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Sonor Teardrop Reconstructive Surgery-HELP! Last viewed: 1 hour ago

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Hey all.

This is going to be my most ambitious project yet. Need some help and thoughts as I'm still a newbie.

Teardrop shells -3ply w/horrible white paint. Stripped of hardware and considered lost causes.

14x20 - w/3 significant dents (cym mount and both spur mounts) from removed shell supports that go under hardware.

8x13 w/big bearing edge chip

Here is my overall goal.flowers2

1)Strip the paint rather than sand given delicate nature of shells and short on plys. (remove badges).

2) Bring bass drum back to structure intergrity and roundness by either steam it or soak it and use internal and external genius used on this kit for out of roundness (turnbuckle and rods). Do I soak the drum or do something else? I'm also waiting on delivery of a messed up 20" teardrop shell for parts that most importantly has the reinforcement slabs of wood that goes underneath the bd mount, cymbal mount, and spur mounts.

http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=21298&highlight=levon&page=3

3) Repair that tom chip by extracting the crushed wood in, filling w/wood putty and wood glue crack with 70/30 glue/water ratio.

4) find ALL the hardware (some already on the way) and a floor tom and finally veneer it in ebony macassar veneer.

QUESTIONS

-Am I nuts?

-What is a good paint stripper that I can use in say 50's weather on my porch.

-To reinforce the intergrity of the shell, will the veneer add to the support. Essentially, I'm adding anther ply so I hope it will.

Thoughts, guidance, and most importantly if you have parts!! I'd love to hear!

Posted on 13 years ago
#1
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You're not nuts...Great project you're tackling there! Those European Beech shells are some of the finest made and much thinner and more resonant than most. The problem of course is shell damage from mounting hardware.

I restored a similar set with some damaged areas like you have there. There are some great shell repair minds here. For now here's a pic of the shells I used, late 50's bass, early '60's ft and rack tom. I used Rosewood paper-backed veneer which is the classic Sonor choice for wood veneer.

For the punched in portion of the shells where mounts are, the turnbuckle method after soaking is your best bet to round out the shell. You can reinforce missing wood with a mixture of glue and sawdust as a filler. Use several thin coats and sand smooth.

For the big chip, a cabinet maker could cut a replacement piece that could be glued and tacked in using very small tack or even brass screws.

Paint strippers are available from a number of different companies all do much the same job.

Can't wait to see your work.

Cheers!

-kellyj

"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing..."
Posted on 13 years ago
#2
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Thanks so much KellyJ and those are some GORGEOUS looking drums.

When I soak, how long should I do it? I don't have a container (other than my bath tub) big enough for the shell. Could I put it in the tub and rotate it?

Turn buckles and straps seem to be the way to go.

First step is to strip the paint so more pics to come.

Posted on 13 years ago
#3
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Man, You're a valiant fella!!! But those sweet shells are really worth the effort!Yes SirYes SirYes Sir

http://www.vintagedrumbug.com/
Cause you got the bug dont'cha?
https://www.facebook.com/VintageDrumBug
https://twitter.com/VintageDrumBug
Posted on 13 years ago
#4
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Flam,

Not sure how long to soak?

Another option to the turnbuckle is a long C-clamp.

I used a C-clamp to put a 12" shell in round one time.

-kellyj

"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing..."
Posted on 13 years ago
#5
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you can buy clamp ends, that go on a length of waterpipe---usually 3/4". one end is fixed(threaded on) and the other end can slip along the pipe,catching where ever you want it to by a set of teeth. that end has about 5 inches of adjustment and a crank handle. they are cheap and can be adjusted easily to any length less than the length of the pipe they are on. a couple of sets of those would do the job. i think i have even seen them at a dollar store.

Posted on 13 years ago
#6
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Thanks guys!

I've started stripping the paint w/good results and preparing.

Will post pics.

I bought my turn buckes and straps to go around the shell. I have a unique problem where the shell and re rings are in mostly round but the dents from heavy hardware w/out support are the real killer.

I'm worried about sanding after stripping as these shells are THIN. I might get creative w/ a spare trashed teardrop bass shell and come up with additional support from re ring to re ring like the factory placed one at the bottom of the sell.

More to come!

Posted on 13 years ago
#7
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Hey Flam,

Sounds good!

No worries about a light sanding, in fact you should in order to better prepare the wood surface to bond properly with the adhesive you will use for the veneer. A 400 weight paper works good for surface prep. In addition, the very dense European Beech that the shells are made of will easily stand up to a light sanding. Can't wait to see more pics!

-kellyj

"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing..."
Posted on 13 years ago
#8
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Busy busy. Finally able to post a pic.

Used a paint stripper to good effect and now doing some light sanding.

Do I need to have bare wood (sand away stain) in order for paper back veneer to stick properly. Lots of scratches,dents, some ripples in outer layer so lots of prep work ahead too.

Small tom and floor tom are on the way and once the shells are prepped( and if I can get that bass drum more round and less dented) , I'm going with ebony macassar veneer.

back to work!!Coffee Break2

Posted on 13 years ago
#9
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Nice work!

The veneer looks great...

All you need for the surface is consistent roundness. A light sanding just to rough up the surface, no need to sand out the stain.

Small undulations or crevices can be filled with plastic wood to create the round surface you need for the adhesive that allows the veneer to stick and lay flat against it.

-kellyj

"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing..."
Posted on 13 years ago
#10
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