Hello Drummerworld,
If you'll allow me I'd like to pick your brains on a little restoration job I'm undertaking. I've done some general research but have some specific questions I'm hoping some of you knowledgeable guys can help me out with.
Background
The shells are Ludwig Rockers stamped June 1989 - 9x13, 16x16, 14x22. I got them in rough shape for $40 from my high school band about 12 years ago. They had been used in the pep band, and the older they got, the more they were abused. I remember at one point my freshman year some upperclassmen with face paint on hauled them up onto the gravel roof of the bandroom which overlooked the football field, duct taped smoke bombs to them, and bashed the hell out of them before a football game. When I brought them home I took off the black vinyl wrap and stained the shells green, and slowly forgot about them until now.
Outlook
I'm hoping to resurrect this restoration job and really do the drums up nicely. I'll be replacing hoops all around (oxidization and sulphur burns from the smoke bombs), as well as the tom mount post and kick spurs. The bearing edges need a little freshening up too. For the finish, I'm going to abandon my attempt at the green stain, and instead have my mother in law who is an extremely talented artist do some kind of distressed texture, either in acrylic or encaustic. This is the part I'm most excited about. She does some awesome stuff on other mediums, and has pieces in a few galleries around town.
Questions
Here's where you guys come in - I'm not necessarily going for showpiece here, but I do want to do this well. I'm hoping some of you can point me in the right direction...
1. The bearing edges will need a little work. Should the bearing edge work be done before or after the finish?
2. Knicks and gouges in the edges -- can I just use hardware store wood filler and sand it flush with the rest of the edge? Or is there a better process?
3. Edge flatness -- edges are "out of flat" by about a max of 1/16" in some places. It's a veeeerrry gradual arc, not radical jumps in level. Is this worth addressing? If so, how do I tackle that? If it involves special equipment or outsourcing I may just live with a little unevenness. This isn't going to be a studio kit or anything.
4. Amazingly the toms are pretty well in-the-round, despite years of abuse by generations of teenage guys. However, the kick is about 1/16" out of round due to a flat spot running about 3" in length along the circumference of the shell in one area. It's just barely visible to the naked eye, if you know to look for it. Is that significant enough to do something about, and if so, what if anything can be done about it?
Thanks for any help you guys can offer. I plan on posting progress pics once things get going.
If you'll allow me I'd like to pick your brains on a little restoration job I'm undertaking. I've done some general research but have some specific questions I'm hoping some of you knowledgeable guys can help me out with.
Background
The shells are Ludwig Rockers stamped June 1989 - 9x13, 16x16, 14x22. I got them in rough shape for $40 from my high school band about 12 years ago. They had been used in the pep band, and the older they got, the more they were abused. I remember at one point my freshman year some upperclassmen with face paint on hauled them up onto the gravel roof of the bandroom which overlooked the football field, duct taped smoke bombs to them, and bashed the hell out of them before a football game. When I brought them home I took off the black vinyl wrap and stained the shells green, and slowly forgot about them until now.
Outlook
I'm hoping to resurrect this restoration job and really do the drums up nicely. I'll be replacing hoops all around (oxidization and sulphur burns from the smoke bombs), as well as the tom mount post and kick spurs. The bearing edges need a little freshening up too. For the finish, I'm going to abandon my attempt at the green stain, and instead have my mother in law who is an extremely talented artist do some kind of distressed texture, either in acrylic or encaustic. This is the part I'm most excited about. She does some awesome stuff on other mediums, and has pieces in a few galleries around town.
Questions
Here's where you guys come in - I'm not necessarily going for showpiece here, but I do want to do this well. I'm hoping some of you can point me in the right direction...
1. The bearing edges will need a little work. Should the bearing edge work be done before or after the finish?
2. Knicks and gouges in the edges -- can I just use hardware store wood filler and sand it flush with the rest of the edge? Or is there a better process?
3. Edge flatness -- edges are "out of flat" by about a max of 1/16" in some places. It's a veeeerrry gradual arc, not radical jumps in level. Is this worth addressing? If so, how do I tackle that? If it involves special equipment or outsourcing I may just live with a little unevenness. This isn't going to be a studio kit or anything.
4. Amazingly the toms are pretty well in-the-round, despite years of abuse by generations of teenage guys. However, the kick is about 1/16" out of round due to a flat spot running about 3" in length along the circumference of the shell in one area. It's just barely visible to the naked eye, if you know to look for it. Is that significant enough to do something about, and if so, what if anything can be done about it?
Thanks for any help you guys can offer. I plan on posting progress pics once things get going.