I have gotten it from laminate dealers in the past, however your selections are probably limited.

Laminate dealers DO NOT have REAL chrome/metal wrap... it doesn't exisit anymore... period. I hate to say HOW I know this!... LOL! .... but I am finishing a restoration of a very RARE snare drum and it featured real chrome wrap back in the day. I literally had to have a piece made for this drum, and it wasn't cheap let me tell you! I had no choice in this case as the drum HAD TO BE CORRECT, sooooo..... When it's finished I shall post it up here with a little history behind it too. It is quite rare and PRE PRODUCTION as it is a prototype. That's how I know that there isn't any REAL CHROME wrap to be had. And Slingerland, you are correct sir! It was COST that eliminated this type of wrap. The plastic "chrome" wraps that are available today look great!, they really do... they're also pretty inexpensive, but great care must be taken in their upkeep as they are quite prone to scratching.

Tommyp

How long has it been, I bought some about ten years ago. It was a mirrored chrome metal wrap.

Hey lucky!...

Well a decade is a long time! Absolutely not available any longer, and I only wish it were. I literally had to create a piece for this drum. There are plenty of metal fabricating companies out there of course, but we are talking about a relatively small piece of material. I did get it done though, and it will make the drum correct and to period/manufacture. Cost a bit to do so, but in this case it was justified, and the piece came out looking splendid! The old chrome wraps were a thin "spring steel" that was chrome plated... real metal wraps. Those are long gone. SIGH.

Tommyp

i used to work for a indie drum co,and one of their earlier kits was a stainless steel wrap kit.i seen it when it was in the boss' storage and was pulled out to be sold.

the kit was heavy and not cheap.they said they has to buy a large sheet of stainless and cut it into sizes for the kit.then buy a special router bit so they can cut the edges (after wrapping) then a special drill bit for drilling the holes.they said it was a hassle.

anyway,that was the only kit they made cause it cost so much to just to make it.however,i'm sure something will pop up for you.a guy i used to know found a sheet of good chrome steel in the free section of craigslist.and he made a few snares out of it.

Hey Guys,I may have a place that i can got it from i will have to check,comes is 8'x10' pieces..mikey

drummerfish/MIKEY7777!...

Yes, you are in essence stating what I have already said! Material is out there of course, but it's not what I would say is economically feasible because the material then has to be "worked" into a piece to do a drum, and the costs start adding up. In today's manufacturing climate, it's just not cost effective, but that is of course a personal decision. In the case of the particular drum that I'm restoring, it made complete sense to invest in making an actual metal/chrome wrap as that's how the drum was originally built back in late 1966... a plastic chrome wrap wouldn't be correct and would completely devalue this drums historical worth/value. If a guy just wanted to put a genuine metal/chrome wrap on either a wood or fiberglass drum today, I think the cost of doing so would be a tad prohibitive. The reason I kind of know this is that I just did it! Drummerfish was right on it in his description of the SS set that the indie drum company produced. It's a LOT of work, and of course metal isn't as friendly a material to work with as wood, and it gets expensive... but what isn't today I guess. Jeeze! In chatting with a couple "inside" drum guys from two of the biggest American drum companies that offered this shell/wrap choice back in the day... they both said that COST was the determining factor on the decision to drop these types of shells/wrap... and that was then! I can only imagine what a full set would cost to do today. Indeed. Still...

A personal choice guys! It can be done... I found two shops to work the material for me, and then it had to be mirror polished... and that's before even working the piece into and onto the shell. But it can be done!

Tommyp

So would I be correct in assuming any kit made back in the day with real metal chrome would be something to collect? and holdon to? I have 2 sets like this, a 1982 Pearl Export kit, all metal chrome, and a 1970's fibes..the export has a bunch of dents on the bass which is the one I wanted to restore, and re wrap. I was hoping I could get this done, oh well. Tommy, can you tell me what the gold plaque signify's on my fibes bass? it was made in PA

slingerland!...

There were THREE different badges that Fibes used on their line of drums through the years. The EARLY Fibes drums from about 1965 through 1967 had simple SQUARE "gold" badges with the now well known Fibes logo featuring a drum made out of the "I" , and a black band around the edges. These are the FIRST and EARLIEST badges. The 2nd series of Fibes badge was the RECTANGULAR badge that also said Farmingdale, NY as well as Custom made fiberglass drums. The 3rd and final Fibes badge design was again SQUARE, but this time the Fibes logo was a mirror image of itself top/bottom and also said The CF Martin Org/Nazareth Pennsylvania USA. So...

If you have the PA Fibes badge, it should be SQUARE as well as have the mirror image Fibes logo top/bottom. That would date your drum from approx. 1975 on... because ... the "Corder Drum Company" took over/bought Fibes in 1979 and of course had their own badges.

Regarding the chrome wrap question: Again... it can be done! But it's going to be very expensive and would probably be only worth it if the drum/drums in question were worth it, if you know what I mean. The snare drum that I am working on is such a drum as it is a prototype that was played by an endorser that went on to use the final production model of this drum even while being paid to endorse other drum companies. Hint hint. Coincidentally, it is a Fibes COF snare drum!

Tommyp