connecting to my past

[cdaug]

ok i'm going to start with a really quick bio. i started playing drums at the age of 3 and continued playing heavily until about 21 yrs of age. i then embarked on starting a family and developing the career i have now playing only a few times during the time span from 21 to age 30. for my 30th bday my wife purchased for me the beautiful pacific lx kit i have now. im now 32 and that brings us up to speed. my family was visiting a couple of weeks ago and my father and i were talking music. he's a very good vocalist and most likely where my musical nature comes from. i was telling him how i wish i had held on to the kits they had bought me as a child. at 5 years old my parents bought me my first kit which was the equivilent of a set and a half (used). the seller told my father the drums had been through a tornado but they came complete with heads, cymbals, pedals, and even some sticks. now i dont remember what drums went to what but the mixed kit was part ludwig and part slingerland. i was telling my father of how cool it would be to still have my first "kit". my dad then told me how he had been looking through on of the storage sheds at his place and remebered seeing a snare and pedal. i returned home last week for mothers day. my dad and i went to the shed looking for these two pieces. we did not find the pedal (possilbly a speed king) but we did find this:

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my first snare drum i received at age 5. a 1968 ludwig seamless metal snare 5x14 with emperial lugs. from my limited research and running the serial this is not considered any sort of sought after vintage drum but it is the very first snare drum i ever had. i'm going to bring this drum back to life guys and will treasure it as well as play it. its been through the ringer no doubt but its still in round and with some TLC will be a wonderful drum i'm sure. i will use this post to document the process and i welcome your comments or any additional knowledge you might have about the drum as i go.

[bongobro]

Wow! You really had an awesome weekend!

Lookin' forward to each installment as you connect to your past and bring it into the future!

Not sure what kind of metal you have, man, but with some serious cleaning and mucho polishing, it should shine like it did when you first got it...

[fiacovaz]

ok i'm going to start with a really quick bio. i started playing drums at the age of 3 and continued playing heavily until about 21 yrs of age. i then embarked on starting a family and developing the career i have now playing only a few times during the time span from 21 to age 30. for my 30th bday my wife purchased for me the beautiful pacific lx kit i have now. im now 32 and that brings us up to speed. my family was visiting a couple of weeks ago and my father and i were talking music. he's a very good vocalist and most likely where my musical nature comes from. i was telling him how i wish i had held on to the kits they had bought me as a child. at 5 years old my parents bought me my first kit which was the equivilent of a set and a half (used). the seller told my father the drums had been through a tornado but they came complete with heads, cymbals, pedals, and even some sticks. now i dont remember what drums went to what but the mixed kit was part ludwig and part slingerland. i was telling my father of how cool it would be to still have my first "kit". my dad then told me how he had been looking through on of the storage sheds at his place and remebered seeing a snare and pedal. i returned home last week for mothers day. my dad and i went to the shed looking for these two pieces. we did not find the pedal (possilbly a speed king) but we did find this:

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

my first snare drum i received at age 5. a 1968 ludwig seamless metal snare 5x14 with emperial lugs. from my limited research and running the serial this is not considered any sort of sought after vintage drum but it is the very first snare drum i ever had. i'm going to bring this drum back to life guys and will treasure it as well as play it. its been through the ringer no doubt but its still in round and with some TLC will be a wonderful drum i'm sure. i will use this post to document the process and i welcome your comments or any additional knowledge you might have about the drum as i go.

What you have there, Charlie, is the Ludwig Supraphonic 400 seamless brass snare. it is a terrific sounding drum. It has the chrome ovelay which tends to show some pitting. Ludwig used a special alloy formula with the brass which makes the drum somewhat lighter in weight than other brass shell snare drums. This is what is known as the "Ludalloy" snare drum. When you clean it up it will look quite beautiful. If you don't mind, I'll make a couple of suggestions. For the heards, Remo Emperor as the batter...white coated. The resonant head, use the Remo "Hazy" clear head. For snares, try the Puresound Metrix 40 strand snare.
I did all this to my own supraphonic and have started using it again for my big band gigs. I also took the time to carefully tune it. Please check drum-tuning.com for the hints I used...they made a huge difference on my kit.

Keep us posted...and good for you, finding a treasured momento like that is wonderful.

[gonefishin]

Hey Cdaug , thats in resonably good shape for being stored away so long . Nice story to go along with the pics , glad you got hold of it again . ............Now restore that thing and keep it this time .

[cdaug]

I will do just that GF.

Frank are you certain it is brass? i was thinking aluminum, or is that just what they make them from now? i will take your advise under consideration. i should also mention that the rims are MIA. thinking of going with wood rims cause i've always wanted some but not sure how that will work with a metalic snare.

[fiacovaz]

I will do just that GF.

Frank are you certain it is brass? i was thinking aluminum, or is that just what they make them from now? i will take your advise under consideration. i should also mention that the rims are MIA. thinking of going with wood rims cause i've always wanted some but not sure how that will work with a metalic snare.

Yes, it is brass. The brushed aluminum shell was used for the Ludwig Acrolite snare drum. I never cared for that particular model. The Chrome covering didn't wear well with the ludalloy shell and that's what caused the pitting some of these snares have shown. My own snare has some minimal pitting but that may be because I keep it clean and bagged when not in use.

[cdaug]

your a wealth of knowledge Frank. thanks again for the info. i post some updated pics shortly.

[bongobro]

Not sure of my facts, Charlie, but I don't think they began experimenting with aluminum shells until the 80s...as Frank pointed out, though, Ludwig was doing some work with that alloy when your snare was made...

[cdaug]

ok so here is the drum after the initial cleaning (during a lunch break). now im going to break it all down and clean each piece seperately. i may have to order some new fasteners before replacing the lugs.

[fiacovaz]

Hey Charlie, that's beginning to look good already. When you're finished, you're gonna feel like you gave birth to it...haha!!

[cdaug]

im already excited and we're just starting. so far i only see a few fasteners im going to update. the ones for the throw and the butt are in bad shape. im also going to put the dampner back in it although i wont use it. on the plus side i broke down all the lugs and the brass inserts as well at the springs are cleaning up well. the brass is being soaked to remove tarnish and the springs have been cleaned and are soaking in oil. my throw was broke with only the attachment arms still on the snare. going to have to find one to order. also the back side of the butt (what the screws pull in to create the squeeze) is missing. i will probably just make a new one out of stainless. open for suggestions on both.

as you said Frank it is pitted pretty bad and has some small places where the crome is no more....however for me it gives it character. i can also tell under the bearing edges that it is indeed brass (not that i doubted you guys) lol.

[Destroyer]

ok so here is the drum after the initial cleaning (during a lunch break). now im going to break it all down and clean each piece seperately. i may have to order some new fasteners before replacing the lugs.

That's looking real sharp! What did you use to clean and brighten it up ?

[cdaug]

That's looking real sharp! What did you use to clean and brighten it up ?

actually a machinist friend of mine suggested using dupont 7 and a 3/0 steel wool. turns out dupont 7 isn't so easy to come by so we decided to go with Eagle One crome wheel cleaner! very good stuff, was recommended by a guy i work with and seconded by the machinist friend. it worked well with very little scrubbing. its quite powerful tho so i would not recommend it for routine cleaning of drum hardware. stick with a mild polish for that.

[coke_can]

man that looks so nice

[Destroyer]

actually a machinist friend of mine suggested using dupont 7 and a 3/0 steel wool. turns out dupont 7 isn't so easy to come by so we decided to go with Eagle One crome wheel cleaner! very good stuff, was recommended by a guy i work with and seconded by the machinist friend. it worked well with very little scrubbing. its quite powerful tho so i would not recommend it for routine cleaning of drum hardware. stick with a mild polish for that.

I use a product called Twinkle Brass and Copper Cleaner on my brass. My grandmother used the Silver polish on her silver teapot for years and it worked nicely. I get it a Safeway for $4 and it would clean up that Ludwig badge nicely.

Wooden hoops? Might be a nice combination.

http://www.twinklepolish.com/

[cdaug]

thanks for the tip destroyer.

[bongobro]

Wow! What a difference! Looks a lot better than the first pictures!

[Bish]

What he said ^^^

WOW!!

[cdaug]

alright, so here's the drum broke down for detailed cleaning. the lugs have four parts: housing, spring, and the two brass threaded inserts. im seriously considering replacing the inside washers and bolts that hold the lugs on with new stainless steel fasteners so that everything has a "new" appearance and let the shell's pits and scratches show the age of the drum. would enjoy hearing your opinions on that.

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and here is the drum later put back together (at least for now) after polishing everything seperately. i'm pleased with the progress so far. everything really shined up well (notice the badge). now its time to start ordering stuff. the throw (P85)and the butt (P32) along with heads and strainer. i have decided to go with wood hoops. ive been wanting to go there anyway so this is the perfect excuse to give em a try.
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[gonefishin]

Thats cleaning up rather nicely .

[ratmycue]

respect Cdaug respect.

[coke_can]

that looks very nice

[Destroyer]

Looking really good! I love the way the lugs form-fit around the shell circular bulge. Great job man! I can't wait to see it with the wood hoops.

[livewire80]

Hey Cdaug, that looks great. You must be over the moon about finding the drum to begin with and so close to playing it again. Congrats on such a fine job, mate.

Oh, I think it would be a good idea to change the washers and screws that hold the lugs. Just like restored cars need the new bolts and washers. You will always have the antique look anyway just by the look of the snare.

[pastor_bob]

Hey Cdaug, I noticed that the bearing edge is not sharp, but is rounded. Being a Gretsch guy, and knowing that one of the secrets to the Gretsch sound is their rounded bearing edge, I will be really curious to hear your review of the sound. Great job on the restoration!