BLUE AGATE "MINI-SNARE"

Here is an interesting little project I picked up most recently.  Though it is hard to tell, this is a snare drum whose shell measures only 10 inches across and 3-1/2 inches deep.  As are most of my acquisitions lately, this is a vintage Japanese drum.  But this particular piece is quite unique in that it must have been part of a "Junior" drum kit.  I've never seen anything like it before.

Despite being a "kid-sized" drum, all the parts are consistent with other 14" Japanese snares that I have gutted and restored.  The shell is luan and the hardware is cheap chrome.  It should clean up and perform like the other snares I have worked on.

Here's the most interesting feature: See that round knob in the photo above?  That doesn't control a muffler assembly, that actually raises and lowers the internal snare wires.  It's easier to just show you a photo of the assembly than try and describe it:

Is that not wicked cool?  Notice how clean the drum is on the inside.  It might not be so vintage after all.

Anyway, this will be my next project.  I'll post the results here in the near future.

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****PROJECT UPDATE****

Okay!  Here's what the snare looks like now.  Click on the photos to get a better view:

Pretty sweet, and the drum sounds really cool as well.  Isn't Percussion Restoration fun and exciting?  I kinda like it.