Lookin' good, Mitch.

I seen some of your MIJ reworks...you'll do just fine:)

Too bad bout that messed up 12"

I'd be trying to save the Sky Blue too.

On a side note...PM me if you run into any Black Cortex toms or Kicks.

I'm in Toronto, and am on a hunt, right now.

Cheers, Christopher(howdo)

Oh...and check with your local Luddy rep...because Ludwig did those Clubdate SE reissues last year, there should be a way to acquire new long tension rods for your Dates.

Check the parts catalogue;)

-howdo

I might have to do that, hoping not. Folks don't seem to be jumping out of the woodworks with these parts though...

Today I made the decision to go with birch veneer. Did the one good tom. Wrap was no good and I did not do a great job removing it. So veneer it is. This has the advantage that the Club Dates will "match" the 22" Ludwig bass drum I have. The ultimate plan is to have 12 14 16 20 and 22" drums for all occasions, small and large stages. 9X13" toms I'm just not too big on these days.

So here's the one 12" tom with birch veneer installed. Head fits a bit tight, which I specifically hoped would not be the case. Might have to cut away a 1/4" strip all around, but will get the hardware on and check that for sure before proceeding...

This veneer is NOT paper backed, very tricky to work with - look at it, *crack*! However they finally stock 3M 77 spray up the street, so there's that...it worked excellently.

Looking good! Mine are on hold, have to make some Christmas gifts.

Great find. You will love them!

Thanks auto. Been having great fun removing black paint from these shells.

Orbital palm sander on exteriors [until the on/off switch broke], acetone on interiors. The acetone allowed for removal of the black paint only on the floor tom, leaving the original white paint, if somewhat "distressed". Black paint was thicker on the 8X12, likely because the smaller surface area was easier to coat. So I had to take it all off, including the white underneath.

Definitely going with satin finish Minwax on these. Re-paint the interiors white [there's a nice full can of semigloss white leftover in the basement here woo hoo!] I flip flopped a million times but in the end I don't want to put anything new on these shells - the birch veneer is coming off the one 8X12, clean it up, then mahogany veneer....okay I guess that will be new, but not different from, the other shells. Pic #1 shows what to me is the most awesome finish in the world, and though I won't be able to achieve that age/patina, it's in the same ballpark, old mahogany.

It feels good to be removing the black before re-painting white, even tempting to leave the maple, but white it will be.

This is a rather rambling post, moving slowly on these. I think I'll start a new thread in "restoring" when I get more done...2nd and 3rd pics show bulgy "repair" in 8X12 interior, which I've decided I can live with, though I'll probably dremel out the excess filler. Going to try a thin fill-job on the gouging on the 8X12 in last pic, then oil paint to match colour once Minwax in applied.

Mitch

Mitch - It sounds like you're bouncing off the walls over there! LOL

Here's a photo (for encouragement) of a kit that Jeff added a mahogany veneer to for me:

[IMG]http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n632/PurdieShuffle/mk3_zps9f65a8cd.jpg[/IMG]

It is now a 4-ply mahogany kit and I added calf heads all around. One of the warmest, best sounding drum kits I own. Go for it! And don't worry about heads, just get some oversize stuff from Aquarian, or the new Evans 360's either of those heads will fit on them just fine.

John

I am indeed John! Real wrap? Home made silver sparkle? Veneer? Hmmm........bare shells!

Your kit looks absolutely amazing. One of the reasons I'm going to pass on maple or birch veneer is the staining process, which I would bungle and end up with a bad stain job. With the mahogany, just finishing with Minwax will do the trick, darken and add a bit of sheen [satin finish]. Then I can paint out the gouges. It will have a definite rough antique look for sure, bordering on if not totally "hacky", but contrarily enough I do like that look. :) Then the one tom might get a mahogany veneer, just cuz I hate to admit I really did a poor job removing the junked wrap. :o

Really though the last word will be when I get them to the Minwax stage, have a look, and go from there. All options are still on the table, except "real" wrap, which I doughnut have the dough for. But it struck me at a certain point, as long as they sound great and look cool in some way, I'm good to go...

Thanks for chiming in!

Mitch

Mitch,

found a 3 by 13 Lud Pic snare years ago in town where the guy moved all the lugs over...just like yours!>>Too funny...

OH!>>And,for good measure...ripped the wrap off,and recovered in WHITE ALUMINUM HOUSE SIDING!

I went into the lap seam ,and there is that 1/8" wide piece that sticks out on the inside of the shell,right?..Got some needle nose pliers,and broke off the pieces to see what color the drum WAS......guess what? Oyster Black!..Drum was FUBAR..perfect description for this drum!

Yeah what's with the lug shuffle? I cannot for the life of me see the advantage...at first I thought he wanted the badge to show better with his particular snare placement...but then why not just move the badge? Lol.

White aluminum house siding is not a finish I had considered...one of the few...:)

The "wrap clues" on these shells are on the outside - the kick, floor, and one tom all came together originally I think, all three seem to have had either burgundy sparkle or that's just some brown from the mahogany on silver sparkle. Oh well I wouldn't have got the set so cheaply if the the Wizard Of Drums hadn't pulled the wrap lol.

The snare and second tom were obviously added later as they had different finishes [duco and SBP respectively], and they were the only two with badges.

Got all the black out of the bass drum interior last night. Holy heck I do not enjoy stripping black paint off drum shells! But it's done, now to sand interiors/exteriors with 220 grit, paint the inner and Minwax the outer, see how they look...

The white paint I have is Alkyd. I've used it before in fine art but not on a drum. Dries quick and hard, but does anyone have a reason not to use it on these interiors? It does smell rather strong...

Here's a bonus - all the interior seams in these shells are tight and no cracks or lifting. There is a gap on the outer BD seam I will have to glue down...

Mitch