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Originally posted by atkinsx

I've just got hold of some Premier Elite shells which are in a right state. Looking to rebuild them as best I can, do a rewrap and basically make a nice player's kit out of them. The upshot is that to finish the kit, I need literally everything bar the shells and the bass drum hoops. I'm planning on buying a few things a month and finishing the kit within a year. I've done jungle kit conversions and rewraps before, but nothing so potentially time-consuming as this!

A few questions, any help would be much appreciated:

- If I buy vintage Elite lugs, will I need to buy the older slot-headed tuning bolts to fit them? I'd like to avoid this, and with that in mind, can I swap out the threaded inserts for ones which will take square-headed bolts?
For originality, get the slot-head bolts if you can. But otherwise 'standard' modern square-head bolts will screw right in, the thread's the same.

- I'm slightly apprehensive about the oval tom mount, as I heard they can crack. Given as this will never be a museum piece, is there any harm in re-drilling the bass drum for one which will take a round tom post like the ones on my Projector and Genista? I don't want to commit sacriledge!
They can crack yes, but if the one you have on it now is not cracked, then leave it be IMO and don't drill any unnecessary holes.

- Where do you chaps get your spares from? Ebay looks like a good bet, but are there any other suppliers of note?
eBay, Baskey Vintage, Andy Bronson. Bronson, ev-entz, Baskey are all on eBay anyway but worth contacting them directly as not everything they have will be listed on eBay. I've bought parts from Lou at Supreme also, I know Lou is no longer with us, but think Supreme may still be trading?

- I've got the badges that came off the drums with the wrap. They're in a state, but I'd like to put them back on the finished kit, as a nod to its heritage. How would I go about reinstalling them? Presumably I need some kind of grommet installation device?
If they were removed carefully by drilling the grommet from the inside of the shell, then they can be re-used. I use put them back in using a little superglue inside the hole, and a wee skim of silicon on the back of the badge. I've never had one fall off yet. As for installing new grommets, you'd probably need a tool I guess, and obviously the correct size of grommets, but I've no experience with installing new ones myself, sorry.

Hoping some of you can offer some advice. Cheers!

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Originally posted by Captain Bubble

I think all the slot rods were Imperial and all the later square ones were metric. When did Premier change to all metric? Was it initially just on a few products like the 35 snare, or was it across the whole range?

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