A few weeks ago I got a call for a gig. Now, I have to admit a secret. All the years I’ve been an NYC-based drummer I have NEVER owned a drum kit… I DO own hardware and some cymbals. To play this gig, I need a very basic setup. I needed a snare [drum], hi-hat cymbals, and a bass drum. So far I’m one for three, had the hi-hat already. With a tight budget to work with, less than $50, it was off to Craigslist to find a suitable snare drum.
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Searching for an item on Craigslist is easy. I wanted to be first to know when someone posted a snare drum. I made and saved a search query with an email alert for “snare.” I wanted only uploads posted that day with pictures and in my immediate town (see image). Pretty easy. I ultimately get an email that I see on my phone. First person to contact a seller and pick up wins.
Snare Drum Refurbish Process
Now, taking any drum and cleaning it is a stressful task. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin what I had bought, even though it was only $17. So to set my mind at ease with how to clean certain parts I decided to do a little vintage drum cleaning research. After reading a few forums, with inspiring refurbish jobs, I decided to get going.
- I began the process by detaching everything from the Snare drum with a cordless drill. Once apart I vacuumed all the crevasses, to displace any nesting bugs or skeletal remains of bugs. [TIME: 20 minutes]
- Filling a bucket with white vinegar; soak the following parts for a temporal period to remove rust, oxidation & dust.
Metal shell
Hoops
Tension rods
Internal Lug screws
Lug springs
Strainers and washers. [TIME 8 Hours] - After roughly eight hours in vinegar, clean parts with Bar Keeper’s Friend cleanser & polish powder. Scrubbing with a sponge (green top) and a toothbrush (to clean small parts). [TIME: 30 minutes]
- Layout hardware and let dry completely.
- Once laid out and dried, saturate parts in WD-40 (rust preventive and moisture remover) for a few minutes then leave to dry.
- Reorient the snare whilst spraying WD-40 into internal lug screws & tension rod holes.
- Wipe excess WD-40 with a “clean” (old washed T-shirt) rag and let dry.
- Apply “new” heads, bought off Amazon (used) and snare wires and BOOM! Brand new (old) snare drum.
Was this post helpful to you? Have you done a drum cleaning or refurbish recently? Comment below with a link so others can get inspired!