Vintage corner: the best leg rest ever made

When I marched in my high school band in the fall of 1977, I was first introduced to this leg rest when I was assigned to carry a single tenor drum. The drum came outfitted with a pair of hard felt beaters, a cotton webbed sling, and a leg rest which allowed you to carry the drum more comfortably. The best part of the design was that included a heavy elstic band so you could strap the leg rest to your thigh for a more stable connection while you marched with the drum.

I learned to quickly love this leg rest. When the section leader tried to take it off my tenor so he could have it on his snare drum, I quickly moved to put the drum on so he couldn't take it. He had to settle for the narrower -- and less comfortable -- bolt-on leg rest that didn't come with a strap.
Fearing that he might try and swap them between rehearsals, I took to removing the leg rest and hiding it in my locker, reattaching it before each rehearsal. He stopped paying attention to me and "my" leg rest when the cymbal player began flirting with him.

I kept that leg rest in my locker for three years, until I was promoted to tritoms my senior ywear and didn't need it anymore.

Since then I've tried to find another like it. They've very occasionally turned up on eBay for more money than I could afford -- until last week I came into a couple of them through a drum corps alum network on Facebook. I need to find a heavy elastic band and some rectangular rings to complete it, but between the two I purchased I was able to build up a very fine, usable leg rest for my new-to-me 15-inch snare drum.

I found the original patent from 1961 online. Curiously, the original patent expired around the time I began high school. Likely because the first mass-produced rigid harnesses ("vests") were just coming into use by then, the patent was not renewed. But it's still a great design, and remains the most comfortable leg rest ever.

As I said, these are harder to find, perhaps because their years of production were more limited than the standard bolt-on design that can still be bought new today.

But the designer knew what he wanted, and he figure out how to make it more comfortable by expanding the platform that sat against the thigh, and using spring steel to allow for easy attachment and removal.

One note: if you find one of these today, you may discover (as I did) that the thigh cup is a little narrow. (I fit me perfect when I was fourteen!)
It's a simple fix to place one side wrapped in shop rags in a bench vise and gently pull the other side wider, a little at a time so you don't crack the metal. Keep trying it on until it fits. (If your legs are too wide for this one, get the other kind instead, as it tends to fit winder legs.)

As soon as I find the heavy elastic band I'm looking for, I'll set this up on my Ludwig and start walking around with it.
I can't wait. It' going to be basically perfect for the kind of drumming I want to do.