some ludwig questions!

BRich · Newbie Alert Joined: 10 Oct 2006 Posts: 1

I have a few questions:

I've got a chance to pick up a pre-serial number ludwig keystone kit from a pawn shop for $300 and I want to know a little more about it before I go for it. Here are the details:

TWO 12x8 rack toms w/ sliding plate tom mounts (not the rod mounts that 60's luddys normally have)
14x14 floor tom
20x14 kick drum with single-post tom mount in the middle
no snare drum.

All of the drums are pre-serial except for the floor tom, which is a 1965 drum. The whole kit is split lug, i.e. NOT clubdate/bow-tie lugs.

None of the drums have visible date stamps. the toms are all missing bottom hoops and the bass drum is missing the front wood hoop. All of the shells appear to be 3-ply with top and bottom re-rings. The drums are mostly round, with a very slight variation on the kick and floor tom of about 1/4" in diameter. I believe normal heads will still fit and tune up fine.

Some idiot painted the insides with cheap black paint, but it flakes off easily and would clean off in a heartbeat. All of the hardware seems fine with no serious rust or pitting but a lot of random gunk that I'm sure can be cleaned off with any chrome polish. All of the lugs are there on all of the drums except on the toms, the previous owner somehow removed all of the threaded receivers from the lugs, meaning it'd have to be a single-headed kit or I'd have to buy NOS lugs to fit them, which wouldn't be too bad because they are standard ludwig split-lugs with the lines going up them.

Are these four drums worth $300? I could probably talk him down to at least $225-250, so I'll do that either way. but I need to know if I can clean them up (hardware, insides of shells) and possibly add some hardware for a playable or resellable kit. Anything anyone knows about these drums would be very helpful!

Second question:

My boss has an old ludwig concert bass drum that's in great condition and I want to know some more about it. It is 28 or 30" x 12 or 14" in size, has a natural mohogany lacquer finish and maple hoops. The tuning is one sided (tune both heads from one side) with long T-rods and very small round lugs in the middle of the drum to hold the tension rod in place. it says "ludwig and ludwig, chicago, IL" around each little round lug, but unfortunately the oval badge is missing (you can see where it was). Anyone know when this was made and what it's worth? Apparently he also has a matching snare but I haven't seen it. Thanks!

ludwigvondrumcrazy · Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 12:33 am Post subject:

First off B, welcome to DrumDogs!

The answers you seek are almost impossible to give without at least some photo's and those may not even help.....................

I recondition vintage drums, primarily Ludwig's and while I have yet to do a pre-serial number kit some things remain the same across the board. No matter what you think about a drum, or kit, that opinion will more than likely change after you get all the parts stripped out, which is the only way to properly clean off decades of crud. Sometimes your opinion will change for the better, sometimes for the worse................

Here's a shot taken a few minutes ago of the floor tom & bass from the kit I have been working on for the last couple of weeks, which I'll have in the bag in a couple of days. It's a '65 Downbeat, 14 x 20", 8 x 12", 14 x 14" floor tom with a matching Downbeat snare (4 x 14) which someone picked up a couple years after the kit as it dates to 1967............................

Here's a couple shots showing the Downbeat snare after I cleaned it, which, like the kit, was filthy when I picked it up so you see what can be done, within reason, to bring an old kit back to life. How much work - and money - you have to put into it all depends on what you have to work with..................

I really liked cleaning the Pioneer throw-off, it's little................

One thing I would recommend is to take some heads to where ever the kit is and see how they fit as eyeballing something like this doesn't work too well. This is especially important if the drums have spent any amount of time without front heads.......................

You mentioned the lugs, be aware that while Ludwig Lug's look similar they may be different. To date I have come across at least 5 varieations of the small classic lugs and 4 on the large classic's. My guess is that if the kit you are looking at has the original lugs they may be nickle as opposed to chrome.......................

The main thing to look for on a vintage kit is extra holes in the shells as well as the possibility of out of round shells, which I already mentioned......

Without more information that's about all I can do to answer your questions, sorry.................... Crying or Very sad

LVDC
_________________
There can be an awful fine line between a rut & a groove............

bytor · Admin Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 5248 Location: Kansas

Wow, beautiful work, LVDC. Smile

ludwigvondrumcrazy · Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 8:14 am Post subject:

Thanks bytor, it takes a little patience when going thru all the steps to end up with decent results...............

Here's the 8 x 12 tom parts, with the exception of the springs & lug screws, receiving one of their two coats of wax.................

Bytor, since I know you have a Leedy snare here's a couple of shots taken when doing one a couple of months ago, which dated to the first half of the 1930's. This is all the parts from that snare with the exception of one half of the throw-off.................

If you look closely at the throw-off (centre - foreground) you will see it has four bolt holes for mounting it to the shell. Leedy supposedly used the "four bolt" from right around 1930 to '35, which helped dial the date in.......

From all - well most - of those parts above came eight of these lugs. The springs are as I found them when I opened these lugs, which are over 70 years old. The condition, in this case, isn't due to how the drum was stored over the years, even though that does have a bearing, but to how the drum was made in the first place. This Leedy really impressed the heck out of me, QUALITY! Please keep in mind that this drum was manufactured when Leedy was still Leedy, meaning before Slingerland took over the name..................

LVDC
_________________
There can be an awful fine line between a rut & a groove............

bytor · Admin Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 5248 Location: Kansas

Great pics, LVDC! Yep, those Leedy parts definitely look like high quality materials. They're in unbelievable condition for their age. I love the lug design.

You remembered that I have a Leedy snare, huh? Good memory. It's a Leedy & Ludwig, made in June, 1954. Here's pics (I love showing it off Wink

):

I haven't played it in several months, but you've inspired me to remedy that situation soon. Cool

ludwigvondrumcrazy · Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 1:27 pm Post subject:

bytor · Admin Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 5248 Location: Kansas

Boomer_Brown · Newbie Alert Joined: 09 May 2007 Posts: 4

Great looking Luddys and Leedys, guys.

edgewood_drummer92 · Bear Joined: 16 Feb 2007 Posts: 673

ludwigvondrumcrazy · Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 11:11 pm Post subject:

ludwigvondrumcrazy · Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 11:25 pm Post subject: 1965 Downbeat Redux

Here are a couple more shots of the Downbeat after it was dressed........

I had taken this Kit on for a friend who was prepping it for resale and it turned out so good that I made him an offer ending up adding to my "pile."
When I first brought it home last fall I told my wife that if it turns out as good as I think it will that I might try getting it and her response at that time while standing there looking at it was "We don't need anymore drums." The day I was doing the final dress a few weeks after bringing it home she was sitting there watching so I took the opportunity to once again mention that I was going to make an offer, her response after seeing it cleaned was "It's red, I like red, it looks like Dorothy's Ruby Slippers in the Wizard of Oz." Bless her little heart.......................

LVDC
_________________
There can be an awful fine line between a rut & a groove............

bytor · Admin Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 5248 Location: Kansas

That is positively gorgeous. Your wife is right about the slippers. Dead on. Smile

You certainly do awesome work, LVDC.

edgewood_drummer92 · Bear Joined: 16 Feb 2007 Posts: 673

ludwigvondrumcrazy · Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 2:30 pm Post subject:

edgewood_drummer92 · Bear Joined: 16 Feb 2007 Posts: 673

lol np did you use it for the chrome too, or just the shell?
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