Cooper’s
Vintage Drums
LEEDY
LUGS
Prior to
1923, most drum companies (Ludwig & Ludwig, Leedy
and Slingerland) used “tube” lugs on their snare drums
and bass drums. These lugs all looked pretty much the same, making it difficult
to differentiate one company’s drum from that of another at first glance.
Around
1923, the Leedy Drum Company changed that with the
introduction of the first non-tubular design. This new design was an important
one in that it solved the problem of thread damage by the inclusion of a swivel
insert. This allowed some free movement of the threaded insert eliminating the
tendency to strip. This photo shows the first version of this lug.
Around
1925, it was modified with the addition of two more mounting screws. These lugs
were used on snare drums only.
Photos by Dave Zima
A very
simple lug was used for a while on early Leedy tom
toms. Here is a photo of a tom lug from around 1930. Also pictured is a Leedy bass drum with long tubular lugs. Note the bass drum
tension rods and claws.
In 1929,
the Leedy Drum Company was sold to the C.G. Conn
Company and a true innovation in lug design was introduced that year. Known as
the “X” lug or “Box” lug, this new tension casing was attached to the drum
shell from inside the drum with two screws. Here is an example of an early
1930’s Leedy lug made of cast aluminum. There were at
least two or more versions of this lug that I know of and they varied in size
and design. The earlier versions had small screws that held the inserts in
place. Eventually, an internal copper spring was added in order to allow even
more flexibility and eliminated the need for these screws.
1929-1933
1934-1938
1930’s Leedy
snare drum with “X” lugs
1929 First generation Leedy
lug (Note the small set screws)
The first version of the Leedy “springless” lug was
slightly longer than later versions. Below is a photo of the “X” lug with the
addition of the internal spring from 1934. Note the lack of screws.
A few more examples of Leedy X
lugs
The Leedy “X” lug was used on all top of the line snare drums
from 1929 until 1938. The following year, the so called “beaver tail” lug was
introduced. This was a solid metal lug and was offered in two sizes. The
smaller version was used on snare drums and small tom toms, while the larger lug
was used for bass drums and larger diameter tom toms. A backing plate was often
used with the small beaver tail lugs. A special lug was used for single tension
bass drums. It had a “half moon” or half circle shape
and allowed a long rod to pass through (not pictured). Beaver tail lugs were
used from 1939 until about 1969*. For more on the Leedy
drums of the 1960’s please see the Slingerland
History section of this web site.
1940’s Leedy beaver tail lugs
and backing plate
Here is an example of the tension rod
and claw that was used with beaver tail bass drum lugs:
In 1941,
World War Two broke out and drum production was drastically reduced. Because of
U.S. Government restrictions on metal usage, all drum companies offered their
own special drums composed of 90% wooden parts.
World
War Two era Leedy “Dreadnought” with wooden lugs
Unknown Source
During
WWII (probably late 1944) and immediately after, a very simple metal lug was
used on certain snare drum models. This was a “skeleton” lug that used very
little steel and was called the “Airline” tension casing. However, this lug was
used prior to WWII as well. I have no Leedy catalog
“evidence” that it was used before or during the war but these “Airline”
(Ludwig & Ludwig name*) lugs were
shown in the 1940 Ludwig & Ludwig catalog on single headed tom toms and
timbales.
1946 LEEDY CATALOG AND “SELF ALIGNING” LUGS
*Ludwig & Ludwig timbales and tom toms featuring the
Airline lug (1940-41 catalogs)
In the
late 1940’s, Leedy drums were built using the same
components as the pre-war drums. The beaver tail lug was still being used.
1940’s Leedy snare drum with
beaver tail lugs
*In 1950, the Leedy Drum Company was
merged with the Ludwig & Ludwig Company to form The Leedy
& Ludwig Drum Company. With the exception of their “Knob Tension” line of
drums, the Leedy & Ludwig drums that were
manufactured were mainly combinations of Ludwig and Leedy
shells and parts. This merged company ceased to exist in 1954 and the Leedy name was sold to the Slingerland
Drum Company. The William F. Ludwig Drum Company purchased the Ludwig name. The
Leedy name continued under Slingerland
from 1956 until around 1969 at which time, the entire line was dropped. These
drums were really just a mixture of Slingerland and Leedy drum shells and parts with the Leedy
name on the badge. The new Leedy drums also featured
the old Leedy beaver tail lugs. Leedy snare drums
received either a late 1940’s Leedy Broadway Standard
strainer, a Slingerland “three point strainer” (#967) or a Slingerland Rapid strainer, depending on the model. The
snare drum center mounted lugs however, were of a distinctive design made
exclusively for these Leedy snare drums. For more on Leedy & Ludwig, see the “Ludwig Lugs” and “Ludwig Strainers”
sections.
Slingerland-owned Leedy
beaver tail bass drum lug circa 1964
1960’s Leedy Shelly Mann model
featuring unique center lugs.
CLICK ON THE LINKS TO CONTINUE WITH THE VINTAGE DRUM
GUIDE…
CONTENTS:
LUGS
STRAINERS
DRUM FINISHES
MISCELLANEOUS