RED-SPARKLE 1966 KENT STUDENT SNARE

I decided to try something a little different this time and purchased this drum: a 1966 red-sparkle Kent "student model" snare with single-tension lugs and single-flange hoops.  Most of the drums I have bought and restored in the past were vintage Japanese while Kent drums were made in Kenmore, New York.  I've never worked on any Kent drums before so I thought I'd try this one out.

When I first saw this drum I immediately thought, "Hmmm.  I wonder if I could clean that up?"  The grayness of the hardware indicated that the metal was made of nickel and not chrome.  I've cleaned up plenty of chrome in my time but didn't have much experience with nickel.

Pretty basic throw-off mechanism here.  From what I understand (and have read on the internet), this was the weakest point in the Kent drum-building business as these strainers tended to be the first things to break.  The seller claimed the drum was in "very good" condition and didn't mention anything about the strainer not working so.......

In this close-up (above) I got a better view of the "single tension" lug system.  Each lug is simply a small bollard that secures a single tension rod.  Each tension rod has two clips: one that holds the top hoop and one the t-rod screws into that holds the bottom hoop, "squeezing" the drum together.

And here are two extra bollards with threaded tighteners that are not being used.  A little research revealed that these "student model" snare drums provided these mounts to hold a thin post for a cymbal.  That, to me, was both interesting and challenging.  I would definitely have to track down a rod to mount a cymbal as was originally intended.  That would be cool.

Here is the drum after I have given it a "misplacedmtnman make-over."  All of the metal hardware has been cleaned and polished so it shines again except for a few bad spots along the inner rim which had deteriorated too badly.  A little filth and oxidation I can remedy, but if the degradation gets to the point of rusting there's not much I can do except replace the whole thing.  Since I was not sure I could find vintage single-flange hoops on Ebay and the damage is on the inside of the rim where it doesn't really show that much, I decided to just let it be.  It is always better to retain original parts if at all possible than to replace with new.

And here is the drum fully functional and ready to play in the school band again, equipped with a handy little "side cymbal."

This was a fun, easy project that turned out well.  I would definitely purchase more Kent drums if they weren't so exorbitantly priced on Ebay, but apparently they are rare and desirable among collectors which results in much higher asking prices.  For what I paid for this one I could have bought a nice Ludwig or Slingerland, and the quality of this drum is not any better than a cheap Japanese-made snare.