Well drums are bad now...spent all day today trying to get the drums off. it seems like its stuck somehow. Beat it with a hammer, did the screw thing and it won't "slide" off.

So, I was wondering if would just be easier to take off the whole assembly and get another instead of trying to get that damn thing open.

 

There is an adjustment screw that you need to release, i dont know if that's the "screw thing" you're talking about. there should be a small port in the back (sometimes in the front) of the drum, you can take a flat head and just turn that until the shoes are completely released from the drum. Then the drum should fall right out.