It's pretty obvious I get sort of obsessive with restorations. Well, it could be worse. I have two Speed Kings finished, and an album of options and ideas.
On all of these, the footboards have been bead blasted, then given a couple of coats of clear polyurethane. I like the look, personally, and I think it would be durable. Having said that, there is a shot in the "options" album that shows a polished Slingerland footboard. I have this done at a shop, so it adds a bit to the cost, but it does look nice. I put a coat of urethane on those too, so they should be low maintenance. All of these, obviously, have been mechanically refurbed. I'm not really replacing parts these days unless I need to. The bearings are cleaned, cleaned, and then cleaned again. There's nothing wrong with them, really. The springs are built like a damned tank, and seriously.... the upgrades involve resolving the loose hinge issue, and putting nylon bushings on the pivot points for the strap. I also recently discovered a Teflon liquid that dries on the surface. Threads in the posts have been re-tapped and threading extended for a little more tension.
ANYWAY.... I'm putting in one photo of each with a link to the album. In the options folder is a shot of an allen screw I put in all of these for spring tension. I think the screws in there are easy to mess up, and these are 1/4 inch allen screws. If you don't have an allen wrench, I'll send one to you. I can put the screws in if you'd rather.
Shipping isn't included in the price, but it will be actual, and I sure as hell won't cheat you on a couple of bucks.
Ready? (finally).
Darker gray, $100...
Album for dark gray: http://s645.photobucket.com/albums/uu172/wafulton/March%20Speed%20Kings/Darker%20gray/
Lighter gray -- this one, by the way, has had the chrome rocker also bead blasted, because the chrome looked really rough. I like it a lot, but it isn't "stock," so the price is less. $75.00. It's an experiment, feedback welcome!
Album: http://s645.photobucket.com/albums/uu172/wafulton/March%20Speed%20Kings/Lighter%20gray/
Finally... some options: The frame is bead blasted in this, and coated with polyurethane. I love this look, and I don't think it would show wear. Haven't road tested, but the theory makes sense. There is also a shot of black "plasti-dip" sprayed on the 'feet.' This part ALWAYS shows wear, and I think this would protect the hoop too. Again, not road tested. There's a shot of using a bolt on the clamp instead of the long roll pin the Ludwig uses. Frankly, that thing has always irritated me. To me, that's an inelegant solution. The hole in the upright is there to accommodate the punch for that pin. And it sticks out on both sides. So, the bolt is an idea. The chrome rocker on this one was also bead blasted, with polyurethane on it. Kind of softened the look, which I dig. There's also a shot of using a stainless allen bolt instead of the larger screw, for the spring retaining thing that's on the tip of the pedal. Kind of neat. Finally, a shot of the allen screw I'm using on all of these.
Options album: http://s645.photobucket.com/albums/uu172/wafulton/March%20Speed%20Kings/options/
Whew! Sorry to be so long winded!! I'd be glad to re-work one of yours...options available.
Oh... link to the master album: http://s645.photobucket.com/albums/uu172/wafulton/March%20Speed%20Kings/
