Sorry forgot wanted to ask one more thing. Ply construction by era/year. And when was the switch from rail mount to post mount? Thanks any help would be great.

Any info greatly appreciated. Anybody know anything?

Hi Keithfox,

here's what I've learned on this great forum.

Camco has 3 eras by location and owner.

Oaklawn - 1961-71 - 4 ply & 6 ply Jasper shell. The 6 ply shell came into effect somewhere in the mid 60's. (picture 2)

Chanute - 1971-73 - 6 ply Jasper Shell

L.A. - 1973-78 - 6 ply Keller Shell. Thin 6 ply shells and very undersized. (picture 3)

The switch from rail to post mount would have occurred somewhere mid 1960's I believe. Camco used 2 types of COB hoops in the 1960's. The earlier sets have the tall boy hoops, the later ones look more like regular sized.

Check out the pictures of my mid 60's Oaklawn set. The 13" and 16" are tall boy, the 12" hoops are also COB but later.

I wouldn't know if the Clear finishes would be worth more than sparkles. People tend to associate Camco with the Natural finishes so could be. From my experience, the value depend more on the size of the drums. 20", 14", 12" Oaklawns are more sought after and sell for more than for example a 22", 16", 13".

I can add a little bit.

I think 1977 would have been the last year of production for the L.A. era. The rail mount was still an option through the Chanute years. And like Dolfan/Steve has said before, the rarest sizes for the Oaklawn years would be the kits with 24s and 26s, then the 18" followed by the 20s and 22s bringing up the rear. Camco and George Way kits as a whole are extremely rare, and the best sounding wood drums I have ever heard or played. I would guess there are less than 100 kits that survived, worldwide.

Great, thanks. Really helpful info. Less than 100 complete Camco kits? Thanks everyody.

Stedi, that kit looks awesome. Looks mint. I really want a camco now.

Those bearing edges are works of art!

I'm probably going to get slapped, but I'm not too crazy about the round lugs. :( Just my opinion, but they look too bulky and interrupt the flow of the shell. Were these the only style used by Camco?

Would certain parts of the US have a higher concentration of Camco drums?

-Tim

That's one beautiful set of Camco's....

I am not sure about the Oaklawns but we have seen a large number of the L.A. era kits coming from the west coast. IMHO the George Way designed lugs are one of the most appealing parts of a Camco kit. The lugs look naturally balanced like he used the Fibonacci Sequence in his design. They're like a work of art to me in their simplicity, mirroring the shape of the drum shells themselves. Sorta like icing on the cake, they just exude elegance.

The natural finishes during the earlier Oaklawn period were not as common as the wraps but that changed towards the end of the 1960s. The vast majority of Camco kits I've had were lacquered finishes - I've got one mid-period and one late Oaklawn both like that.

I'd guess the whole late Summer Of Love "back to the garden" vibe from 67 on had its influence in this more "natural" look from Camco (as well as the other manufacturers) - that and the cover of Cosmo's Factory.

Lacquered Oaklawn (and probably Chanute) era drums had clear lacquered insides. Wrapped shells had white painted insides. LA period drums all had clear insides, the lacquer being so thin as to be almost non-existent.

Bearing edges on the LAs significantly different (i.e. sharper) from the earlier badges.

I'm not sure I'd agree on the 100 kits worldwide (unless I misread and we're talking only Geo. Way)....I've got three Camco kits, have had another three and I've never lived in the US.

It looks like there was no export until the LA era though.

There doesn't seem to have been any methodical numbering of drums, except for the occasional pencil written letter on some LA drums, and much of the information floating around about Camco is anecdotal from people who worked at the factories or older dealers...downside of this is one piece of inaccurate information can be spread as gospel.

The "budget" line had centre-mounted Tuxedo lugs...these were of a more conventional bullet-shape for anyone phobic about the perfect symmetry of a circle.