Hey!

I've been semi-active on this forum for quite some time, and it's been really helpful with advice and information in the past. I posted a while back about a 50's Premier I'm halfway through restoring, and that's at the stage where I'm about to wrap it. When I finally get it done I'll post some pictures and you can all quietly judge my work!

In the meantime, I picked something up off ebay which is a bit of a head scratcher, and wondered if anyone knew of any more information about it. There's also some restoration work that needs doing to it which you can't see in the pictures. 

There really isn't much I can tell you that the pictures don't show. It's 13.5 by 6.5 (ish)", I believe it to be beech shelled, and although I can't see the layers it's 4mm thick. The lugs are I think nickel plated brass or copper. The dampener looks suspiciously like a 40's premier but nothing on it comes off any other drum I've seen of any period. The other pictures I've seen of it online look more modern than that but considering everything else on the drum I suspect it to be 30's or 40's at the latest, though this would be a guess. 

There is some restoration work to be done, namely around the snare strainer plate. The shell has bowed inwards and cracked along the grain where too much pressure has been applied, and the strainer is currently non functional. 

I have a few ideas on how to reinforce/repair the area, and I suspect I may need to use a plate to prevent more damage, although any advice on this would be appreciated. 

Any information or catalogues on John Grey snares which might give me an idea on how to date this, or give me some more detailed pictures of the strainer so I can repair it, would be much appreciated. 

As you can see it's incredibly dirty, but other than the slight crack near the strainer it's in excellent condition. The finish is wonderful and just needs a clean; I don't think it's a veneer. 

It's a bit of a long shot but you never know!