Kellyj, sweet!!Yes Sir. and well done!! I'm going to use one of there shells and use all ludwig ludwig hardware, and did this one several years ago all 60's ludwig hardware and leedy rims! keller vintage mahogany shell 6 1/2x14"

Wow! Vintagemore. Nice work on that one.

The quality of Vaughncraft shells is wonderful.

So, we haven't comprised our pricipals ;)

-kellyj

thanks, and your right the vaughncraft shells are great!! the cocobolo shell have you built it up yet?? I have a friend that builds up their shells all the time, custom drum builder, he had a cocobolo drum but i hated the way he had it tuned, from his description it is bright sounding yes or no?? anyway No I had these parts laying around so why not put them back to use, and you can't beat the vibe!!!

Holy crap KellyJ.... that drum is delicious !!

I've caught the custom build bug lately.

I'm mapping out a 13x8.5 Kent shell I got from BBK for a snare.

Hope it turns out as nice as yours !!

And VTM... nice one too !!

You're right. Might as well bring the parts back to life..

I haven't worked up the Cocobolo shell yet...but it's my next project. I'm thinking of tricking it out in an orphaned Rogers Dyna-Sonic system, snare gate and all!

The wood on this is very dense, similar to ash in density and big grain patterns but with a much nicer red and dark brown patterning in the grain.

Here's a pic of the shell before I touch it.

I have a Kent steel shelled snare that I may strip and use the parts for a Vaughncraft build.

Kevins, I have to admit, I enjoyed buiding this one up. Good luck with yours. With all your experience working with vintage, you'll have fun with the Kent. Kevins what company is BBK?

The trickiest part I found was measuring and marking. There is not much room for error at all!

I was reading that the shells are undersized on purpose at 13.75 by VC so that the head rides better on the bearing edge. To compensate I had to put 1/8" worth of black spacers on the tube lugs (see close up pic of tube lug) to bring the t-rods out to 14" to meet the rims.

-kellyj

I've worked with red heart before. I think it's an exceptional wood. It doesn't smell good when it's cut, but its grain is SO tight, it almost looks like soapstone or something. I made a humidor years ago and I was going to oil it, but after sanding it and buffing the wood, I was amazed that the wood almost finished itself!

Very pretty drum!

Thanks O-lugs...

As I was working with it filing the snare beds, it reminded a little of Western Red Cedar but with oil in it as you say. Like you I contemplated whether I should tung oil it or not? Very easy to work with because it's not a hardwood. The tone is rich warm and woody like vintage Mahogany but as you say a much tighter grain than Mahogany.

-kj