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Restoring vintage drum shells

Posts: 1 Threads: 1

I recently met a man with a large collection of vintage drums. However, most of the shells he has are orphan toms (in other words, there may be some matching shells, but few complete kits). Additionally, most of the wood is intact and shows no sign of wear (aside from some scratches on the wrap).

They seem like a good buy. Reinforcement rings and vintage maple wood are a plus. However, given that he does not have the appropriate hardware for some of these drums (i.e. 50s era Ludwig lugs for a 50s era Ludwig shell), I may have to improvise.

Because I own lots of Yamaha hardware, I've considered installing Yamaha brackets onto these vintage shells. Doing so would probably have little, if any, effect on the sound, but I imagine that fans of vintage Ludwig/Slingerland shells would be up in arms at the sight of Yamaha brackets on vintage toms. What do you think?[SIZE="1"][color=#333333]https://dltutuapp.com/[/color] [color=#333333]https://9apps.ooo/[/color][color=#333333]https://showbox.software/[/color]

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Posted on 5 years ago
#1
Posts: 375 Threads: 36

Finding hardware can be difficult and expensive. If you’re able to save drums to play them, I say go for it. Of course I would like to see photos of the various projects you would undertake.

Posted on 5 years ago
#2
Posts: 6287 Threads: 375

Fix correctly the ones you want to keep, and sell the others to help fund your own restorations.

I've waited months and years to find a shell to complete a project. If that drum had been altered, the chance may have eluded me.

That's my personal take on the situation; I'm sure opinions vary from my own.....:)

Kevin
Posted on 5 years ago
#3
Posts: 112 Threads: 10

Whichever shells you pick out, check them carefully. Old 3 ply shells that have been sitting a long time with no heads or hoops tend to fall out of round. Maybe take some heads with you when you go, there are sometimes fitment issues between vintage shells and modern heads. Lastly, if you are looking for orphans to wrap to make a matching kit, try to stick to shells that were originally wrapped. Sometimes wrapping shells that were originally painted leads to heads fitting too tightly or not fitting at all due to the construction techniques of the time.

Posted on 5 years ago
#4
Posts: 1685 Threads: 529

From mike17

Whichever shells you pick out, check them carefully. Old 3 ply shells that have been sitting a long time with no heads or hoops tend to fall out of round. Maybe take some heads with you when you go, there are sometimes fitment issues between vintage shells and modern heads. Lastly, if you are looking for orphans to wrap to make a matching kit, try to stick to shells that were originally wrapped. Sometimes wrapping shells that were originally painted leads to heads fitting too tightly or not fitting at all due to the construction techniques of the time.

+1

Take a tape measure with you too. Measure the shell on both the batter and resonant sides. On the batter side, measure from 12 to 6 o'clock, then measure again from 9 to 3 o' clock. If the two measurements are more than 1/8" off, then the shell is out of round. Repeat for the Reso side.

I say no Yamaha (or any other non-original) hardware on these drums. You can usually find what you need on this forum or on ebay, and Steve Maxwell also makes good repros of vintage stuff, like L-arms, clip mounts etc.

Posted on 5 years ago
#5
Posts: 6432 Threads: 290

Why not get Yamaha shells?


Thank you!
Jeff C

"Enjoy every sandwich" Warren Zevon
Posted on 5 years ago
#6
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