Old School, good point on the tom mount. Maybe a later set o matic tube will fit in the bass bracket mount? I'm pretty sure the diamond tom mounts have the same bolt pattern as the later SOM tom mounts. This way the original parts can be saved and the modifications will require no extra holes. And you'd have nice secure toms. Just a thought.

There is a way to adapt the newer tom holding parts without messing up the shells. A search here would find that info. I never did that though. What frustrated me more than anything was how choked the toms would sound once mounted on that holder. You can minimize it a lot by experimenting with tunings. Once I found a tuning for each tom that would sing I wrote down the specific notes of the batter and reso and just tune to that each time I change heads. All the fasteners on the post should be really tight as well as the wing screw that tightens to the post on the BD mount. I could change the way the toms would sustain by tightening or loosening that wing screw. Crazy stuff. Maybe the later set-o-matic is better to live with.

Steve

[QUOTE=vyacheslav;232512]2. It looks like the bass drum was used backwards. Notice how the badge and tom mount tightening nut are facing out towards the resonant side of the bass drum. The spurs are about in the center of the shell. Should the writing on the badge be facing the batter side? [COLOR="Blue"]As VM2K said, the writing on the badge should be legible from the resonant side.[/COLOR]

Here's where I need some help:

1. Do the tom mount and claw hooks appear to be original? The tom mount is engraved "Slingerland, Niles, IL" at the top. [COLOR="blue"]I don't have first-hand knowledge of the tom mount, but it looks correct, as has been stated by others. The BD claws appear to be Gibraltar. Slingerland claws are very similar, but are rounded on the top.[/COLOR]

3. What were these drums made of (Maple, Birch etc.)? How many plies? [COLOR="blue"]As has been noted, Slingerland used 3 ply shells exclusively until about 1972 when they added 5 ply shells to the fold. As VM2K stated, they will be - from interior to exterior - maple/poplar/mahogany. Question: I can't tell by the pictures...are your interiors clear maple or are they painted the chocolate milk color? Chocolate milk interiors appeared from October 1966 and phased out in '70-'71. If yours are clear maple, they will be '63-'66...considering the black/brass badge.[/COLOR]

4. Notice on the 13" Tom, the internal tone control faces out towards the audience, whereas on the 12" it faces the player. Strange. Both badges face 90 degrees away from the player, to the outside. [COLOR="blue"]I believe the 13" tom was probably meant to be mounted on the left side of the BD. The tone control is almost always mounted on the player's side of the drum, except on snares for some reason.[/COLOR]

This is my first Slingerland kit, and first "brand name", non-MIJ vintage kit. I am going to have a lot of fun with these! As for you Slingerland guys, do you think they look good? Would you have purchased them with the flaws noted? I am always interested into what Slingerland players, collectors, afficianados etc. would think of these. I got the drums as pictured for $425. I thought it was a good deal. Thoughts? Opinions? Fire away!

[QUOTE]

See my responses in blue above. I believe you got a good price on these drums and they do look good. You can find claws, T-rods and 20" BD hoops by posting a "Wanted to Buy" thread, or by hawking feeBay.

As for your questions regarding the tom mount, as stated, I have no experience with that type of mount. So, I will defer to other, more knowleadgable members of the forum.

Congratulations and Welcome to the Slingerland club! I'm sure you will enjoy them. If I may make a suggestion, a clear Aquarian Super Kick II batter with a non-ported white Classic Clear reso on the BD will sound great! That's what I have on my 20. The only muffling I have is a folded kitchen towel resting against the reso head. BOOM!!!

Lynn

Slingerland made SOM double tom holders on stands.... some of the down tubes are the right size. I have a bass mount like yours, and two down tubes from stands.... one fits and the other is too big.

I've attached a pic....note the tube is round, not D shaped.... those will not work for you.

Regarding question 3 .With Slingy stands and that tom mount there is copper plated square nut up inside the top of the cast piece where the wing screw goes in .--if that has fallen out there is nothing to thread the wing screw into.

Hope that helps

Thanks for all the responses!

The interiors of these drums are the chocolate milk color. I have gotten to every drum except the floor tom (where the date stamp is). The last number is smeared, so through the clear head I can see March 7, 196X. It could be a 3, 6 or an 8. Judging by what Slingerlynn said, since they have chocolate milk interiors, they must be at least '66. I'll post an interior shot of the floor tom and date stamp in the next few days.

On the interior of the 13" tom, there was a "P" stamp that was a typical looking rubber stamp. There is nothing (beside the date stamp) written/stamped on any other drum. The serial number of the badge is hand written inside each drum, but I'm thinking they may have been done by the previous owner, because he/she also wrote their initials inside each drum 4 times!

Regarding the tom holder, the hollow piece of rubber tubing that the bottom of the toms partially rest on (that makes a "T" at the top of the post) is really old and is cracking. I am thinking I could make a substitute piece out of PVC piping. I found the correct diameter PVC (3/4") and I plan on cutting it to the same length and then drilling a 5/8" hole (the tube diameter) through the top of it. I plan to wrap it in cushioned black athletic tape to keep the original look and to provide a little bit of cushioning and to prevent the PVC from rattling against the bottom rims. Anyone else have any better ideas?

I found a new 20" wood hoop that's 1.5" wide and black gloss like the original. I am going to order the inlay and have the groove cut for the inlay. I'll make that new hoop the batter hoop, because the new BDP inlay may not quite match the sliglty darkened BDP on the kit. I am going to touch up paint the original hoop and re-lacquer it.

I'll have all the drums except the bass cleaned, polished, headed and ready to play by the middle of this week. Then it's just a matter of doing my work on the bass drum hoops. I use the repair guy at Columbus Percussion to cut the groove in the hoops, and I probably won't be able to make it up there for a few weeks.

I'll post some interior shots this week, as well as some completed shots of the other drums in all their glory. If I do say so myself, after I Novus'ed them and polished all the chrome, they look absolutley fantastic!

Thanks. I knew that. There was no square nut; it was threaded all the way through (improperly) with an 8mm wing screw.

It is a two piece design, so I was able to pop off the wrongly threaded top cast piece, and replaced it with the top cast piece from a Slingerland cymbal stand base. Oddly enough, the cymbal stand base cast piece was slightly bigger and didn't fit as snug as I would have liked (I could easily take it on and off with my bare hands with little resistance).

I used a little bit of duct tape to wrap the very top of the tom mount base to make it a little bit thicker. Then, I slathered on the JB Weld and pounded the now very snug top cast piece on. Problem solved! Also, this new top cast piece does have the square nut underneath along with an offical Slingerland T-screw (1/4"), so if it strips out in the future, it's an easy fix to replace one or the other.

Here is a link to what I did when I repainted the hoops of the 1958 Slingerland kit I had: http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=28663&page=3. It's the third post on the linked page. You may do well with just a touch-up, but a sand and re-paint will give you a nice even finish if you have more than just a few spots to do.

Please do post pics of them after they've all been Kleening.

Lynn

I know I'm in a little late on this..

Re the BD , I don't think it would have been used in reverse due to the forward angle of the dedicated Left or Right, spur mounts. From memory the shell cutout, (Where the spurs pass through the actual shell), are also shaped to accomodate the spur angle.

If it was?, used in reverse, then there should be some evidence of a modification of those cutouts in the shell.

Cheers

It took me a little longer than I thought to get to this floor tom, but here it is:

[IMG]http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b12/vyacheslav13/th_P1010027_zps0f8c720f.jpg[/IMG]

It looks like 1966 to me, although it is a little smeared.

[IMG]http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b12/vyacheslav13/th_P1010029_zps85db2897.jpg[/IMG]

On the floor tom, the "Chocolate Milk" paint was applied very lightly; you can still see the wood grain coming through the shell-the paint is most noticeable on the re-rings. I was thinking a previous owner may have sanded it, but that would probably have taken the date stamp off (either that, or maybe the date stamp was put on first and then painted over?). The other drums in the kit had the paint on thicker so you couldn't see the wood grain coming through.

[IMG]http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b12/vyacheslav13/th_P1010030_zps0fba221a.jpg[/IMG]

Badge

[IMG]http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b12/vyacheslav13/th_P1010031_zpsebe4bfbc.jpg[/IMG]

All Novus'ed, polished and ready to go!

The kit is basically ready to go, I have to re-paint and re-lacquer one of the original hoops (inlay is fine), and I have a 1.5" black lacquer hoop (same width as the original) that I just need to order inlay for and have a groove cut in it.

I would like to find a Slingerland metal snare (chrome, but not COW) to match this kit. What snare should I be looking for to match this 66 kit? Other than a Niles Badge, is there a certain model or a certain kind of strainer etc. I should be looking for?

I'll be sure to take pictures of the kit in all it's glory once I have everything done!