shoutingforha

6.05.2014

Restoring Vintage Drums - How To Silence Buzzing Lug Springs

While restoring a 1964 Slingerland drum kit I ran into a problem I had never experienced before… Buzzing lug springs. When we purchased the kit it had all of the original drum heads. Judging by the amount of filth on said drums, I feel certain that the heads had not been removed in several decades if ever.

The simple act of removing the tension rods caused the springs to start buzzing inside the lugs. Unfortunately, we didn't realized this problem until new heads had been installed/tuned and my boy started playing. The buzzing was horrible.

Once again, the fellas at Fork's offered a solution.

Begin by carefully removing the screws that hold the lug in place. You will want to do this one lug at a time. Be especially careful not to mixup the top and bottom screws as they are self threading and will only go back into their original location.

Here is the inside of the lug and the pesky little spring that was making so much noise.

The easiest way to stop the buzzing is to use felt. The felt should be cut into squares that are the same length as the spring and wide enough to encircle it entirely.

My best tidbit of advice is this: Cut enough squares of felt to wrap all of the springs on one side of the drum before you get started. Once you have used up all of the felt squares you will know that it is time to flip the drum over and repeat the process on the other side of the drum.

In my experience it is easy to lose count and before you know it you are removing lugs that have already been wrapped. It doesn't seem like a big deal but old drum hardware can be temperamental, especially when it hasn't been removed in fifty years. You don't want to accidentally sheer off a screw and end up having to replace an entire lug.

Wrap each spring in felt as shown in the picture above.

Then place the spring back into the lug with the felt seam-side-down. This will ensure that the felt will never unwrap itself from the spring no matter how hard your kid pounds on his drums.

Finally, reattach the lug to the drum, again making sure that you put the screws back into the proper location. Repeat until you have wrapped every spring in felt.

5.29.2014

Restoring Vintage Drums - Removing Excessive Rust From Tension Rods and Washers

I hope you enjoyed last week's post on the basics of restoring vintage drums. As promised, today I am going to share Sam Bacco's secret for removing excessive rust from tension rods and washers. Here goes...

This pile of tension rods and washers were removed from the same 1964 Slingerland kit that you saw in the previous post. Pretty rusty, eh?

Despite a good scrubbing with the #0000 steel wool, much of the rust remained. I knew it was time to give Sam's tried and true trick a try. Here's what you need...

A large can of WD-40 and an old, clean jar. Squirt a sizable amount of the WD-40 into the jar and toss in all of the rusty tension rods and washers. Allow them to soak for a few days. You will want to shake the jar every so often to stir things up.

Some of the pieces were so rusty that I decided to let them hang out in the jar for an entire week.

Remove the rods and washers from the jar, give them a quick wash in a little soapy water (dish soap works great for this application) and then dry them thoroughly. Then give them a good scrubbing with the #0000 steel wool.

You will be amazed by the results. As you can see, the once rust-covered tension rods and washers look almost as good as new.

Check back next week to see one final tip for restoring vintage drums: How to silence the buzzing from lug springs.

5.22.2014

Restoring Vintage Drums - The Basics

One of the many benefits of living in Nashville is the abundance of used music gear. The hubby and I love a good bargain and have been able to pick up a couple of cool vintage drum kits on the cheap. There is only one drawback… Drums that have been stashed in an attic or garage for fifty years aren't always in the best shape.

Ask any Nashville drummer and they will tell you that the place to go for drum restoration is Fork's Drum Closet. Not only is Sam Bacco a world-class percussionist, his drum restorations are unparalleled. Unfortunately, the price of Mr. Bacco's restorations is not in the Ha family budget, but he and the wonderful guys at Fork's have been kind enough to give us a few pointers. Today, I would like to pass these tricks along to you.

The kit we will be working on is a 1964 Slingerland with gorgeous mahogany shells. Let's get started…

Step one is to remove the lugs, washers, metal rims, wood hoops and drum heads. I like to work on one drum at a time so I don't accidentally mix up any parts.

If you are lucky enough to find a vintage kit with the original drum heads, don't throw them away. The heads can be washed with a soft cloth and soapy water and either placed back on the drums or stored in a safe place. Remember that drums with all their original parts are more valuable.

Drum shells with wood veneer like this Slingerland kit should be wiped down with a damp cloth to remove any grime and then polished with a gentle furniture polish. Shells with a lacquer finish can be cleaned with a soft cloth and soapy water. Just try to avoid wetting the inside of the drum.

Once the shells have been cleaned it is time to tackle the chrome hardware. Here's what you will need: #0000 steel wool, rubber gloves and toothpicks. Do not use anything other than #0000 steel wool or you will risk damaging the hardware.

Despite being wiped down, you can see that this lug is still covered in grime and a few tiny spots of rust.

Make sure you lay a cloth or old towel underneath the drum before getting started. The steel wool will splinter as you work and, not only is it messy, the shavings can potentially harm your work surface.

After putting on a trusty pair of rubber gloves, tear off a small piece of steel wool and use it to polish the chrome. The steel wool is soft enough to avoid scratching the chrome finish while still removing the rust and grime from any crevices. Use a soft cloth to gently brush off any steel wool shavings.

A word of caution… Try to avoid rubbing the shells with the steel wool as it will scratch the finish.

Check out the finished lug. I am always amazed by how some steel wool and a little elbow grease can restore the chrome hardware's shine.

While you are working you may find that some of the nooks and crevices are simply too small to be polished using your fingers alone. In those instances, I like to use a toothpick with a little steel wool wrapped around the end.

I chose the picture above specifically so that you can see what happens when you fail to remove rust from drum hardware. The rust has caused the chrome plating to flake off of this tom mount. There are two ways to handle this problem: Have the piece replated or remove every trace of the rust and use a dab of 3-In-One Oil to prevent further rusting.

Take a look at that shine! As you can see in the picture above, the slight pitting caused by the rust is still slightly visible under the bright lights. It is best to avoid allowing rust to form on the hardware in the first place.

Now for the easy part… polishing the rims. Make sure you give both sides of the rims a good rubdown with the steel wool and then wipe off any dust/shavings with a soft cloth.

Good as new!

The last and most tedious part of the restoration process is cleaning the tension rods, washers and bass drum claws. In my experience, these are the pieces that usually have the most rust. My advice is to take your time.

As you can see, the slight pitting remains but the shine has been restored.

Remember, when restoring a vintage kit, it may not be possible to return everything to it's original state. This bass drum tension rod lost a portion of it's chrome plating due to rust. The goal is to restore the shine and prevent further damage.

A little time and elbow grease is all it takes to restore a vintage drum kit to it's former glory. As you can see, it is well worth the effort.

Check back next week to learn Sam Bacco's secret for removing excessive rust from tension rods and washers.

12.27.2013

The Quiet Book - Made For An Elmo Loving Little Girl

I have been busy the past few weeks making another quiet book. This one was for my adorable niece Charlotte, a.k.a. Chachie. How cute is that?!

This time I decided to replace the usual grommets with a simple whip-stitched hole. I find that the grommets are difficult to install and they are quite costly.

I stitched the pages together and then used a good old-fashioned paper punch to make the holes. I was surprised by how easily the paper punch handled the two plies of felt.

I used embroidery floss and a whip stitch to reinforce the holes. I really like how it looks and am thinking of ditching the grommets permanently. What do you think?

This quiet book has all the standard pages.

This was the first time that I used matching buttons for all of the train wheels. I think it makes them pop.

The barn is one of my favorite pages.

I found some cute new animal fabrics to use inside the barn. I especially like the horses and the squirrel with the acorn.

I tried to use girly colors throughout the book. I found the belt at my local Goodwill for $0.99. Score!

One of Chachie's greatest loves is Elmo. She likes to watch Elmo on television, talks about him constantly and even dressed up like the furry red monster for Halloween. I decided to create an Elmo page specifically for Chachie's book.

Elmo's nose, mouth and the letters E-L-M-O are attached with velcro. Hopefully Chachie will enjoy making Elmo's expression change from happy to sad.

I tucked a picture of the cutie inside the tent just like in my other books.

All of the removable pieces are attached to the book with velcro. I always make sure that I put the soft side of the velcro on the pieces and the rough side on the pages.

I decided to forgo the use of grommets on the shoe as well. I think that the reinforced holes will be just as sturdy.

I really hope that Chachie enjoys her Quiet Book. I have a feeling that it will come in handy when her new baby sister makes an appearance in May.

Here's a supply list for those who are interested:

11 white felt sheets
4 red felt sheets
5 pale blue felt sheets
2 lime green felt sheets
1 lavender felt sheet
1 orange felt sheet
2 yellow felt sheets
1 black felt sheet
2 navy blue felt sheets
1 pale pink felt sheet
1 medium pink felt sheet
1 bright pink felt sheet
1 bright blue felt sheet
1 cream felt sheet
1 bright purple felt sheet
1 dark purple felt sheet
1 turquoise felt sheet
1 gray felt sheet
1 dark green felt sheet
1 army green felt sheet
misc. scraps of animal print fabric
4 1/2 feet of ribbon in a complimentary color
1 pkg. soft velcro
11 buttons
1 shoe lace
1 belt
3 snaps
1 short zipper
thread in a variety of colors
white and black embroidery floss
fabric paint in a variety of colors

To check out the other Quiet Books I've made click here.

*** Feel free to use my design to make a quiet book for someone that you love. That said, I request that you refrain from using my design to create products for sale. Thanks!

6.26.2013

How to Clear Up A Dog's Ear Infection Without Medication

I've talked about our loveable mutt, Brick, quite a bit here on the old blog. One thing I haven't told you is that the beast's ears are prone to growing that smelly, black funk that is associated with doggie ear infections.

Our veterinarian isn't sure why Brick's ears are so susceptible to yeast infections. Most likely it's a combination of an unknown allergy (one that can only be diagnosed with high-dollar blood tests) and the likelihood that one of the dogs in his mysterious gene pool had some wacky ears.

During Brick's early years, I would drag the poor dog into the vet's office every time his ears became gunky. The solution was always the same - an expensive and ridiculously tiny bottle of Mometamax. Unfortunately the drops never worked and it would usually take two or three treatments to kill the infection once and for all.

At one point, the infection was so severe that the insides of poor Brick's ears had become red and raw. It was obvious that my poor dog was in pain. In an effort to ease his suffering I decided to try and clean some of the black gunk from his ears.

I armed myself with three things... A bottle of witch hazel, some Q-tips and a few wet wipes. Witch hazel seemed like a good choice because I knew it wouldn't sting Brick's sores and it's anti-inflamitory properties certainly wouldn't hurt.

I poured a little witch hazel into a dish and placed the ends of a small handful of Q-tips in to soak. I began by taking one of the wet wipes and tried to gently wipe away some of the goop inside Brick's ears.

Next, I tackled the maze of nooks and crannies that make up my dog's outer ear canal. Dogs have some crazy ears! Using one of the witch hazel soaked Q-tips I would gently clean each crevice, being careful to get a clean swab any time one became visibly dirty.

It was tedious work but I was surprised by how quickly the skin changed from an angry red to a healthy pink color just by removing the gunk. Once Brick's ears were sufficiently cleaned, I used another wet wipe to give his ears one last wipe. I repeated this process daily until any sores or signs of redness were completely gone.

To my surprise, Brick seemed to enjoy having his ears cleaned and the infection didn't come back within a few days like it did with the medication. In fact, his ears stayed healthy and yeast-free for several months.

I use witch hazel to clean Brick's ears on a as-needed basis. The telltale sign that some ear funk might be brewing is a sudden increase in scratching. As soon as I notice that back paw clawing away at an ear I know it's time to break out my tried and true home remedy.

If your dog suffers with occasional or even severe ear infections, I hope you will give witch hazel a try. It might just be the solution you've been looking for.

~~~~~

I am not a veterinarian and I make no promises or guarantees that this treatment will work on your pet. I am simply sharing something that has helped my dog in the hopes that it might help yours as well.

~~~~~

This post is part of Works For Me Wednesday over at We Are THAT Family. Pop by for some more handy tips.

6.13.2013

How To Coax Peonies Into Opening Once They've Been Cut

Peonies are one of my favorite flowers. I have several bushes dotting the flower beds around my house and I look forward to their fragrant blooms every spring. The only thing I don't like is all the ants. Peonies are ant magnets.

Peonies release a sap-like substance on their buds. You can see the little bubbles in the picture above. As I understand it, the ants eat the sap which allows the buds to open up. Without the ants, the peony buds would remain glued shut so to speak.

I love having fresh flowers in my house so as soon as the blooms begin to appear I race outside, scissors in hand, and harvest flowers to enjoy indoors. There isn't a lilac, hydrangea or peony that is safe from my shears.

In an effort to avoid the legion of ants that call my bushes home, I tend to cut my peonies a little on the early side. The result is usually a vase full of buds and very few open blooms.

Never fear, dear readers. There is an easy solution for this problem. I gently wipe the sap-like substance off of the buds using a damp paper towel or cloth. The process only takes a few minutes and will need to be repeated every day until the flowers begin to open.

It only takes a day or two for the once tightly sealed buds to begin to open. Best of all, I didn't have to worry about those pesky ants infesting my house.

If you love peonies but are prone to bouts of impatience like me, give this little trick a try. Your home will be filled with their glorious aroma quicker than you can say, "Pesky ants love peonies!"