Got the interiors of three shells back to white, one coat of Minwax on the exteriors. Plan to play them like this for a while then decide on a different finish, if any - I really like the mahogany, so I may just order a couple rolls of Bennett mahogany veneer. That way they will look the same but without all the warts...though I don't hate the warts! :)

Pictured also are the good solid MIJ bass drum hoops for this kit. Had one go at them with Circa 1850 but the red looks to be deep in the wood. Might have another go at stripping but will likely just go black. Thinking I'll start with black oil paint thinned down with turps for a "stain" and see how that looks before just blasting them with black. I have some very nice MIJ ginger-aled silver sparkle wrap for the inlays.

Going to start putting these together today. I have a work-around for the missing BD rods & claws but the FT will remain reso-less for now. Went on a parts hunt trip last night but came back with nothing. Waiting to hear back from a friend here in Ontario about keyrods for both drums...luckily all the big four used 12-24 NC so I have that going for me...:)

Pics to come of assembled drums...

Mitch

Truing the floor tom...

to turn the red browner add a little green it cancels out the red thin black wash will make it maroon

Center lugs forever!! Man I wish I worked as fast as you do...

Looking good Mitch, hang in there!

The kit looks great. I would leave it as is including the hoops. Just clear coat everything. I like that kit.

Almost there, Mitch. Can't wait to see them put back together.

John

Very interesting, excellent point!...in keeping with my impatient nature, I'll probably fire some quick drying stain black on there. :)

Jim - I'm now obsessed with center lug drums, would love some Rogers Towers some day. Here's a tip for working real fast - lower your standards, change your middle name to "good enough" ha!

GAR - Thanks man! It was great to meet you the other day. How's the rail mount working out?

Gerald - I hear ya buddy! Over time I may try to get the shells a little darker, this might happen naturally with more Minwax/clear coat. They might be shiny yet. The hoops will likely be black - I like how it anchors the kit, and I have that MIJ inlay which will rock against the black, but the red has its allure...

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So rack tom complete and assembled, baseball bat muffler and all. If I had worked at Ludwig back in the day, I would have demanded the BB mufflers be 17% more tricky to install...ah well it weren't too bad.

Right below the BB muffler you can see where, years ago, the tom went crashing into the snare and caved the shell in a bit. Previous owner repaired with what looks like auto-body filler. Well that is pretty solid stuff, so no worries.

I don't think there's a single Ludwig rod on this tom lol. Not all the rods went into all the inserts though I couldn't see a difference in any of the inserts! Anyway I had to match them up.

The rims are MIJ Rogers knock-offs - really quite excellent and way better than the Ludwig CS rims I have - taller, thicker, better. And I'm a big fan of the tighter, rounded ear.

That's all the blathering I have for now. Floor tom's next...

Mitch

Thanks John! Me neither! As I say I have a workaround for the BD rod/claw-wise....gotta get them hoops blacked and get on it, today!

Mitch, I like what you are doing and really enjoy your tutorial.