Hey, the stain didn't emphasize the split ply...that's reassuring. In fact, it's hard to tell that there is a different ply on the bottom, unless you told me, I probably wouldn't see it. Nice 3-plys, looks great! I'm going even darker with my stain.

Thanks,

If you were next to the drum you would see it - I may throw up another better photo here or on a seperate thread.

The floor tom is actually a 6ply....yes! hard to believe but it's true....a factory 1947 6ply. I sent good closeup photos to a couple of Gretsch experts and both concluded that the drum is a factory 6ply. Gretsch was experimenting with plys in the 40's and into the late 50's. It could be a prototype or a special order or just a one-off while experimenting. I did post a thread here on the subject.

What stain are you doing by the way and how are you applying it?

Gary very cool stain color! I like it very much great job.

Thanks.

I've always liked the Gretsch Burnt Orange finish. I laid my hands on a Burnt Orange swatch and took it into a local paint retailer along with a small piece of Rock (Sugar) Maple from a builder supply. They matched the stain from the swatch, minus the Gloss coat of course. It does take some patience to apply the stain and not have start and finish lines all over the place. I found the best applicator to be a lint-free polishing cloth and apply very little stain with each coat....let dry to just beyond tacky. I also found that it's good to rub the shell a little (to get any non-smooth particals off) with a lint-free polishing cloth before applying each coat. Worked for me..........it was trial and error........lots of error haha.