One Bands Trash, Another Drummers Treasure

[Cosh]

I have recently been offering drum services locally, from recutting bearing edges, wrapping drums and even full blown restorations. Not too long ago I was in talks with a Pipe & Drum band that wanted to get some of their drums redone but couldn't afford most of the services, I agreed to head down to their storage unit to let them know what I could do for them and which drums should have priority over others.

When I got to their storage room I asked about some cases that were covered in dust and their reply was "we're not going to worry about those drums because they are older and can't compete with todays newer snare or tenor drums. Since I was curious I opened up the cases and to my surprise behold some older Ludwigs.
I offered taking the drums off their hands in exchange of some of the work and they were more than happy.

I always admired Levon Helm and his beautiful wood grain drum kit, and you know the exact one i'm talking about... the drum set he used when The Band recorded "The Weight" on The Last Waltz.

Looks like I will be slowly working at building my own version of that gorgeous kit over the next little while so I thought I would create a post incase anyone wanted to follow the projects progress.

I will be using my 26" WFL bass drum or the Premier bass drum seen below until I get my hands on an older single tension kick like Levon used.

Id love any sort of feedback or photos of your own Levon tributes as I go along.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

-Cosh

 

[69OysterBlue]

Looks like a great restoration project - vintage three ply shells with mahogany outer wraps should finish up beautifully.

Looking forward to pictures of the finished product.

 

[Cosh]

A few more steps along the way...
(sorry about the sideways photos, only happened on the upload)

 

[Cosh]

Coming along nicely, left some "age" on the hoops so they would keep its older vibe.

 

[El Larry]

Those drums are looking fantastic, nice work!!!

 

[Cosh]

Those drums are looking fantastic, nice work!!!

Thanks El Larry!

 

[mlayton]

Great job so far. Really liking these!

Mike

 

[Ron_M]

Looking good!

 

[Cosh]

Thanks Everyone, I wasn't sure how the staining was going to come out but I was happy with the outcome so far which means I will have a couple extra 15" drums and one 14" I will be putting up for trade soon.
Might not be worth it for many people here (shipping from Eastern Canada) but we will see when the time comes.

 

[FloydZKing]

There is a 9x13 Ludwig in that line too. I think it was called Cadet. Hard to find but they're out there.

 

[D. B. Cooper]

What's the drum you've got legs on now?

 

[Cosh]

What's the drum you've got legs on now?

Its a early 60's Ludwig 15x12.

 

[Cosh]

Heres a little bit better of a photo before I tuned them up and gave them a go.
I ended up giving them a little more bearing edge work and I am so glad I did... they sing!

 

[EvEnStEvEn]

Having done a similar project back in 1981 I can certainly appreciate the amount of work involved.
They came out fantastic, cosh, nice job! Those old mahogany shells really are something special.

 

[Cosh]

Having done a similar project back in 1981 I can certainly appreciate the amount of work involved.
They came out fantastic, cosh, nice job! Those old mahogany shells really are something special.

LUDSrockfactory.jpg

Thanks EvenSteven!
it was a labour of love for sure!

 

[High on Stress]

Very cool project! They look great.

 

[D. B. Cooper]

Nice! Post pics of them all set up when you can! Would love to see em under lights!

 

[funkypoodle]

Fantastic! work, Cosh! I grew up playing snare in pipe & drum bands in Nova Scotia, Mostly Antigonish and The Gaelic College Pipe Band. We were playing Premier by that time , so who knows what older Ludwig s might have been kicking around in cases....I should ask me sister if they have a stash like this hidden somewhere with Fredericton Pipe & Drums!

BTW, I checked out Andre Pettipas and The Giants. Good solid rock!

 

[Cosh]

Fantastic! work, Cosh! I grew up playing snare in pipe & drum bands in Nova Scotia, Mostly Antigonish and The Gaelic College Pipe Band. We were playing Premier by that time , so who knows what older Ludwig s might have been kicking around in cases....I should ask me sister if they have a stash like this hidden somewhere with Fredericton Pipe & Drums!

BTW, I checked out Andre Pettipas and The Giants. Good solid rock!

Thanks for the kind words on the band, the group is actually from Antigonish County.
The drums I picked up for this project were actually from a pipe and drum band in Pictou, NS

 

[Skyrm]

Gorgeous - nice work!!