I have also had great results with Howard Restor-a-Finish, but it is only good for drums that still have their clear coat on them. It is not a clear coat by itself, it produces some sort of chemical reaction that brings the shine back. It also has some pigment in it that will even out scratches. Here is a drum I did with it (before and after):
[IMG]http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af5/potsy24/WFL%20Snare/IMAG0555.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af5/potsy24/WFL%20Snare/IMAG0578.jpg[/IMG]
But, your drum is bare wood now. So you need to use some sort of lacquer, poly, etc... I would recommend Minwax Wipe-on Poly. It is readily available at hardware stores and works great. I tried it after I read a Fine Woodworking magazine article that determined it was the best out of a wide selection of wipe-on finishes. On bare mahogany like you have there, it darkens up the wood a little and builds to a very nice shine. Here are before and afters one a drum I used this for:
[IMG]http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af5/potsy24/70s%20Mystery%20Ludwig/IMAG0696.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af5/potsy24/70s%20Mystery%20Ludwig/IMAG0715.jpg[/IMG]
This was after 7 coats of the gloss type. You need to sand to 220, wipe with mineral spirits, apply a coat, dry 2 hours, repeat (including the sanding). After the 3rd or fourth coat (when it starts to get smoother), start sanding with 400 between coats. Do not sand after the last coat. You can wait a week and wet sand/buff/wax if you want. I didn't, I just waited about 24 hours and waxed it.
You can apply more coats if you like. This wipe-on poly is much easier and more forgiving than brush-on. But each coat builds about half as thick. So, to get the equivalent of 3 brush on coats, you need 6 wipe on coats. I hung the drum in the garage using a piece of wire from the rafters. Worked great.
