Hi and welcome.

Claws: I'd use a little wd40. Let it seep in for a couple of hours and then gently try to remove the claws from the hoop. Maybe using a small hammer gently.

Crack in hoop. I'd remove the loose part. Clean out the holes/cracks/open places with a small drum sander on a dremel (or something similar). Make new pieces of solid wood to fit and glue them in with filling two component glue. Even out with files and sanding paper on a block of wood.

Removing paint: heatgun (carefull!!!) or chemical paintstripper.

Finish: depends on what you'll find underneath the paint. Personally I'd not use french polish. The whole drum is a little battered, and I would keep it like that. The hoops I'd paint witj a brush on purpose, to give some old feel. I would not use paint that is too shiny. The bare wood of the shell might use some water based stain to darken it a lttle? I'd finish with a simple semi-gloss laquer. French polish would make it look to classy, and this is not a classy drum, it's rough one, with sturdy looking claws en rods.

Most of all: If it were mine I would do nothing about it. I'd look for some similar looking beat up single tension drums in 13, 14(snare) and 16 inch and combine a drumkit. I think that would look cool!.

ps what's the size?

Thanks for good advise so far. The wood of the drum seems very dry. the shell is thin, and the drum rings like a concert bass drum. Thats the way I want it. I am a percussionist, not a drummer. I use the drum with felt beaters and home made brushes made of straw :)

I was thinking of keeping the beat up look, but just want to make sure is does not deteriorate. I was thinking maybe the wood needs some oil of some kind to make it not dry out, but I am afraid it will destroy the sound.

The size is 26 inches.

Actually, when the original calf skins broke, I discovered the drum was out of shape. I actually had to use a rubber hammer to force the new timpani heads on. Now it seems to be round again :)

I was thinking natural dark wood on the shell and dark red hoops.

There was two metal rings on the shell that I took off since they were loose and ringing. At the back they were connected with a wooden piece of the same kind of wood thet the drum is made of. I french polished one of them to see how it would look.

Image of wood piece (what kind of wood? It is light and had a high pitched sound when I hit it. Seems hard)

[IMG]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4GvIbxF-m8o/VuWZ5YqQqYI/AAAAAAAADSc/pv0LC1o5ceQ/w327-h581-no/DSC_0349.JPG[/IMG]

Backside of the same piece treated with French Polish

[IMG]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-KGaP0zzljdo/VuWZ1oMzpdI/AAAAAAAADSM/ZwzpnYk9jIMpymkEWbJ0zV1QiBSCa2Huw/w915-h515-no/DSC_0350.JPG[/IMG]

What head to use? The timpani heads are actually very nice, but I would like some structure (for the brushes) and a little less overtones (it ring too much so I have to dampen the batter head)

Here are photos of the shell itself. The thickness is 5 mm (0,2 inches)

[IMG]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/nRgdsfRw_rkY7RXWlZF7b7elqlEzaI-B9L3oE22Gnz9Ovn6_DhsEiIDlSS0d03cXm_7DKtQy5Dn6mDB4pQqsruFtMAg=w1362-h534[/IMG]

This is just a matter of some glue

[IMG]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/6qSl2i9DAwS95wvGonXrbRGve6CNIRCR-pODDF1zxh6YR1iBkH3l0GX01uvWttkPNHPYitPTSr_YQyeTrIm1hXeetpo=w1362-h534[/IMG]

Strongly looks like beech.

I belief I may have had one just like yours. It was an oversized 26 inch. I had trouble getting normal 26 inch heads on them. I cut it down to a little les than 26 inch, which was quite a job. It was beech as well and had the same hoops, claws and rods as yours. It was 13 inches deep.

Are you in Europe? Germany?

I eventually used my drum for a custom drums set with a 12 inch rack-tom and a 16 inch floortom, both Sonor champion shells.

I am in Norway

Next big question. One of the hoops are very bad. Not sure if I casn repair it. Any link to a website showing me how to build a new one? I guess it is a matter of steambending thin wood

not necessarily.

With this diameter you can do it without steambending.

you have to make a round mold. use many clamps and curve plies of wood around it and glue the. actually like ply-drumshells are made.

You could use 4 2,4 mm plys for example.

or 3 plys of 3mm triplex.

etc.

somewhere in this thread there's pictures of 24"hoops I made from 3 plies of oak without steambending.

http://vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=54071

One more thing that hasn't been mentioned here, I think. Be very careful when removing the paint, especially if you'll be sanding it away. These old paints tend to be quite toxic, so use some sort of filter or a mask and don't just sand it in your living room.