Hello fellow Forumites,

Here's another one restored and entered into the collection.

1940-41 5.5 x 14 Slingerland Sea Green (Pearl) Radio King Model

I purchased this drum at the 2010 Chicago Vintage Drum Show.

I've decided that this is a 1940-41 Radio King for two reasons. 1. The badge is the 1928-1941 Slingerland Cloud Badge...2. This drum has the 1941-1955 version of the Super Strainer (commonly called the Clamshell strainer) with the large shell bracket and screw-type snare attachment directly to the body. (I always welcome any further data so feel free to weigh-in on this). Special thanks goes to Rob Cook for the "1928-1941 Slingerland Brass Cloud Badge" reference on pg. 146 and the "Super Strainer (Clamshell)" reference on pg. 161 of his book: The Slingerland Book and to Dr. C. J. Wenk for his article, Part II: The "Clamshell" 1940-1962 that can be referenced at http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/ . The only discrepancy here is that Slingerland lists Sea Green in production from 1928-1938 (refer to Rob Cook's book: Drum Colors...1925-1995). So I guess the "left over Sea Green shell at the factory" theory will have to suffice at this time.

The shell:

The Sea Green wrap was in very good shape to begin with and there was a normal, uniform fade all around the shell. I was able to get a few layers of "roadage" off of the shell and the Sea Green came to life. The interior was in great shape and only needed a little lemon oil to clean up the solid birds eye maple. The 1928-1941 Cloud Badge was tight and clean.

The hardware:

All of the original hardware was there, in good shape and needed just a basic cleaning and polishing. I am not a fan of the "Clamshell" strainer and as a P-85 would have been a great modification, I chose to leave everything as is...that's supposed to be a joke. The little ball at the end of the extension lever was missing so I had to fake it. A trip to the local steel supply store produced a close reproduction and my machinist Abe Abello was able to attach the ball to the extension lever. The 20 strand wires were in great shape. A nice set of Slingerland Radio King top and bottom calf heads rounded out this restoration. This drum was an easy one to clean up and restore.

Enjoy!

Mike Curotto