Monday, April 15, 2024

Drumslinger redux?

I reached out to Bill at Drumslinger Percussion, and asked about the possibility of replacing the bottom platform of my Marcher Series pad, which I’d gotten secondhand and then dropped, causing damage.

I tried to stabilize the bottom platform, which was deformed, to keep it from collapsing further. But the malformed bottom platform now cannot really be tensioned properly. 

Bill responded to my query by suggesting that I send him the entire pad and he’d determine what needed replacing. He didn’t say what it would cost. I suggested that since I know how to disassemble and reassemble the pad, I could just send him the bottom platform and he could create a replacement platform, to save weight, postage and money.

After a little more back and forth over the following couple of days, Bill sent me this explanation as to why he’d prefer that I send him the whole pad:

So I heard back from Bill. Here’s what he told me about my sending only the base plate — 

“Hey Beth, the only problem with that way of doing it is that I center punch and drill the baseplate to match the individual rim ear hole alignment, which can vary from rim to rim, especially with triple flanged and stick saver rims, which are hand bent, welded, rolled for flanges, and press stamped and punched for ear holes. Die cast rims are more evenly spaced, but vary by brand. So, each rim stays matched with its baseplate throughout each build. Even the 12 o'clock position orientation is marked on those components, so they align perfectly for assembly.”

We agreed upon the cost of refurbishment and his offer was incredibly reasonable. I’m sending him the entire pad. He’s currently making new baseplates and will set one aside for my pad. I told him to paint it any color he likes, throw it in at the end of a paint run to save time. Figure t could be cool to show that this s a refurbished pad.

After several family and health challenges on his end, I’m glad to know he’s up and running again and can deliver pads in a more timely manner. It will be interesting to see what comes back.

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