EVEN MORE JAP PROJECTS...

This is the U.S. Mercury snare drum that I worked on last weekend.  I know, it seems silly that a snare drum made in Japan should bear the name "U.S. Mercury," but all these vintage imports were made to resemble American-made drums, so they all had very American-sounding nomenclature (such as Stewart, Star and Pearl).

Very near completion, the project came to a screaming halt when one of the lugs snapped on me!  This was a new experience, as I had never dealt with a problem of this nature before.  After an extensive search on Ebay I located a set of replacement lugs and ordered them.  They are not an exact match by any means, but I was more concerned with finding the correct size than I was the same style.  I liked the modern, sleek look of these "Bread Box" lugs.

Here are the AFTER photos:

My next project was this unique 16-inch Marching Tom.  This drum carries the "Ideal" logo (another MIJ brand).  At 12 inches deep, I thought this drum might make an interesting, unconventional floor tom.  At any rate, here is the BEFORE photo:

And now for the AFTER photo.  It is difficult to tell, but I actually shined up the blue sparkle wrap, which glitters beautifully now in the proper light.  I also removed the marching harness loop, though I did keep it handy in case I decide to participate in a parade sometime in the near or distant future.  I'll have to track down a marching harness though.  Who knows?

As always, I don't have to mention that these drums sound awesome once they are cleaned up and restored.....but I will.  These drums sound awesome once they are cleaned up and restored.  And as always, if you click on the photos you can enjoy an enlarged view.

Well, that's it for this weekend.  Bye-bye for now!