have a 1940 Radio King, which I believe may have been the Ray McKinley model? It was the first to have the clamshell strainer. I bought the drum without a strainer, and someone had painted it, so I had to strip it and refinish. Fortunately, it was a beautiful birdseye maple shell. I made a "Presto Plate" system, attached a TDR system to the plates and then attached the plates to the drum using the original holes. It is s nice drum.
Since clamshell strainers are next to impossible to get these days, and it seems no one is making repros of them, AND the drum has been devalued by the painting/stripping/refinishing - here is my question:
WHAT WOULD YOU DO:
1. Leave it alone and wait for a clamshell strainer to come along
2. Make the "Presto Plates" more atractive and leave it alone
3. Take the plates off and simple mount the TDR strainer and butt (which means drilling new holes)
4. Use a three point strainer and Slingerland gates to make it more authentic to the time period.
5. Other?
Any and all opinions are welcomed.