Hi!
Normally, I am a lurker here, so I thought I would post my little project as a contribution :)
A few months ago, I found a snare drum being thrown away (together with a drum set and a few cymbals). I saved all I could carry, and the snare was one of those things. It was an old Hy-Lo snare drum (one of those old Japanese stencil drums), and it had the original snares, bottom head, hoops, snare butt, and a damaged strainer. Got it home and cleaned it up, slapped new heads on it, and jammed a screw into the strainer so that it would operate, and I had myself a nice little snare!
It was a playable snare. I couldn't turn off the snares, but other than that, it was pretty serviceable. Eventually, when a couple of lugs snapped, I started fixing it up a little. First, I replaced all the lugs with those black beavertail lugs (Slingerland, I believe?) That was less than $20, so yay!! Next was the strainer. A drums store nearby was clearing out their drum inventory, so I snagged a Gibraltar strainer for about $18. Definitely not OEM, but it also didn't have a bolt making it operational... And thus she was done.
However, one thing that always bugged me was the wrap. It was....well.... hideous. I mean, I could use all kinds of colorful descriptions, but I'll let you see it (now that it isn't on the drum). Surprised it was kinda see through!
Hy-Lo Snare drum rebuild! by Juan, on Flickr
Sorry, never got any before pics of the drum...
A few days ago, I decided to do something about it. After reading all the stories on here on how people modified and restored their drums, I felt inspired to do something to this one lol. My biggest worry was the removal of the wrap. Since it is an old stencil drum, I thought the wood underneath would be terrible. And if it wasn't, the glue that held the wrap to the drum would surely damage it. Once I undid the wrap (which required a little snapping at the seam), it just fell away! The only thing holding it to the shell was the air vent. Removed that with some pliers, and it all came off. So, success!!!!
First thing I did was sand the shell a bit. I don't mind a little texture, but this was a little rougher than I hoped. So, I started with 150 grit sandpaper, then 200, and finished with 600. The top layer was perfectly smooth, but you still had some of the grooves from the wood (cheap pine? No clue.)
Hy-Lo Snare drum rebuild! by Juan, on Flickr
So, smooth as it was, it needed some color. I decided to go with some stain from Lowe's. Since it is a small drum, I just got one of those small sample cans ($5). The color was a walnut type color. Painting it was extremely easy, and probably the last easy thing about the build.
Hy-Lo Snare drum rebuild! by Juan, on Flickr
Once the stain dried up, it got sanded a bit more and once again perfectly smooth. Then came the clear coat. I had some DEFT (I think that is the name) in the house, and decided to use it. Great gloss, and went on pretty well. The biggest issue, however, was humidity. It was taking entirely too long for the coats to dry out. According to the can, I could have put on a coat every two hours, but it was more like every day. After about 5 coats, I give up (no end in sight for the humidity). Gave the coat a little polish with 1500 sandpaper, and all was good!
Eventually, started putting it back together. Hoops got polished and cleaned as much as possible, but some of the spots where the chrome had oxidized couldn't be saved :( Put everything back on there, and tuner her up.
Hy-Lo Snare drum rebuild! by Juan, on Flickr
The good:
--Weight. One thing that REALLY stood out while working on her is her weight, or lack thereof. I guess the shell is rather thin (probably why it has re-rings?). With it being a 6 lug snare, it has less weight on the shell, too. It is easily the lightest snare I own.
--Tuning. I wish my other snares tuned this easily. Despite it using snare wires from the 70's (or whenever it was from), they sound very good and have that vintage sound to them.
--It's pretty! Well, at least I think so...
The bad:
--Tuning. The side effect of the 6 lugs and such a thin shell--I don't dare crank it up, lest I might break something. Tension at the lugs is as high as I can safely take it, but the tuning on the drum is on the medium scale. Which I do like (I have HORRIBLE luck tuning medium on my drums...).
--The badge. This is rather OCD of me, but I like having the "Evans" logo and the badge line up. If I do this on the drum, the strainer is literally on my right knee, which makes playing a pain in the butt. Had to make a sacrifice in that department...
The ugly:
That damn badge!!! Ahem. Just as I was putting it all together and tightening the last rod, I noticed I hadn't put the thing back on!!!! Ended up just popping in there with the vent grommet. The metal is bent enough so that it is somewhat flush with the shell, but it isn't actually affixed to the wood. I might used a couple of bolts later to secure it to the shell.
Overall, I can't really complain about the drum or the project. I learned a good bit about drum work, woodworking, not swearing around the kids, and having some patience when doing things like this. The only thing that I would not mind doing to her last is getting some black 6 lug rims; I think it would go well with both the finish and the lugs.
Here are a few more pics of the little drum that could ;)
Hy-Lo Snare drum rebuild! by Juan, on Flickr
Hy-Lo Snare drum rebuild! by Juan, on Flickr
Hy-Lo Snare drum rebuild! by Juan, on Flickr
Audio of the drum coming soon!
Cheap snare refurb!
Normally, I am a lurker here, so I thought I would post my little project as a contribution :)
A few months ago, I found a snare drum being thrown away (together with a drum set and a few cymbals). I saved all I could carry, and the snare was one of those things. It was an old Hy-Lo snare drum (one of those old Japanese stencil drums), and it had the original snares, bottom head, hoops, snare butt, and a damaged strainer. Got it home and cleaned it up, slapped new heads on it, and jammed a screw into the strainer so that it would operate, and I had myself a nice little snare!
It was a playable snare. I couldn't turn off the snares, but other than that, it was pretty serviceable. Eventually, when a couple of lugs snapped, I started fixing it up a little. First, I replaced all the lugs with those black beavertail lugs (Slingerland, I believe?) That was less than $20, so yay!! Next was the strainer. A drums store nearby was clearing out their drum inventory, so I snagged a Gibraltar strainer for about $18. Definitely not OEM, but it also didn't have a bolt making it operational... And thus she was done.
However, one thing that always bugged me was the wrap. It was....well.... hideous. I mean, I could use all kinds of colorful descriptions, but I'll let you see it (now that it isn't on the drum). Surprised it was kinda see through!
Hy-Lo Snare drum rebuild! by Juan, on FlickrSorry, never got any before pics of the drum...
A few days ago, I decided to do something about it. After reading all the stories on here on how people modified and restored their drums, I felt inspired to do something to this one lol. My biggest worry was the removal of the wrap. Since it is an old stencil drum, I thought the wood underneath would be terrible. And if it wasn't, the glue that held the wrap to the drum would surely damage it. Once I undid the wrap (which required a little snapping at the seam), it just fell away! The only thing holding it to the shell was the air vent. Removed that with some pliers, and it all came off. So, success!!!!
First thing I did was sand the shell a bit. I don't mind a little texture, but this was a little rougher than I hoped. So, I started with 150 grit sandpaper, then 200, and finished with 600. The top layer was perfectly smooth, but you still had some of the grooves from the wood (cheap pine? No clue.)
Hy-Lo Snare drum rebuild! by Juan, on FlickrSo, smooth as it was, it needed some color. I decided to go with some stain from Lowe's. Since it is a small drum, I just got one of those small sample cans ($5). The color was a walnut type color. Painting it was extremely easy, and probably the last easy thing about the build.
Hy-Lo Snare drum rebuild! by Juan, on FlickrOnce the stain dried up, it got sanded a bit more and once again perfectly smooth. Then came the clear coat. I had some DEFT (I think that is the name) in the house, and decided to use it. Great gloss, and went on pretty well. The biggest issue, however, was humidity. It was taking entirely too long for the coats to dry out. According to the can, I could have put on a coat every two hours, but it was more like every day. After about 5 coats, I give up (no end in sight for the humidity). Gave the coat a little polish with 1500 sandpaper, and all was good!
Eventually, started putting it back together. Hoops got polished and cleaned as much as possible, but some of the spots where the chrome had oxidized couldn't be saved :( Put everything back on there, and tuner her up.
Hy-Lo Snare drum rebuild! by Juan, on FlickrThe good:
--Weight. One thing that REALLY stood out while working on her is her weight, or lack thereof. I guess the shell is rather thin (probably why it has re-rings?). With it being a 6 lug snare, it has less weight on the shell, too. It is easily the lightest snare I own.
--Tuning. I wish my other snares tuned this easily. Despite it using snare wires from the 70's (or whenever it was from), they sound very good and have that vintage sound to them.
--It's pretty! Well, at least I think so...
The bad:
--Tuning. The side effect of the 6 lugs and such a thin shell--I don't dare crank it up, lest I might break something. Tension at the lugs is as high as I can safely take it, but the tuning on the drum is on the medium scale. Which I do like (I have HORRIBLE luck tuning medium on my drums...).
--The badge. This is rather OCD of me, but I like having the "Evans" logo and the badge line up. If I do this on the drum, the strainer is literally on my right knee, which makes playing a pain in the butt. Had to make a sacrifice in that department...
The ugly:
That damn badge!!! Ahem. Just as I was putting it all together and tightening the last rod, I noticed I hadn't put the thing back on!!!! Ended up just popping in there with the vent grommet. The metal is bent enough so that it is somewhat flush with the shell, but it isn't actually affixed to the wood. I might used a couple of bolts later to secure it to the shell.
Overall, I can't really complain about the drum or the project. I learned a good bit about drum work, woodworking, not swearing around the kids, and having some patience when doing things like this. The only thing that I would not mind doing to her last is getting some black 6 lug rims; I think it would go well with both the finish and the lugs.
Here are a few more pics of the little drum that could ;)
Hy-Lo Snare drum rebuild! by Juan, on FlickrHy-Lo Snare drum rebuild! by Juan, on FlickrHy-Lo Snare drum rebuild! by Juan, on FlickrAudio of the drum coming soon!
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