Hi Bruce. A good way to get a drum back in round is to work from the inside diameter. First, remove the entire re-ring (just like you did), then measure what the inside diameter should be without the re-ring. Next, cut a disc from a piece of hard wood (at least an inch thick) the exact size of what the inside diameter should be. Then apply glue on both the inner shell and the outside edge of the disc. Insert the disc to the inner shell which will force the drum back into round, clamp everything from the outside and let it dry. After everything has dried, measure how thick you want the new re-ring to be, draw a guideline for the inner edge, drill a hole, and then run a jigsaw along the guideline all the way around (or you can use a router). Sand the new re-ring and boom, you're done. No, you're not using the original re-ring - and I'm sure purists might have an issue with that - but you'll have a useable drum that's back in round. Russ
You undertake some very difficult repairs, where others would just give up. Great work and great videos. Always a pleasure watching you save vintage drums!!!
I tell you what people always made fun of me for using a butterknife for everything, but damn if they are not a handy tool lol! You can do almost anything with it! So seeing you use one a lot makes me feel better lol
Not sure if anyone mentioned this but, I wish you would have placed a standard 14" head and also an oversized 14" modern head designed for oversized/out of round shells (perhaps a Remo Classic Fit head) on the drum at the end of the video to see how they fit. Thanks for the very informative video - Great job.
Another option instead of squeezing the shell at the widest point to try getting it back into shape, you can sometimes put a piece of wood across the inside of the shell, forced in at the narrowest point, to push it outwards. Just leave it in place as you re-glue the rerings. You might just need to saw the piece in half to remove it after the glue has dried, if it won't come out past the rings! The big clamp on the outside can get in the way of the small clamps you are using to clamp the re-ring back on. A small cabinet scraper is good for removing the old glue, then a little curved bock of wood with some 120 grit sandpaper stuck to it with double sided tape. Another tip is you can use masking tape on the inside of the shell to catch most of the glue squeeze out, so there is less excess to clean off. Just make sure it's far enough down that you don't end up with masking tape glued in between the shell and re-ring!
Hi Bruce. Wow that is my snare. '48-'49. I have the whole kit. My nickel... That drum was round when it left the factory. They were turned in a lathe. Then the rings were added. Oversize probably. The heads were too. I was lucky to have Aquarian modern vintage heads fit mine when I took the calf ones off. This was 2001. Seems to me yours was stored with uneven tension. I would get it round, wet sand and buff to remove some of the yellow and sell it. I guarentee somebody needs that large oval badge beauty. And it's ORIGINAL! Cheers.
Hi Brian, thanks for chiming in. This shell is WAY oversize. I have owned over a hundred or more RKs in my life and this is the worst I have seen. There is no way you could just sand a bit and expect to get the heads on man. It measure over 14" at minimum all the way around. Look at my tape measure. I think the WMP is going to be removed and I will contour the shell so you can use any heads. Stay tuned. Bruce
@@brianchisnell1548 Yes they are great drums and I just cant let this one go to the scrap heap, even if I dont keep it which is most likely the case. Thanks Brian for the comments! Bruce
I keep waiting for your wife to walk in and say that’s where my butter knife went. I wondered about soaking rerings, now I know. You could use a ceiling mounted camera rig. Great job again. Would a remo fiber skin fit? I thought they had more forgiveness in size. I would egg shape it stain it. Help Bruce out and like his videos! It’s the least you can do.
You are right of coarse Ron.... BUT...... This is a low tech, just the facts, let it run till it dies channel.. and there are enough slick and perfectly edited, no mistakes channels out there. This is a gritty, dirty and most of all low budget channel..... I will get better as time goes on though. Fibre skin? maybe, but I dont want to be stuck with one size fits all. Plus I am not that fond of the sound and feel of Fiberskins. But I do like your idea of a stain for this one... I may just do that. Thanks for the comment friend, all kidding aside. Cheers, Bruce
@@vintagedrumrestorationgara91 are you going to the Chicago drum show? I’m not about slick channels, more like real ones like yours. Can you place your email here I want to show you something but can’t seem to get emails to you?
@@ronvallejo7987 Sure its budsmusic@hotmail.com. No I never go to drum shows. Too expensive and the deals have dried up. I like watching the vids of them though. Seems like guys like to do more of a show and tell. I could be wrong though. Thanks, Bruce
I like it too Kimmy. I think that is the direction to go right now. I just am not a quitter and never give up. If I contour the shell and do a wood grain finish, I can save the drum. If not.... its a total loss and just a box of parts. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION> Thanks for the comment. Bruce
Thanks for the video Bruce! I'd love to see the contouring work with the wrap taken off so the drum can be used again. Would be interesting to see that process too. Thanks again.
I’d sand the top layer of the wrap, with progressive finer sand paper and the buff, that normally you can get rid of most of the yellowing. There’s another method that Ive tried un rubber and plastics but never in drums. You put a thin layer of 40 volumen hair developer, wrap it with film and put the shell in the sun. And try the remo classic fit, they are supposed to fit oversized drums
Thanks for your comment Enrico. The shell is just too oversized even for classic fit heads. It was made when calf was the norm, so whatever you do to the wrap the heads still wont fit. Cheers, Bruce
I think only a drum maker would have the right machinery to clamp thatshell back to perfect round. Not imposible but long time out of your life. You have to fashion moulds remove wrap soak it more and clamp it in some kind of .mould like how they champ the body of classical guitar sides in a mould. Lots of work but possible. Might sound better with the wrap off or different anyway. Good luck with what you decide to do. Anythingis possible. Cheers
I like to try and keep original whatever possible, I usually just thoroughly clean and get everything functional,but that means I have quite few " mad max " looking drums. I like the road worn look if that's the life it's had.. .. I fully understand not everyone is into that though. I'd be anxious to see how you go about contouring it to get a head on it, but whatever you decide, count me in. I've learned a lot from the channel...Thank you.
Thanks friend! The next vid will be on how and why I go in the direction I go..... I am with you.... I like to leave them as they were, but this one is OVERSIZED to the max and needs to stay alive. Cheers, Bruce
Great stuff ! I got a cheap early 2001 Gretsch Catalina 14x18 bass drum online for 150.00 . problem is, it got a hairline crack about 3" long on the inside of the shell during shipping. It's only effects the top layer, removed hardware (spur) to check holes, and runs right up to the edge, so I can see it's in-fact only the top ply. What would be a good way to prevent the crack from spreading with out making a mess, maybe I use some silver to help seal it up after some type of glue ? I can see the crack but can't feel it with my finger, feels smooth as if it wasn't no crack there.
@@kevinsimmons7630 Failure is not an option friend. Its about saving old drums, not about how much work I have to do. Besides, I like working on them and thats what this channel is all about. Cheers, Bruce
Love your videos, Bruce. I like your idea of sanding to round over to reduce the OD. What about removing the bottom re ring first to get the whole drum closer to in round? That might be enough to push it over the edge. I assume if you reduce the edge OD, that you’d have to remove the wrap?
Hi Bruce, I enjoyed this video and have a few thoughts. Have you ever tried allthread? I have a Slingerland 3 ply, around 1957 that was out of round. Used the allthread through the lug holes with washers and nuts at multiple locations on the shell, sprayed the inside if the shell with water and kinda rubbed it in, not completely soaking it and let it dry for a few days. It popped the rerings a little and I glued it back with the allthread still in place. It got the drum in round enough to get regular heads on it. I can send some pictures if you're interested.
That is a great way to get a shell back in round Tony and I really appreciate your ideas...... BUT..... This shell was OVERSIZED and in this case it was basically in round after my soaking the rings out and clamping it back together, Regardless, it was still oversized, so what needed to happen was contouring the shell down to fit heads. Its either that or leave the drum the way it is and look at it. Nice to hear from you and your ideas are always welcome here friend. Like to hear more from you. Cheers, Bruce
Funny, I was going to ask about this. I have the exact same snare except cloud badge. I can get the bottom a head on top is tight closest is Aquarian vintage. But that still snug. doesn’t look like there’s separation so I couldn’t figure out why heads are tight.
Measure around the shell in several different spot and you will see that the drum is most likely out of round. Yours may be only slightly out, but you would still have to take the ring out and turn it a 1/4 turn before reinstalling it. Are you up for the task? Cheers, Bruce
Also, I don’t know if you experienced this either. I tried Remo classic fit and they were actually smaller. They’re supposed to be larger for drums like that. I did not have luck with that head.
The drum was oversized, heads would no go on. The rings were one thing, but had little to do with it being oversized. Problems solved now. Thanks, Bruce
@@Assimilator702 Yes Joe you are correct. The thing that some are missing is that the shell WAS too large for modern heads to fit over. Problem solved. Bruce
Hi Bruce. A good way to get a drum back in round is to work from the inside diameter. First, remove the entire re-ring (just like you did), then measure what the inside diameter should be without the re-ring. Next, cut a disc from a piece of hard wood (at least an inch thick) the exact size of what the inside diameter should be. Then apply glue on both the inner shell and the outside edge of the disc. Insert the disc to the inner shell which will force the drum back into round, clamp everything from the outside and let it dry. After everything has dried, measure how thick you want the new re-ring to be, draw a guideline for the inner edge, drill a hole, and then run a jigsaw along the guideline all the way around (or you can use a router). Sand the new re-ring and boom, you're done. No, you're not using the original re-ring - and I'm sure purists might have an issue with that - but you'll have a useable drum that's back in round. Russ
You undertake some very difficult repairs, where others would just give up. Great work and great videos. Always a pleasure watching you save vintage drums!!!
I tell you what people always made fun of me for using a butterknife for everything, but damn if they are not a handy tool lol! You can do almost anything with it! So seeing you use one a lot makes me feel better lol
Thanks for the info on this project. I have a 40s bass drum that needs some work. This was very helpful.
Glad you can use the information to get your project up and running. Cheers, Bruce
I vote for wrap removal and contouring the edge. Make it playable.
I think you are right friend, its just too oversized to do anything with and I want to use the drum, not look at it. Cheers, Bruce
Not sure if anyone mentioned this but, I wish you would have placed a standard 14" head and also an oversized 14" modern head designed for oversized/out of round shells (perhaps a Remo Classic Fit head) on the drum at the end of the video to see how they fit. Thanks for the very informative video - Great job.
Another option instead of squeezing the shell at the widest point to try getting it back into shape, you can sometimes put a piece of wood across the inside of the shell, forced in at the narrowest point, to push it outwards. Just leave it in place as you re-glue the rerings. You might just need to saw the piece in half to remove it after the glue has dried, if it won't come out past the rings! The big clamp on the outside can get in the way of the small clamps you are using to clamp the re-ring back on. A small cabinet scraper is good for removing the old glue, then a little curved bock of wood with some 120 grit sandpaper stuck to it with double sided tape. Another tip is you can use masking tape on the inside of the shell to catch most of the glue squeeze out, so there is less excess to clean off. Just make sure it's far enough down that you don't end up with masking tape glued in between the shell and re-ring!
Hi Bruce. Wow that is my snare. '48-'49. I have the whole kit. My nickel... That drum was round when it left the factory. They were turned in a lathe. Then the rings were added. Oversize probably. The heads were too. I was lucky to have Aquarian modern vintage heads fit mine when I took the calf ones off. This was 2001. Seems to me yours was stored with uneven tension. I would get it round, wet sand and buff to remove some of the yellow and sell it. I guarentee somebody needs that large oval badge beauty. And it's ORIGINAL! Cheers.
Hi Brian, thanks for chiming in. This shell is WAY oversize. I have owned over a hundred or more RKs in my life and this is the worst I have seen. There is no way you could just sand a bit and expect to get the heads on man. It measure over 14" at minimum all the way around. Look at my tape measure. I think the WMP is going to be removed and I will contour the shell so you can use any heads. Stay tuned. Bruce
@@vintagedrumrestorationgara91 I know it will turn out nice! These snares really sound so good.
@@brianchisnell1548 Yes they are great drums and I just cant let this one go to the scrap heap, even if I dont keep it which is most likely the case. Thanks Brian for the comments! Bruce
I keep waiting for your wife to walk in and say that’s where my butter knife went. I wondered about soaking rerings, now I know. You could use a ceiling mounted camera rig. Great job again. Would a remo fiber skin fit? I thought they had more forgiveness in size. I would egg shape it stain it.
Help Bruce out and like his videos! It’s the least you can do.
You are right of coarse Ron.... BUT...... This is a low tech, just the facts, let it run till it dies channel.. and there are enough slick and perfectly edited, no mistakes channels out there. This is a gritty, dirty and most of all low budget channel..... I will get better as time goes on though. Fibre skin? maybe, but I dont want to be stuck with one size fits all. Plus I am not that fond of the sound and feel of Fiberskins. But I do like your idea of a stain for this one... I may just do that. Thanks for the comment friend, all kidding aside. Cheers, Bruce
@@vintagedrumrestorationgara91 are you going to the Chicago drum show? I’m not about slick channels, more like real ones like yours. Can you place your email here I want to show you something but can’t seem to get emails to you?
@@ronvallejo7987 Sure its budsmusic@hotmail.com. No I never go to drum shows. Too expensive and the deals have dried up. I like watching the vids of them though. Seems like guys like to do more of a show and tell. I could be wrong though. Thanks, Bruce
I like the wood grain idea
I like it too Kimmy. I think that is the direction to go right now. I just am not a quitter and never give up. If I contour the shell and do a wood grain finish, I can save the drum. If not.... its a total loss and just a box of parts. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION> Thanks for the comment. Bruce
Thanks for the video Bruce! I'd love to see the contouring work with the wrap taken off so the drum can be used again. Would be interesting to see that process too. Thanks again.
That will be all in a vid by this weekend I would think. Just a little busy on some other things right now. Cheers friend, Bruce
I’d sand the top layer of the wrap, with progressive finer sand paper and the buff, that normally you can get rid of most of the yellowing.
There’s another method that Ive tried un rubber and plastics but never in drums. You put a thin layer of 40 volumen hair developer, wrap it with film and put the shell in the sun.
And try the remo classic fit, they are supposed to fit oversized drums
I've had good luck with both methods. Fine sanding as well as hydrogen peroxide.
Thanks for your comment Enrico. The shell is just too oversized even for classic fit heads. It was made when calf was the norm, so whatever you do to the wrap the heads still wont fit. Cheers, Bruce
I think only a drum maker would have the right machinery to clamp thatshell back to perfect round. Not imposible but long time out of your life. You have to fashion moulds remove wrap soak it more and clamp it in some kind of .mould like how they champ the body of classical guitar sides in a mould. Lots of work but possible. Might sound better with the wrap off or different anyway. Good luck with what you decide to do. Anythingis possible. Cheers
I like to try and keep original whatever possible, I usually just thoroughly clean and get everything functional,but that means I have quite few " mad max " looking drums. I like the road worn look if that's the life it's had.. .. I fully understand not everyone is into that though. I'd be anxious to see how you go about contouring it to get a head on it, but whatever you decide, count me in. I've learned a lot from the channel...Thank you.
Thanks friend! The next vid will be on how and why I go in the direction I go..... I am with you.... I like to leave them as they were, but this one is OVERSIZED to the max and needs to stay alive. Cheers, Bruce
I've used an old drumhead metal ring clamped on the outside alongside maple ring inside with glue. This relatively insures "in round".
Sounds like a good idea. Thanks friend. Bruce
Great stuff !
I got a cheap early 2001 Gretsch Catalina 14x18 bass drum online for 150.00 . problem is, it got a hairline crack about 3" long on the inside of the shell during shipping. It's only effects the top layer, removed hardware (spur) to check holes, and runs right up to the edge, so I can see it's in-fact only the top ply. What would be a good way to prevent the crack from spreading with out making a mess, maybe I use some silver to help seal it up after some type of glue ? I can see the crack but can't feel it with my finger, feels smooth as if it wasn't no crack there.
Good morning Bruce.
Good morning Kevin! What is your vote?
@@vintagedrumrestorationgara91 4th an long. Punt. Unless you want to invest a lot of time on a less than desirable drum.
@@kevinsimmons7630 Failure is not an option friend. Its about saving old drums, not about how much work I have to do. Besides, I like working on them and thats what this channel is all about. Cheers, Bruce
Have you tried the Remo classic fit drum heads? Maybe remo could make you some custom heads that would fit?
You need to watch the 3 parts of this series to see. Thanks
Love your videos, Bruce. I like your idea of sanding to round over to reduce the OD. What about removing the bottom re ring first to get the whole drum closer to in round? That might be enough to push it over the edge. I assume if you reduce the edge OD, that you’d have to remove the wrap?
Thanks so much Christopher... In my next vid I explain all of what you have touched on and more, so stayed tuned brother. Cheers, Bruce
Hi Bruce, I enjoyed this video and have a few thoughts. Have you ever tried allthread? I have a Slingerland 3 ply, around 1957 that was out of round. Used the allthread through the lug holes with washers and nuts at multiple locations on the shell, sprayed the inside if the shell with water and kinda rubbed it in, not completely soaking it and let it dry for a few days. It popped the rerings a little and I glued it back with the allthread still in place. It got the drum in round enough to get regular heads on it. I can send some pictures if you're interested.
That is a great way to get a shell back in round Tony and I really appreciate your ideas...... BUT..... This shell was OVERSIZED and in this case it was basically in round after my soaking the rings out and clamping it back together, Regardless, it was still oversized, so what needed to happen was contouring the shell down to fit heads. Its either that or leave the drum the way it is and look at it. Nice to hear from you and your ideas are always welcome here friend. Like to hear more from you. Cheers, Bruce
Funny, I was going to ask about this. I have the exact same snare except cloud badge. I can get the bottom a head on top is tight closest is Aquarian vintage. But that still snug. doesn’t look like there’s separation so I couldn’t figure out why heads are tight.
Measure around the shell in several different spot and you will see that the drum is most likely out of round. Yours may be only slightly out, but you would still have to take the ring out and turn it a 1/4 turn before reinstalling it. Are you up for the task? Cheers, Bruce
Also, I don’t know if you experienced this either. I tried Remo classic fit and they were actually smaller. They’re supposed to be larger for drums like that. I did not have luck with that head.
Is there any drum head that will fit on the slightly over shaped side?
No not when the shell is oversized by 1/4". Head has to fit the flange in the hoop as well. Think about it.
Hard call but what else could you do?
Look at it and wonder what I should do... no no just kidding. Its going to be stripped and contoured then wood finish. Thanks Russ!
Hey why not just say screw it and leave the rings out? Or is that just dumb lol?
The drum was oversized, heads would no go on. The rings were one thing, but had little to do with it being oversized. Problems solved now. Thanks, Bruce
Reinforcing rings are absolutely necessary with drums of this construction.
@@Assimilator702 Yes Joe you are correct. The thing that some are missing is that the shell WAS too large for modern heads to fit over. Problem solved. Bruce
make it a players drum!
then sell it to me haha!
Yep I agree Andy. Stay tuned. Bruce
Remove wrap and contour.
Thanks what I am going to do. Thanks man!