Rogers swivo-era floor tom/bass drum conversion

[drumgadget]

Hello all -

Not really sure if this belongs in the Builder's Workshop as opposed to the Vintage Venue, but thought I'd start here.

I own a Rogers swivo-era 18x16" floor tom that was re-purposed by a previous owner; it is really a pretty decent sounding bop bass drum now (in one of my practice kits), with wooden hoops and proper heads. The four floor tom leg mounts are all useful: the "bottom" two are spur mounts (shortened and flame-bent hex rod), the top two hold cymbal arms. Someone added a swivo rack tom arm collet to the left rear of the drum top. It all works .....

Now the question: the original black Nitron wrap is getting pretty knackered ..... scratches, gouges, and puckers. I'd like to re-wrap the drum (blue sparkle, to match a 12x8 and a 14x14 (!) that I have). And since the wrap has to come off ....... gets me to thinking about cutting the drum down to 14". Please feel free to say so if you think this would be sacrilege! I'm aware that the Rogers shell has reinforceing rings; seems to me that the only options would be 1) cutting 2" off the front (reso head) side and redoing the re-ring; or 2) cutting a 2" section out of the center of the shell and re-joining front and back halves with some sort of scarf joint. This latter would have the advantage of leaving all the hardware in place - there is just enough room in the middle to allow a 2" section to be removed.

I'm a metal guy (machinist, I mean ..... !), not a woodworker, so I'm on shaky ground here ...... does any of this sound doable? I can live with the drum as an 18x16", but would love to have the smaller size and (I think) better sound of the 14" deep drum. Wouldn't even be considering it except for the fact of stripping the shell for the re-finishing ....... and I certainly won't do it AFTER re-wrapping!

Thoughts?

Mike

 

[kdsdwc]

Hey Mike , being a Rogers guy myself , it is a sacrilege ! But it is your drum . If you must cut it down , cut it off one end . Trying to glue two pieces back together at the middle is SUICIDE , as far as I am concerned , and it would be a major PITA .
Cut the 2" off one end and then cut the shell OFF THE RE-RING . I do this with 14" concert toms and turn them into Dynas . The re-ring will have to be re-installed after you sand the re-ring to fit into the drum and then the bearing edges would have to be re-cut .
Hope this helps in your decision .

 

[drumgadget]

>kdsdwc -

Thanks for the info, man ...... I am definitely a "Rogers guy", in that I still have and use regularly my 20-12-16 Black Nitron Dayton kit purchased new in '65 to replace my stolen Slingys (out of the back room at the club) ...... I was in a hurry and luckily chose well! Those Rogers were much better drums, and have been my "only" drums through many a style and venue over the years.

But that converted floor - a different story. Pretty cheap eBay score, and damned useful one at that since it matched my toms. I just thought that since it was already a conversion needing re-finishing, the question was worth asking. I'm pretty sure I'll leave it alone rather than cut off one end, since that will necessitate plugging a lot of holes and re-drilling them. I noticed the gap between the hardware pieces was just right to "section" the shell, and since there are such things as bass drums that break in half with latches for nesting kits ...... well, maybe ...... ! The shell seems to be in perfect round. Funnily enough, I used to own a real Rogers (Fullerton) 18x16" floor tom when I bought more drums to augment my basic kit. I never could get that tom to sound right ........ !

Mike

 

[DanC]

Precision Drum can remove the 2" from the center of the shell and rejoin the halves with no trouble.




.

 

[skydawg]

Cut the circumference of the shell 1/2 an inch from the inner edge of the re ring(opposite the bearing edge).Only cut the depth of the shell,DON`T CUT THE RE RING.Now you have the re ring with bearing edge intact,with a 1/2 inch of exposed re ring to fit into the cut-down shell.Glue together.When rewrapped,you have no evidence of a cut from inside or outside,and original bearing edges intact.

 

[rhythmace]

Since the drum needs new wrap anyway, I think you are actually upgrading the drum by making it an 18" X 14" and rewrapping. Take pics of the process. Ace

 

[ARGuy]

Cut the circumference of the shell 1/2 an inch from the inner edge of the re ring(opposite the bearing edge).Only cut the depth of the shell,DON`T CUT THE RE RING.Now you have the re ring with bearing edge intact,with a 1/2 inch of exposed re ring to fit into the cut-down shell.Glue together.When rewrapped,you have no evidence of a cut from inside or outside,and original bearing edges intact.

It took me a bit to visualize this, but that seems like a great idea. Have you done this yourself?

 

[skydawg]

I have a friend who uses this technique to make 5x14 Dynas from 12x14 marching Dynas.Cuts the snare re ring the same way,then shortens the shell from each side to keep the vent hole/badge centered.The existing inboard lug screw holes are usable for the single Dyna lugs with a bit of elongation.BTW,he doesn`t try to pass these off as original 5"Dynas.

 

[drumgadget]

> skydawg -

That is a neat idea! Only thing I wonder about is how the re-ring breaks loose from the inside surface of the shell in that inner 1/2" after the shallow cut is performed. Wouldn't that still be tightly glued together?

M.

 

[skydawg]

A sharp chisel makes quick work of the plies.Remember to align the snare bed to the strainer before gluing,lol.