Ludwig Thermogloss Jazzette Project

[Lee Van Kief]

I've been down and out with an illness this week and decided to finally spend some time on a project I've been dreading: applying veneer to a 60's Ludwig 14x14 tom.

Before you yell: I bought this one as a complete (bad) rewrap in oyster blue and figured that I could get it close to matching the rest of the aged lacquer kit. It looks like they even managed to pull the original wrap out of the scarf joint, so that made my work easier! I was able to end up with a tight butt joint at the seam and I'll sand it to blend a bit better. Feeling accomplished!

Now for the worst part: applying finish.

 

[Redfern]

Excellent work! That kit is going to be so beautiful when finished. Looks great already.
Looking forward to seeing it completed.

Edit: I had to come back and look at it again…now I think I NEED a kit just like this one. The Ludwig lugs have finally grown on me. And the tone on tone natural woods are calling my name. Oh man…

 

[DrFrankCoco]

It will be well worth it.

 

[rikkrebs]

oh wow!

This will look amazing when finished .

 

[Lee Van Kief]

Edit: I had to come back and look at it again…now I think I NEED a kit just like this one. The Ludwig lugs have finally grown on me. And the tone on tone natural woods are calling my name. Oh man…

It'll cost ya! Joe from wood and weather has his personal kit up for sale right now on Reverb. When I initially sought out a matching 14, Gary Astridge offered me a truly beat up example, same year and on my birthdate.....for $2200.

 

[Redfern]

It'll cost ya! Joe from wood and weather has his personal kit up for sale right now on Reverb. When I initially sought out a matching 14, Gary Astridge offered me a truly beat up example, same year and on my birthdate.....for $2200.

Yeah, not surprised. 14’s are the money maker!

 

[rwm5]

Sorry you’ve been sick and sorry you’ve been dreading this. I’ve been selfishly looking forward to seeing this set completed. Looking good so far, wishing you the best of luck.

 

[Houndog]

I’m not sorry , eat some cheese and get to it !!!!!!!!!

 

[Lee Van Kief]

Sorry you’ve been sick and sorry you’ve been dreading this. I’ve been selfishly looking forward to seeing this set completed. Looking good so far, wishing you the best of luck.

Thank you! I should say I was excited, but it was nerve wracking to apply the veneer on a rare drum. I guess it just took getting sick to numb my brain enough to get on with it.

Progress should be coming along shortly as I test out nitro lacquers to match the finish. The idea in using the lacquer is being able to artificially age it using some guitar-relic techniques. I should be able to match the light checking using canned air and a heat gun.

 

[olmanbenny]

Super interesting. I’m eager to see the results!

 

[Ludwigboy]

No yelling from this corner ... I understand that you are making something better than it currently was.....I have no issues with that; I give you credit in tackling the veneer application...good luck with the process!
Looking are the responding posts, I may be asking a stupid question but why so much for the thermogloss 14"...I understand 14" Ludwig floor toms are uncommon and yes, my experience with 14" floor toms are original oyster black pearl wrapped ones which are pricey but are the Thermogloss extremely rare? I appreciate being educated on this....

 

[el_37]

No yelling from this corner ... I understand that you are making something better than it currently was.....I have no issues with that; I give you credit in tackling the veneer application...good luck with the process!
Looking are the responding posts, I may be asking a stupid question but why so much for the thermogloss 14"...I understand 14" Ludwig floor toms are uncommon and yes, my experience with 14" floor toms are original oyster black pearl wrapped ones which are pricey but are the Thermogloss extremely rare? I appreciate being educated on this....

Any drum in Thermogloss is extremely rare. You see more Psychedelic Red, and Orange Mod than Thermogloss.

 

[Ludwigboy]

Any drum in Thermogloss is extremely rare. You see more Psychedelic Red, and Orange Mod than Thermogloss.

Thanks for the information..... and I can bet a Jazzette in Thermogloss would be rarer than say, a Super Classic, Downbeat or Hollywood model...

 

[olmanbenny]

Any drum in Thermogloss is extremely rare. You see more Psychedelic Red, and Orange Mod than Thermogloss.

How much more rare do you think Thermogloss Jazzete kits are than the mahogany finish Jazzettes?

 

[el_37]

How much more rare do you think Thermogloss Jazzete kits are than the mahogany finish Jazzettes?

The Mahogany Jazzetes are Thermogloss as far as I know- Thermogloss is just the fancy name Ludwig came up with for the hot lacquer system they and others used.

You could order Natural Maple, Natural Mahogany and Walnut in Thermogloss.

But most people mean Natural Maple when they say Thermogloss.

 

[Lee Van Kief]

How much more rare do you think Thermogloss Jazzete kits are than the mahogany finish Jazzettes?

I would expect there are more mahogany out there due to exposure from Roy:

 

[wflkurt]

Great project and I am excited to see the results. Hope you are feeling better.

 

[K.O.]

A maple thermogloss Jazzette is one of my dream outfits. Now you have me thinking about having Bernie Stone whip me up 12/14/18 shells in maple/poplar/maple and build one from scratch. Besides the shells, buying all the hardware would add up mighty quick though, and I'm not sure I'm up to replicating the lacquer finish.

 

[Drdrumdude3009]

Thank you! I should say I was excited, but it was nerve wracking to apply the veneer on a rare drum. I guess it just took getting sick to numb my brain enough to get on with it.

Progress should be coming along shortly as I test out nitro lacquers to match the finish. The idea in using the lacquer is being able to artificially age it using some guitar-relic techniques. I should be able to match the light checking using canned air and a heat gun.

I would recommend sharp razors over canned air. You can get much more accurate results and less sporadic checking. You could paint a board or two to test different techniques. This is a cool project and I can’t wait to see the results!

 

[Lee Van Kief]

I would recommend sharp razors over canned air. You can get much more accurate results and less sporadic checking. You could paint a board or two to test different techniques. This is a cool project and I can’t wait to see the results!

That's a good idea! The checking on the other drums is with the grain, so it would be nice to control it, although more time-consuming I'm sure. I've gone through a couple test boards where the lacquer tint was nowhere close (neck amber and butterscotch from Ohio valley nitro.) Waiting on a couple more options from Stewmac right now.