Bearing edges bearing edges bearing edges. That, and there's NO WAY that drum is worth that kind of money.

John. I'll answer it this way, yes it can easily be done, as long as the person performing the job is competent, but now the bad side, it looks like the bearing edge is a double 45 degree bearing edge, if you want to ruin the sound of a good vintage drum that's a great way to do it, I'm not saying the double 45 degree edge is a bad thing on new drums it is fantastic, I have one with them I love it but the drum Does not sound vintage in anyway, but this edge does not sound good on old ones, that bearing edge that was originally on the drum has a lot of wood and head contact, that's where that old school sound comes from, with you in the Uk, the repercussions may not be as dire but here in the states it would adversely affect the resale value! I hope this is an answer.

It was worth more as a marching drum. Now that is has been messed with, it's worth virtually nothing. A real "Frankenstein" drum if you ask me.....stay clear. Your money would be better spent elsewhere.

Thanks for both of your comments. Good info.

I'm not interested in the particular drum on eBay, just the cutting technique itself. I'm slowly in the process of replicating Ringo's third kit and am giving some thought to trying to obtain a 14x14" floor tom shell that I could then have converted into a 14x6.5" snare shell.

Ideally, if I could locate an original BOP tom shell that has damage on the upper or lower ends, I'm thinking that would make a great candidate to cut down.

To do this, I'm assuming that if the tom were the type that has the lugs at the top and bottom, as opposed to in the middle like a Club Date, then trimming 6.5 inches out of the center should render a shell with no holes in it other than possibly the badge hole or floor mounts. (Feel free to correct me if you believe that assumption is wrong.)

Once the snare shell is complete, then I'd transfer over the hardware from an early '60s BDP snare that I have and carefully store the original shell for the future.

Again, thanks for all you thoughts and input.

John

I'd hate to see a 14x14 floor tom cut up, regardless of condition....they are becoming quite rare in the regular classic configuration....club-dates are more common, but still hate to see an old shell cut up.....

If you're gonna do it.....do it like this guy did. Sacrifice a marching snare.....

Thanks for your last post. The only way I'd think about cutting a floor tom is if the top or bottom were heavily damaged.

My 2 cents:

There are still LOTS of really good and original drums out there.

I do a little bit of woodworking and I know it would involve a substantial amount of work and tools to do the job well enough to make the drum look right and (possibly) sound right. At the end of the day, it would involve more money than if you'd just waited and bought a ready-to-go drum in original condition.

Ludwig built the drums (lots of them) back in the day and they knew what they were doing. No need to fix what ain't broke! ;) Car Driving2