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Version 2.0 | Philip Ellis
MAKEDRUMS.COM PRESENTS:
How To Make Custom Drums 2.0
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How to Make Custom Drums Philip Ellis
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CLICKABLE TABLE OF CONTENTS A note from the author: .................................................................... 3
Why You Should Build Your Own Drums ......................................... 4
Stuff You Need to Know Components of a Drum ............................ 4
Acquire the Materials ...................................................................... 9
Acquiring Shells ........................................................................... 9
Acquiring Hardware .................................................................... 9
Acquiring Drum Making Tools ................................................... 10
Transformation of Raw Materials.................................................... 16
#1 Fill Gaps at the joints of plys. .............................................. 16
#2 - Raise and sand the Grain. ................................................... 16
#4 Choose the type of Finish. .................................................. 19
High Gloss Finish. .......................................................................... 19
Satin Finish. ................................................................................... 20
Painting ......................................................................................... 21
Striping and other designs ......................................................... 22
Spiral design .............................................................................. 23
Wrapping a Drum .......................................................................... 25
Finishing the inside of the shell ..................................................... 30
How to Build a Router Table ............. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Build a Sanding Table ...................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Cutting Bearing Edges .................................................................. 34
Layout for Drilling .......................................................................... 37
Layout for Toms .......................................................................... 37
Layout for Snares ........................................................................ 40
Layout for Bass Drums. ............................................................... 40
Marking for Bass Drum Spurs ................................................. 41
Drilling. ......................................................................................... 42
Making an Inlay Jig for your Router Table ..................................... 43
Cut Your Inlay Strips .................................................................. 44
Installing Smaller Inlay Strips ..................................................... 46
Making Custom Drum Badges. .............................................. 48
Drum Building Mistakes: ............................................................... 49
Resource List ................................................................................. 50
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A note from the author:
Hello and thanks for buying my book! I wrote this book to give some the years of getting into drum
building and starting my own custom drum company from my garage. I am not trying to impress anyone with my writing skills; I am simply trying to convey how to build drums. This book is written in my own
thing is sure; you will have all of my knowledge at your fingertips, along with many other resources that will allow you to build professional quality custom drums. Please read the entire book before you start ordering your materials and before you try to start your own custom drum company. I wish you the utmost success in your drum building endeavor! Please email me if you have any questions and I will respond to you as quickly as I can! [email protected]
-‐Philip Ellis, November 16, 2009
Legal Notices
The author and publisher of this website have used their best efforts in preparing this Ebook. The author makes no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the contents of this ebook and or any products or services supplied by businesses mentioned in this ebook. They disclaim any warranties (expressed or implied), merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. The authors and publisher shall in no event be held liable for any loss or other damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. As always, the advice of a competent legal, tax, accounting or other professional should be sought before you start your drum company. I cannot guarantee your success in any particular endeavor. What
works for me and the general drum building community may not work well for you. This is a fact of life, and one that you should be fully aware of when you act upon my advice. All links are for information purposes only and are not warranted for content, accuracy or any other implied or explicit purpose.
Copyright Notice
This Ebook and its content is copyright of Philip Ellis -‐ © 2009. All rights reserved.
Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the following:
You may print for your personal and non-‐commercial use only
You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.
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Why You Should Build Your Own Drums Owning and playing a custom drum set has become a status symbol for drummers from all musical backgrounds. The idea of owning a drum set specifically made with your playing/fashion style in mind is something that most drummers only dream of.
With the economy changing everyday there has been an influx of companies offering drum building supplies at competitive prices. This book is designed to point you to those suppliers and give you all the necessary information and tools to be able to build your very own
writing this book because I myself was a starving artist at one point and when I looked into buying a high end custom drum set it was going to cost around $3500. I decided I would do a little research to see if I could get a better deal from a different company and what I found floored me. This book will tell you exactly step by step how to build your custom drum set including the snare, toms and bass drum without spending $3500! For more information about how much money it will actually cost you to build your drum set, read this blog post.
Stuff You Need to Know Components of a Drum
If you know absolutely nothing about drums or drum making then you may have to refer to these definitions every now and then. (This
section is for those of you who really do know nothing about drums. Feel free to skip ahead if you are a more experienced builder.)
Drum shell This is the body of the drum. Drum shell material can be wood, metal, acrylic and even stone. The material you select for your drums will greatly affect the sound of your drums.
Wood Shells -‐ The most common shell for drums is made of wood. Drum shells can be made out of any wood that is hard enough to hold its round shape. Maple and birch seem to be most popular in the
Metal Shells -‐ Metal shells are mostly used for snare drums, but some companies such as Tama and Trick have started making full drum sets out of metal.
arm and a leg to build drums that can be built for at least
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Acrylic Shells -‐ Acrylic shells open up a whole new world of visual possibilities. They can be transparent (clear), translucent (frosted), or multiple colors. To spice up an acrylic drum even more you can put lights inside of it! (and even trigger the lights to come on when you hit the drum!)
Acrylic Drum Set made by Drum Craft based in Germany
Drum head This is what you strike when playing a drum. There are many types of drum heads for different sounds, feels and situations. Most drum head companies offer a 1 ply or 2 ply head either coated or clear, but there is also a head for virtually any playing situation. Pick your drum heads according to how hard you play, what sound
the right drum head is up to you, but here is what I recommend:
Counter Hoop This is a round hoop, usually made out of metal or wood that is placed on top of a drum head to provide even tension on the drum head collar. It has holes for tension rods to extend through to the lugs.
Brass, Black Chrome, Chrome, and Bass drum
Counter hoop
Lug The lug is the piece of hardware mounted on the drum that is used with counter hoops and tension rods that allow the drum head to be tensioned and tuned.
Lugs from Slingerland marching Tri-‐Toms
Kick Drum Evans Emad on batter side, with an Evans Emad for the Resonant side Toms Clear Remo Emperor on batters, clear Remo Ambassador on resonant
Snare Remo Coated Ambassador on batter, Remo Hazy Ambassador on the snare side.
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Lug Screws These are the screws that attach the lugs to the drum shell. They will be different lengths depending on how many
a longer lug screw.
Tension Rod This is a threaded rod that extends through a counter hoop and screws into a lug; allowing the drum head to be tensioned and tuned.
Bearing Edge This is the part of the drum shell that makes direct contact with the drum head. Bearing edges are usually cut into wood shells using a router and router table set up. There are many different
types of bearing edges. 45 degree, round-‐over, and a combination edge are the most commonly used edges. Good bearing edges are critical in making drums sound good. This is a very sharp 45 degree bearing edge.
Snare Bed This is a slight slope in a snare drum shell on the snare side that allows the snare wires to lay totally flat on the drum head.
Snare Bed cut by Precision Drum.
Snare Wires These are what give snare drums their distinct sound.
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Snare Throw-‐off, Clutch, Strainer, etc This is used to control the on-‐off position of the snare wires. You can also adjust how tight the snare wires are by turning a knob on this.
Trick Throw Off w/ Butt Plate
Snare Butt Plate This is directly opposite the snare Throw-‐off and holds the snare string usually in a permanent position
so that the throw off can adjust properly.
Air Vent This is a hole in a drum to release air pressure inside the drum when it is struck.
Bass Drum Spurs These are called spurs because they usually come to a sharp metal point that will make contact with your drum rug, carpet or whatever else might be under your bass drum. They essentially keep the bass drum from creeping further and further away when you play. They must be used with carpet to work effectively. Gibraltar SC-‐BS4 Bass Drum Spur Pair with Bracket
Bass Drum Claws These hook onto the hoop to tension and tune the bass drum.
Floor Tom Legs These are inserted into mounting brackets and allow you to position floor toms at the angle best suited for your
playing.
Generic floor tom legs
Just in case you were wondering: Some of these pictures have links to amazon.com where you can buy these products for
extremely cheap. Sometimes even cheaper than the drum supply companies I have on the
resource list.
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Mounting Bracket These can be attached directly to a drum shell, or used in conjunction with a suspension system. They also are used on toms that require legs. Gibraltar L-‐Rod Chrome Tom Mount with Memory Lock
Suspension systems The basic idea of using a suspension system is
require any mounting directly on a shell; therefore you
have to drill any more holes in the drum. Suspension systems usually let the drum hang freely by loosely holding on to the tension rods of the drum.
Drum Wrap Drum wrap is a thin laminate/pvc wrap that is glued onto the shell to give it an appearance tby using regular paint or stain. Wraps offer limitless possibilities for what your drum can look like. They come in glitter, sparkle, abalone, or you could even have your own custom graphics wrap.
Sparkles = hexagon sparkles sprinkled into wrap, a little less coverage, but still looks amazing.
Glitters = crushed glass glitters. More coverage than sparkles, usually thicker and harder to work with.
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# 1 Acquire the Materials
Making custom drums requires some special tools. However, if you
buying a router or a drill -‐ there are many companies that will do all of the master woodworking on your shells so tanything but assemble the drum itself.
Drum Supply House is one of those companies that will do everything for you. I have ordered from them many times. If you do feel up to the task to mark your own layout, drill your own holes, and cut your own bearing edges: I will tell you everything I can to make building drums a simple, enjoyable endeavor.
going to are interested in trying to build your own stave shells and ply shells, I would check out the Ghostnote forum or the Drum Shed and start
your own shells, if you are interested in drum building, you need to sign up with those two forums.
Acquiring Shells
If you are reading this Ebook because you want to start your own custom drum company, then I would highly recommend (but only
and buying your shells in bulk from Keller. They offer price breaks at different levels which saves you a lot of money in the long run. For instance, last time I ordered with them, to get any sort of wholesale
discount they required me to order AT LEAST 25 shells, and I had to order AT LEAST 5 of each size shell I wanted. So I ended up ordering 5
the shells I thought that I would need for a while. Also keep in mind that if you do order in bulk from Keller, your shells will be shipped on
You can have them shipped to a residence but it cost considerably more!
If you are planning on only making a drum or drum set for yourself (please do this first before you decide to start your own company),
drum supplies.
You can find a master list of resources at the end, but inside of this book I will only be recommending and talking about
Keller Shells industry standard for ply drum shells Drum Supply House where I bought shells and hardware from before I decided to invest long term when I built my first drum set I order the shells from them with all the edges done, holes drilled and snare beds cut. I basically just had to stain the shells and assemble. Drum Foundry also a great place to get all your materials. This site is geared specifically for DIY drum builders, packed with tutorials and tools to help you build your dream kit. Great Customer Service!!!
Acquiring Hardware
There are several places to get hardware for your drums. Drum Supply House, Drum Foundry, World Max and Ego Drum Supply are all
supply company that offers to mark the lay out for hardware
It never hurts to ask what the wholesale/bulk ordering requirements are and what prices they could give you.
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great places to get hardware. Again when ordering your hardware from any place -‐ ask what the order requirements are to get a discount, if they offer any. Most hardware suppliers get their hardware from a factory in Taiwan. This is great for drum builders because we can buy cheap hardware, but it can also lead to extremely long waits for parts that are on back-‐order. I looked into buying hardware from Taiwan very early in my drum making career, but the minimum order per piece was in the hundreds or thousands for different parts, which makes the initial investment too much for most beginning drum builders. However if you do want to order wholesale and plan on starting a custom drum business, you can get your sales tax ID through the state comptroller and you can get great discounts on hardware. (if you live somewhere other than the USA, contact your supply company and ask what they would need from you to be able to order for resale) You may also contact drum head manufacturers and set up an account with them to receive up to 70% off retail on drum heads for your business when you order in bulk from them. (Some drum head companies have a minimum order of $100, some have a minimum order of 50 drum heads. It differs from the different head suppliers.)
The great thing about buying from a company like Drum Supply House or Drum Foundry is that you can email or call them and talk to someone who has built drums and they can walk you through your ordering process and make sure that you have everything you need to build your drum.
Drum Supply House Carries all of your drum making supplies Drum Foundry Carries all your drum making supplies Ego Drum Supply great custom drum lugs, spurs, and throw offs
Acquiring Drum Making Tools
Drum Foundry offers innovative drum building tools that make drum building a walk in the park. They also have tutorials that show how to use their products. For thave found that buying used or from Harbor Freight can save you a lot of money, but if money is not a big deal for you, then you might as well buy brand name (like Dewalt) as far as power tools go.
Sandpaper varying degrees of grit all the way from coarse (200) to ultra fine (1500 or so). The high grit sand paper needs to be used Wet or Dry. You can get the lower grit sandpaper at any
Wet or Dry Sandpaper
are serious about starting a business you need to talk to a
-‐ these are just the tools that I personally use, you may find that something different or cheaper works for you, or you may realize after reading this book that you want
buy any of these tools. That is perfectly ac
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File I use this to help create my snare beds. This can be found at most home improvement stores.
Dust Brush This comes in very handy for quickly clearing a workspace of sawdust and other debris. This can be found at most home improvement stores.
Contact Cement need contact cement such as Dap Weldwood which can be found at most home improvement stores. 3M 30-‐NF seems to be the preferred contact cement among drum builders and can be found here.
J-‐Roller/Laminate Roller This is used when applying a wrap to smooth out any air bubbles that might be present when you wrap your shell. This can be found at most home improvement stores near counter top laminate, or you can get it here. (if wrapping a shell and
-‐roller, just find a flat surface and roll the shell back and forth over the flat surface to smooth out air bubbles)
T-‐Jig or Combo Square I use this in conjunction with the Drum Foundry layout mat to mark lug layout on the drum. This can be found at most home improvement stores, or here.
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Layout Mat Made especially for drum builders to help layout where
one from Drum Foundry or make your own using a cake dividing mat used to measure out slices of cake. Get it at Drum Foundry
want to be in drum building for the long run)
Blue Painters Tape Used for laying your drill marks out and for protecting the finish on your drum when cutting bearing edges. Make sure you get the low tack
peeling off more than just tape from your drums. This can be found at most home improvement stores.
Double Sided Tape for Scrapbooking This tape is used when installing a small inlay on a drum. The brand I have pictured is what
Butchers paper/masking paper This is used to mask parts of the shell that need to stay clean when you are painting, staining, or
any type of paper that will help you mask the drums. Ex: old magazine
newspaper tends to leave ink on your hands and when you handle
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this at most home improvement stores.
Drill Bit Set plan on taking on that taskuse different drill bit sizes according to the size of the screw that needs to go through the shell. Make sure you have wood rated drill bits. It is also helpful when attaching the lugs and other
head/regular screw driving bit)
Right Angle Drill Regular Drills are sufficient for large drums but when you start
shells a right angle drill will still fit inside the shell to fasten lugs to the drum with no problem. This can be found at most home improvement stores.
Mixing Jar If you are using a wood dye to stain your drums
container to mix your dye in.
Protective Gear A good pair of safety glasses will allow you to get a the router without worrying about a
piece of wood hitting you in
use latex gloves when staining, and a respirator mask rated for
lot of sanding, painting, or using chemicals with harmful vapors such as contact cement. All of this can be found at most home improvement stores. The mask may be hardest to find, but you can get it here.
Skil Auto Sharp Power Cutter This is what I use to trim up wrap on a shell after I have wrapped it and there is any wrap protruding above the bearing edge. This can be found at most home improvement stores, and here. You can also use scissors.
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Router and Router Table If you are brave enough to take on cutting
tutorial later in the book. This is the router I use.
Router Bits A 45 degree and a round over bit will get you started and allow you to cut some great bearing edges. If you plan on cutting bearing edges for more than 1 drum set, spend the money and buy a router bit that will stay sharp for a while. You get what you pay for when it comes to router bits.
edge. These can be found at most home improvement stores.
Fine Point Pen to make your layout marks on the blue painters tape on the shell for drilling. You can also use a pen or pencil.
Wood Dye There are alcohol and water based wood dyes. Both are just fine for staining drums. The major difference is that water based dye is a little easier to work with because they have a longer drying time and are more forgiving when it comes to getting the right shade. It is also easier to control uneven streaking. If you want a darker shade your mix ratio
f your stain on the drum looks too dark, just take a clothe with water and rub the water in to lighten the shade. These can be found at Drum Supply House and Drum Foundry, and Stewart McDonald.
The dye above is what I personally like to use. It comes in a powder form that you mix with water.
Large Round Over Small Round Over
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Clamps Having an assortment of clamps around will always come in handy. Check out Harbor Freight for some great priced clamps.
Carnauba Wax This helps protect your
This repels dust and gives your drum a nice shine. This is to be used in conjunction with a buffer. You can find this
at almost any home improvement store in the car care section.
Putty Knife use this when you have gaps in a ply shell that needs to be filled with wood putty. This can be
found at most home improvement stores. Also comes in handy if you need to take wrap off an old shell with a hair dryer.
On to the DRUM
BUILDING!
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Transformation of Raw Materials
Now that you have all of your materials and drum making tools you can start to build your drum.
#1 Fill Gaps at the joints of plys When you receive your drum shell you need to thoroughly inspect it to make sure it is in the condition you expect it to be in. Make sure there are not cracks or
-‐between plys. The easiest way to fix this is to take wood filler and force it into the gap with either your finger or a wood putty knife. Force as much putty as you can into the hole because those holes go
to have little notches in your edge.
#2 -‐ Raise and sand the Grain (Skip this step if you are wrapping your drums) When you get your shells from your supplier, they will be
additional sanding to make the surface of your drum uniformly smooth.
Use your 200 grit sandpaper backed by some sort of sanding pad or sponge and lightly sand the shell. (if you
not a huge deal, but sanding by hand may cause your shell to have pits where your hand naturally applies more pressure) You may notice some gummy build up on your sandpaper, I have found the best way to get rid of the buildup is to have a cup of water that you can dip your sandpaper into every 30 seconds or so of sanding (only if you are using wet or dry sandpaper) . After you sand all of your shells and let
(tack cloth is just a tacky/sticky cloth that sanding dust easily sticks to, you can find this in the finishing sections of most home improvement stores) and wipe them off to remove any excess sanding dust. Run your hand over all areas of the shell and make sure that you feel a uniform smoothness, if you notice any areas that are rough, take your sand paper and sand that area out. 200 grit sand paper is probably
First you need to raise the grain. Take a wet cloth or spray bottle with water and wet the exterior of the shell. This will literally
raise the grain and allow you to sand off any uneven high points
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closing the pores of the wood and the woo
rich deep stain.
#3 -‐ Stain After you have raised the grain and sanded your shell
out your stain. If you have a Wood Craft store in your town go there for an endless selection of great Aniline Dye stains and water based wood dyes. You can also check Drum Supply House, Drum Foundry or Stewart McDonald for your finishing supplies. Start by masking the
ccidently drip any unwanted stain on the inside of the shell. I st drum and accidently dripped inside
the shell. It looks very unprofessional to say the least. Most of the color stains available come in a powder form or a liquid form that are
these. Since each brand and stain has different characteristics, I highly recommend that you closely follow the directions that come with your stain. If you are using a stwater or alcohol into it
this can of stain very thoroughly. Many of these stains that have been sitting on a self for weeks will have
sort of clay build up on the bottom of the can. You
color shown on the can unless you stir it properly.
Also, you may want to make it easy on yourself and use a stain that is also your topcoat. Something like Minwax PolyShades is great if you
put in a ton of time into finishing your drums. When applying the stain you may use a foam brush, a paint brush, or a lint free cloth. I have used a foam brush for 1 color stains and the cut up t-‐shirts for fades and bursts.
Cut up an old t-‐shirt to make some great and cheap stain applicators, or use an old sock.
Apply stain going the direction of the grain (which means most of the
the length of it) Consult the printed stain directions on the package for approximate drying time in-‐between coats.
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Also keep in mind that when you apply your topcoat gloss or satin finish, the stain will appear to have a darker, deeper color. Here is
These shells went on to talk about later.
These shells just have 1 dried coat of black stain
applied to them.
After the 3rd coat of stain dried I was happy with the darkness of
the color
After 1 coat of Tung oil has been applied the color starts to become develop a rich sheen.
The shells after 8 coats of high gloss Tung oil, with wet sanding in-‐between each coat up to 1500 grit, and after being buffed with carnauba wax.
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#4 Choose the type of Finish need to decide what type of finish you want to achieve. Check out
description of the different finishes you can potentially create. Also, here is another extremely helpful website/resource Foundry also has a very helpful tutorial about finishing your drums here. Also check out The Anatomy of a Wood Finish.
High Gloss Finish -‐ Spraying a high gloss finish can also be achieved by using products found at Wal-‐Mart or any home improvement store. High gloss polyurethane in a spray can is about $6-‐10.
I almost always under estimate the job and have to go back to the store to buy more poly. When it comes to spraying anything on a drum (clear coat, paint, and stain) less is more. The last thing you want is to spray too close and have runs in your clear coat. Keep your
you can experiment with how close you can get without having runs. To achieve a really
the grain and give yourself a non porous surface to work with. If you coat, the first
6 or so passes of your top coat will just be absorbed into the wood, thus making you waste time and money spraying your top coat. Start by finding products that will work together well / have the same chemical properties. For example, I usually use Minwax High Build polyurethane for the sealing coat on all my drums that get a high gloss or satin finish. After I seal it I will go on to use Minwax Spray Satin Polyurethane or Minwax Spray Clear Gloss Polyurethane.
Here are the steps I usually take to achieve a high gloss finish:
1. Apply 1 coat of Minwax High Build polyurethane with a foam brush. Let it dry to the touch. (no tackiness)
2. Lightly sand it with 200 grit sandpaper. Remove sanding dust with tack clothe. CAUTION: Be careful when sanding not to sand too deep into the finish, it is possible to sand through layers of your clear coat...so have a light hand when sanding.
3. Apply 2nd coat of Minwax High Build polyurethane with a foam brush. Let it dry for 4 hours or longer if not completely dry.
4. Lightly sand with 400 grit sandpaper. Remove sanding dust with tack clothe.
5. Spray 1st coat of Minwax clear gloss polyurethane. 2-‐3 passes to get full coverage of the shell. Let it dry for 30 minutes.
6. Lightly sand with 600 grit wet or dry sandpaper that has been soaked in water. Wipe clean with paper towel, let dry, wipe clean with a tack clothe.
7. Spray 2nd coat of clear gloss, make 1-‐2 passes. Let it dry for 1-‐2 hours.
8. Lightly sand with 800 grit wet or dry sandpaper that has been soaked in water. Wipe clean with paper towel, let dry, wipe clean with a tack clothe.
-‐
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9. I do this process all the way up to 1200-‐1500 grit sand paper depending upon how good it starts to look. As you apply
absorb th
might need to wait a day to let it completely dry before you try sanding it. The very last coat is a very light mist coat do not sand the final coat.
10. After you have let your final coat dry for 1-‐3 days you are ready to buff it out! I have had good results from hand buffing with the buffing pad that comes with the Carnauba Wax. Simply follow the directions printed on the product. If you do use a high speed buffing wheel, just remember that those will create lots of friction and can potentially buff right through your finish. The key to using a high speed buffer is to keep the shell moving at all times.
*One of the best tutorials I have found regarding a high gloss finish is at here.
Satin Finish follows some of the same steps as a high gloss finish,
1. Apply 1 coat of Minwax High Build polyurethane with a foam brush. Let it dry to the touch. (no tackiness)
2. Lightly sand it with Sand it with very fine grade steel wool (not the SOS stuff). Remove sanding dust with tack clothe. Steel wool creates a lot of mess when sanding so do not skip the tack clothe step. CAUTION: Be careful when sanding not to sand too deep into the finish, it is possible to sand through layers of your clear coat...so have a light hand when sanding.
3. Apply 2nd coat of Minwax High Build polyurethane with a foam brush. Let it dry for 4 hours or longer if not completely dry.
4. Lightly sand with very fine grade steel wool. Remove sanding dust with tack clothe.
5. Spray 1st coat of Minwax Spray Satin Polyurethane. 2-‐3 passes to get full coverage of the shell. Let it dry for 30 minutes.
6. Lightly sand with very fine grade steel wool. Wipe clean with a tack clothe.
7. Spray 2nd coat of Minwax Spray Satin Polyurethane, make 1-‐2 passes. Let it dry for 1-‐2 hours.
8. Lightly sand with very fine grade steel wool. Wipe clean with a tack clothe.
9. Spray a very light mist coat for the final coat. Do not sand. Do
More Drum Building
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Painting
Spray paint is a cheap alternative to buying an air compressor and spraying rig. These drums were painted with $5 cans of spray paint from Wal-‐Mart.
Spray paint is your friend when trying to save money building your kit. The drum set pictured above used spray paint purchased from Wal-‐Mart. However if you go visit Home Depot or Lowes, or even a paint
or you want in a rattle can for much less money and hassle than dealing with spraying from a rig that needs to be cleaned and prepped each time you use it. If you plan on spraying multiple drums each day you could invest in a spraying rig, but for the hobb
I bought that turn table and used pieces of wood to set my drum shell
have overspray contaminating the inside of your shell.
My lazy Susan turn table set up for spraying. This is a make shift version
made using the turntable, tape, scrap wood and an old box.
Starting off, make sure that any sealer, or top coat you have already put on there is completely dry and I mean give it a week to dry. The
into the shell and will actually bubble up through your paint job over time. Now put your respirator mask on and start spraying! The main thing to remember when spraying anything on your shells is that less is more. If your nozzle has a repositionable tip, move it to the vertical spray line position. Keep your nozzle at least 10-‐15 inches away from the shell, start to rotate your shell on the lazy Susan, keep your spray can in a relatively fixed position and spray the drum as it rotates. Spray top to bottom spiraling down the shell. The goal is to get a full
make a Lazy Susan turn table
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and even paint job where you through. Again avoid spraying too close to the shell and getting runs. Runs in the paint job look terrible and unprofessional. Work in a well lit area to make sure you have adequately covered the whole drum with paint. I highly recommend only spraying 1 coat of paint a day. I know this will take a long time, but I like to play it safe. Each coat will need a full 24 hours to dry. Do not sand paion the shells, you can then either leave it alone and have that be your final product, or you can spray 1-‐2 coats of lacquer on top of the paint, but still do not sand it, because it will be very easy
that.
Striping and other designs -‐ Wear a respirator mask get paint in your lungs! You can create some pretty cool stripes on your drums just by using painters tape. After you mask the
overspray, spray primer (or your base color) on the shells so you have an even paint job with no wood grain showing through. Now spray your stripe accent color where the stripes will be. Make sure that you have a nice even, full coat or else the primer may show through. Consult your products label for drying times and let it
dry in-‐between each coat of paint, and before you take tape off.
1. After primer is applied, you need to spray the color that you want your
stripes to be. I only spray the area where I know the strips would be seen.
2. Use your T-‐square jig to mark your stripe placement all around the shell, and then use masking tape to mask the area that will be your stripe.
3. Apply your base color to all unmasked areas.
4. Before removing the tape.
5. After removing the tape.
6. Use a fine tipped brush dipped in your corresponding paint to fix any
paint lines that may have run or might not have received a full dose of paint since it was close to the taped area.
Continue with text description on next page
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Now grab your Combo Square, stick some tape on the measuring side of it, mark off the distance you want your stripes to be at on the tape and then transfer the marks all the way around the shell every 3 inches. REMEMBER and the bottom of each stripe. This is similar to marking up your shell for drilling lugs. These marks will serve as your guide when applying your tape to the shell to mask the section that will be the stripe. If you
painters tape comes in, you can tear it in half long ways and just use the strait edge of the torn tape when your applying it around the shell using the marks you made, then if you want a fatter stripe just over lap the tape until you reach the bottom of the stripe mark. Now that
are securely stuck down you can spray the rest of your drum with
hard line. After this dries thoroughly you can carefully remove the tape to uncover your perfect stripes! If there is any bleed through or edge problems, spray some paint on a paper towel and dip a fine bristled paint brush in it to get just enough paint to do your touch ups!
Spiral design -‐ A spiral design on your drums can be achieved the same way as a horizontal stripe, only you spiral the masking tape. I just eye ball it when I mask it for striping and try to make the stripes evenly spaced. If you want it to be perfectly spaced you can get out your combo square and measure the distance between each stripe.
1. Mask the inside of your shell. This shell was previously painted black; I
sanded the shell with 200 grit paper so that the base coat would adhere better.
meant to touch up refrigerators and has a gloss finish. I made a full pass, let it dry, and made another pass to fill in
see any of the original black showing through.
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2
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4. Spray the stripe accent color on the entire surface of the drum. You may want to make a pass on your shell, then flip it over and make another pass so you get better coverage and harder lines where you tape it. Leave the tape on and let it dry completely.
drying time before you create your stripe accent mask. This is only one version of stripes; you can play around
with the thickness of the tape and use multiple thicknesses to create an even more stunning effect.
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5. After it has dried, carefully remove the tape to reveal your design.
6. If you have already drilled for hardware, gotten your edges done, and in this case your snare bed done, simply install your hardware!
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Wrapping a Drum
Using a wrap to finish your drum is a great way to get an outstanding finish in very little time. If you are wrapping multiple drums you should find out if your wrap supplier has specific configurations already cut to size for your drums, if nohow much wrap you will actually need to buy to be able to cover all your drums. If you are unsure of how to do this, just tell your supplier the sizes of the drums you want to wrap and they should be able to help you figure it ouneed.
First you will need to cut your wrap to size. An easy way to do this is to wrap it around your drum shell and mark the edge of the shell all the way around. This tutorial shows how to wrap a bass drum since it is the most difficult shell to wrap due to the fact that most wrap
the bass drum and large toms; therefore you will end up using 2
nd large
follows, but you should only end up with one seam.
Sparkles are a little easier to cut than glass glitter wraps. Be prepared to sharpen your scissors frequently if you need to cut a lot of wrap.
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2. Mark your cut line at the edge of the shell.
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3. Use a sharp pair of scissors to cut the wrap. Do not use dull scissors.
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Use a flexible measuring tape and measure the distance that is uncovered. Take that measurement and add 2 inches for a
<-‐This piece goes over there!
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cut it down to the diameter of your shell (if your wrap is longer than the shell, which is not likely for bass drums). An easy way to do this is to use a flexible measuring tape (for sewing) to measure all the way around the shell. Take that measurement and add an extra inch for the overlap. Now lay the wrap down flat and measure out that distance and use a straight edge to mark your next cut.
Now you need to do a test fit with your wrap. Wrap your wrap around the shell and see if it lines up tightly to give you no less than a
um companies do this: Toms;
the strainer to hide it. To make sure you line up your seam when
tight as possible, with your seam lined up in your designated area, and then transfer the center mark on your wrap to the edge of the shell. Also mark each end of your wrap where the overlap is on the shell.
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6. Lay your wrap down flat on the ground and mark the center of the
wrap on a piece of tape.
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7. Test fit your wrap, pull tight and get the seam lined up where you want it. Then
transfer the center mark on the wrap to the shell. This is your reference for you to line up
e applied glue.
FYI: This picture is me about to glue
you need to wrap it tightly around the shell and then make your marks.
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8. the shell and the back side of the wrap to achieve maximum adhesion. The best way to do this is to use 100 grit sand paper and lightly sand the entire surface of
peel back the protective plastic on the front of the wrap where your seam will be, measure your 1 inch seam and tape off the
on, and sand this down as well. But before you apply glue use a tack clothe and wipe off all of the sanding dust.
9. After you have made sure there is not
sanding dust on the wrap or on the shell you can apply your contact cement. If you have already drilled your holes for hardware you may want to tape the inside up so that no contact cement can run on the inside of the shell. Use a paint brush or roller brush to apply the
contact cement to the shell, the back of the wrap, and the overlap!
can do them one right after the other. Leave no
your wrap. Make sure you really get the overlap good! Consult the directions on your contact cement to get the best results. Most contact cement
needs about 15-‐30 minutes of drying time BEFORE you try to put the wrap on the shell. When the glue dries on all surfaces you may proceed. The glue should not be tacky, it should be dry.
10. Lay your shell on a flat surface with your center mark facing you, then grab your wrap also with your center mark facing you, and ever so slightly scoot your wrap closer to the shell until you finally connect in the center, lining up the marks. This step is critical because once your wrap and shell touch, it will be permanent and there is no going back.
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11. Apply pressure from the center-‐out, slowly wrapping the wrap around the shell. Make sure that you wrap the correct edge of your seam down first; you want to cover up the sanded part of the wrap
with the clean part. Before you stick the seam together, remove the piece of tape that masked the seam area or else you chance getting some tape stuck inside your seam! Now you need to apply some pressure all around the drum to get out any bubbles that might have formed! You can use a j-‐roller going from the center-‐out.
Also take special care at rolling the seam to make sure it is good and
wrap which looks like this:
10. Scoot your wrap across the table to line up the marks you made on the shell and the wrap
10
s the side you want on
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You can use scissors to cut this flush with the edge of the shell, or trimming down the wrap is a tool
made by Skil called the Auto Sharp Power Cutter. I like it because if you have already cut your bearing edges you can trim it flush to the profile of the edge.
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Finishing the inside of the shell
Finishing the inside of the shell is optional, but will slightly affect your sound. The main reason for finishing the inside of your shell is to protect the inside of your drums from any moisture ever getting in and rotting the wood.
Finishing with Tung Oil Sand the inside of the shell with 200-‐400 grit sand paper. Use a tack clothe to remove any sanding dust. After the shell is sanded smooth, dry, and free of sanding dust you may apply the Tung oil. Put your latex gloves on and pour a small amount of Tung oil onto a lint free clothe. (an old cotton t-‐shirt that has been through the wash multiple times and feels nice and soft will work great) Use the clothe to rub/massage the Tung oil deep into the wood until you have uniformly covered the whole inside of the shell. Be careful not to get any drips onto the
yourself to not be messy, you may want to mask the outside of the shell using butcher paper and blue painters tape. Apply a coat, let it dry for a couple of hours, sand to 400, tack clothe, and apply one more coat.
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How to Build a Router Table
For both the router table and the sanding table you may use laminated MDF which can be found at most home improvement stores. This type of wood easily. There are different methods and theories for where to attach your router, but I recommend attaching the router dead center of the table. This will give you enough table surface area to be able to move large drums around the bit without stopping. Think about the largest
big you need your table to be for the shell to be supported all the way work with drums up to
If you have a budget and plan on using your table for other wood working applications, you may want to purchase a commercial router table from your local wood working store. However, most commercial router tables don t have large enough surfaces to handle large diameter drums. My router table was extremely easy to make:
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How to Build a Router Table
If you have a good table saw you can cut full sheets of MDF down, they are very large and hard to work with for just one person so I recommend going to somewhere like Home Depot or Lowes and having them make all of your cuts for you. You ll need to go there with a list of the wood and cuts you need made..and most of the time they won t charge you for a full sheet of MDF they ll only charge you for what you use, which ends up being pretty cheap (I made my router table for about $90 and that was from buying 2 full sheets of MDF) First cut out 2 -‐ 34x34 pieces of MDF, and then 4 1x18 straight edge runner strips of MDF and 4 strips of 1 runners that will go along the outside edge of your table. The runners will be installed in-‐between the 2 layers of MDF to keep your table at an acceptable level of flatness. You may use contact cement to glue the runners. See diagram. You will 2x4 s with screws along the outside edges to make it a table top, I then attached 4 2x4 legs .If I make another table I will only use 3 legs...because with 3 legs your table will never wobble. Here are some pictures of my router table set up to give you inspiration:
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Build a Sanding Table
To build a sanding table, you just need to start with a flat surface.
table. You only need to make it 1-‐2 inches larger than the largest
sandpaper to the surface of the table. You can get adhesive sandpaper from specialty stores online if you would rather do that. Instead of gluing normal sheets of sandpaper to the table, you may
o use it I bring it out and clamp it to my work bench.
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Cutting Bearing Edges
Cutting bearing edges on a drum can be easy with the right tools and a lot of patience. The easiest way to cut great bearing edges on your drums is to use a router table and a sanding table. However if you
that will actually cut them for you. I have discussed before that if you order all of your hardware and shells from one place, they usually offer to do all of the shell work; drilling for hardware, cutting the bearing edges, and cutting a snare bed for snares.
Creating the perfect bearing edge is subjective for drum builders. A
doing combination edges, and others are doing full round-‐overs.
way to truly understand them is to experiment. I will explain the double 45 in this example, but cutting other types of edges merely requires you to change your bit.
glasses and mask. Getting saw dust in your lungs or your eye is not fun!
1. Before you start cutting, take your shell to the sanding table and sand the edges flat. The most important part of cutting bearing edges is
part of your bearing edge that higher/lower than another part.
Your first cut will be to the inside of the shell. First place the inside of the shell so that it touches the bit. the router so that you will only be cutting a very small amount off.
ALWAYS make small cuts and take off very little with each adjustment you make. You should never try to make your first cut your final cut. If you try to cut too much at once you will end up with jagged cut marks in the edge. ALWAYS move your shell around the bit the direction that the bit is spinning! Line it up and judge how much will be taken off by looking to see where the shell touches the blade and how much space is in-‐between the shell and the bearing while it is touching the blade. Get a firm grip on the shell and keep it flat against the table. Move the whole shell in relation to the table and the bit.
to rotate the shell in a spinning motion like you did on the sanding table.
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Sand your edges flat by applying pressure to the shell and rotating it like a steering wheel, keeping the shell in once place.
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and bottom of the shell, raise the router bit ever so slightly, checking
Repeat this process of cutting a little, checking, raising the bit, checking, and cutting until you reach a point where you only have about 2-‐ cut into. The next step is very important; you need to place your shell on the sanding table again and slightly sand down the edges to make them perfectly flat. To check that they are flat, you can place the shell on a flat surface (granite slab or even a piece of laminated mdf, or whatever flat surface you can find) and shine a flashlight around the perimeter of the edges and if you see any light coming inside the shell you know
router
3. The finished side of your shell is going to be rotating along the bearing of the router bit, and sometimes it can make scratches or small dents in your finish, so you need to tape off both ends before you start routing.
If you have any type of clear coat or spray paint finish use LOW TACK or LOW ADHESION tape, and be very careful when pulling the tape off, you may pull some the tape off, pull the tape slowly and pull vertically away from the edge.
by eyeballing the cut to cut a very small amount from the edge.
The goal here is to meet your inner cut and have the apex close to the 2nd or 3rd ply. After you cut that the edge should look something like this:
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4
Obviously, this picture was taken before I taped my edges. Cutting bearing edges
without tape is a no no.
Eyeball the cut.
Tape off the finished edge.
Inner edge profile
Outer edge profile
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5. When you perfect the apex take the shell back to the sanding table give it a spin to just tbearing edge to cut through your drum head!
6. Hand sand the edge with 600 grit sand paper to gently round the
your tape on to protect your finish, and use sanding sealer or Tung oil with a small brush or lint free clothe and apply it to the edges. When it dries use very fine steel wool to smooth it out. Take your tape off and get ready to assemble!
wax around the edge and then use the steel wool to smooth it out. This is a trick I learn that help prevent
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6
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Layout for Drilling
Tip
showcase, make a mental note of them while marking your layout, remembering to keep those grain patterns somewhere they will be seen when the drum is all finished. (not on the bottom side of the kick!)
Layout for Toms
want to buy this layout mat, you can try finding a cake dividing mat,
You can just use the mat on a flat surface instead of making a permanent table.
Cut a piece of MDF to the size of the mat, use contact cement to glue it to the wood. Drill a hole in the center and use a threaded rod, wing nut, and Tee nut to make a clamp to hold the shell in place while marking for drill holes.
2. Line up the shell with the layout mat according to what size it is and clamp it down.
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your lug layout after you have had your bearing edges cut or else your layout may
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3. The layout mat has green, red, and blue lines that coincide with 6,8, and 10. Use a pencil and
transfer the colored lines all the way around the shell according to
once you start marking to keep the shell in the same spot so each mark is exactly the same amount of space away from each other.
4. Using your marks as your starting point and your t-‐jig as a guide, mark a straight line all the way down the shell. (these shells will have a wrap, so I marked directly on the shell. If you have stained and finished your shell already you need to stick pieces of tape on the shell and mark your layout on the pieces of tape.)
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4
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5. Put a drum head and counter hoop on the drum and take the lug
t pushing or pulling on one side of the drum head when doing
6. Now that you have your lug spacing marked, you can take your t-‐jig, put a piece of tape on the jig and transfer the lug lines to your jig to use to mark the rest of your lugs. Just flip the shell over to mark the lugs on the opposite side.
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Transfer lug hole marks to tape, then use tape marks to mark the rest of the shell!
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Layout for Snares Mark your lug holes for the snare the exact same way as a tom. You may also use the layout mat when marking for a throw off, butt plate, air vents and drum badges. For lugs that need to be centered you just need to take the depth of the drum, divide it by 2, and mark the center of the drum. Now take your lug hole spacing and divide by 2, take that measurement and mark above and below the center line. Transfer to your t-‐jig and marks it all the way around the shell.
Layout for Bass Drums
using your wood rim, claws and BD tension rods when marking for lugs. I -‐jig long enough to transfer lines all the way down the shell you can use a large square.
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Put your drumhead and hoop on, attach claw, put tension through ur
t-‐jig to transfer these marks around the shell!
Marking for Bass Drum Spurs
This is what I usually do. However I hear that the new layout mat from Drum Foundry has a spur placement chart!
measuring other bass drums that have spurs
e the gasket to trace the holes for drilling. Use your t-‐jig to
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After you have measured 3 times for all of your layout and are confident that your layout for each drum is correct, you may continue to drilling.
Drilling
I have heard that using a step drill bit is the way to go, especially if you have different size holes that you need to drill. It will cut out all of the time that you
would usually be changing drill bits for each piece of different sized hardware. For my first 2 drum sets I used a handheld drill for all the holes. That method also works perfectly fine. The one difference is that using a drill press is much more accurate (in my opinion). Just make sure that you line up the tip of your drill bit dead centered on the mark. After you drill for each lug do a test fit to make sure the lug will fit without any problems.
When I use my drill press, before I turn on the drill, I first line up the drill bit to go exactly on the center of the mark. I then turn it on and drill it very slowly, with a firm grip on the shell and making sure that
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Making an Inlay Jig for your Router Table
an make your drums look pro and classy. This design is extremely easy to make and to use. Just cut a piece of laminated MDF to the size (width or length) of your existing router table then cut a 2x4 to the same size and screw the 2 together. (see picture) Make
need now are 2 clamps.
Cutting Inlay Grooves
1. Mark a straight line all the way across the router table that lines up exactly with the center of the router
2. For a centered inlay you need to take the length of the shell, divide by 2, and measure that distance away from the center line marked on
clamps the secure the jig in place.
3. Find the straight router bit size that you want for your inlay strip. You can find many different sizes online or at your local home improvement store.
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42
just the router so that your first pass
small increments and test fit your inlay after each pass. The idea is to
make it as flush as possible. Using the jig as a fence, keep the bottom of the fence always hard against the hoop/shell as you CAREFULLY spin it around, always keeping pressure going towards the fence and towards the bit. The slightest movement in any other direction can
tall as the one in the picture. It only matters that you keep the hoop against the bottom part of the fence.)
Cut Your Inlay Strips
1. To actually cut your inlay strip you need to measure the actual cut that you made in your shell, and then mark those measurements on
the shell. Use a straight edge to transfer the mark down the wrap so you have you a straight line to cut.
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2. Cut the inlay out using a very sharp pair of scissors. This cut has to be very precise, so go slowly and cut out, test fit it all the way around the shell. If there are any spots where the strip is too large, mark it and use your scissors to ever so slightly trim it down until it fits.
to install the strip, use painters tape to mask off
cement on both the hoop and the stip. Allow it to dry for the
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Finished!
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Installing Smaller Inlay Strips
(I usually find it at hobby lobby) for installing smaller inlays. It has a very strong bond and is easy to work with. Apply it to the back of your inlay strip, peel off the strip of dividing wax paper and then install it in your inlay groove.
for alternate inlay designs. You might also consider using wallpaper to
many different designs and sizes of wooden inlay strips that are also installed using the double sided tape method.
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installed it using the double sided tape method also.
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Making Custom Drum Badges I started off making my drum badges by hand, and they worked for the first couple of drums I made, but after a while I wanted
badges. I made the homemade badges by first getting the negative space of my design made into a heavy gauged sticker; I then placed it on some arts and crafts sheet metal. I took that to a sand blaster and blasted the metal so the image would appear, went over the image in
shape, and spent hours trying to trim it to the pnever could get it to look very good.
putting into making them. So I decided to outsource it to a local trophy shop.
There are plenty of ID badge makers out there that would love to
makes custom drum badges is JMSmith Custom Drums. Prices for custom drum badges can be anywhere from $3 to $10 per badge depending on what type of material you use and how many badges you order. You may want to contact your local trophy and plaque shop and ask them what they could offer you before outsourcing to
another company.
I had these drum badges made by a local trophy and plaque company for $3.50 a piece. They are made out of plastic and the design is laser etched into it.
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My badges use contact cement and the air vent to anchor them to the
want to mess around with drilling more tiny holes and buying more screws and washers. For a custom kick drum logo, you can have a graphic artist friend help you design it and then just go to a sticker company (or local sign shop) and have them make stickers for your kick. Or you can hire someone from Elance to design your custom drum logo.
Drum Building Mistakes:
1. When you press down to make the drum badge stick to the shell, you will more than likely have glue get pressed out on the sides of the drum badge and it will bead up and look amateur.
2. If you do use superglue to secure drum badges to a drum hat beads up or it
will look like this
Which I think looks worse than the glue actually just beading up.
mess to deal with.
3. I did this because I had a problem with my nut for the air vent: anytime I played my drum the vibration from the shell would unscrew the nut and then I would have to take off a drum head to screw it back on. I
on an old drum and I had to take all the hardware off to get it ready
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vent and the drum badge. I coended up just drilling a port hole since there was no other way to make it work.
4. Always feed the drum shell the way that the router bit spins when cutting bearing edges. If you try to cut the bearing edge going the opposite way the bit spins you are at more risk to scab up your edge and have unnecessary chipping and uneven cuts. ALSO Cut in very small increments. Take as little wood away with each cut as possible. If you try to cut deeper into the wood on your first cut, you will have wood splintering and it will be ugly. Especially if you have already put
little as possible with each pass.
5. re using a router to cut bearing edges, this will cause burn marks. What you want is one fluid, circular motion.
Resource List
Companies that offer all drum building supplies plus all the complicated wood work done for you: Drum Supply House www.drummaker.com Drum Foundry www.drumfoundry.com Precision Drum www.precisiondrumsupply.com Drummer Gear Online www.drummergearonline.com American Music Drum Parts www.amdrumparts.com Drum building community/forums: Ghost Note Builders Forum www.ghostnote.com The Drum Shed Forum www.drumshed.org Drum Forum www.drumforum.org ReRanch Guitar building/finishing forum www.reranch.com/reranch Specialty drum lugs/hardware: Ego Drum Supply Offers custom lugs in any color. www.egodrumsupply.com Vintage Drum www.vintagedrum.com All Star Drum Supply Custom lugs www.allstardrum.com Shells: Keller industry standard maple, mahogany, exotic wood shells www.kellershells.com Anderson International Trading Co. ply shells similar to keller www.aitwood.com Gold N Times Drums acrylic -‐ www.goldntimesdrums.com Eames Drum Shells Great hand crafted shells, with or without finish -‐ -‐ www.eamesdrumshells.com
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Tiki Drums UK shell Supplier! -‐ www.tikidrums.com European Shell supplier European supplier -‐ www.customdrums.de Germany Shell Supplier German supplier -‐ www.stdrums.de Joshua Tree Stave shells, exotic woods -‐ www.jtpercussion.com Rhythm King Drums Stave, exotic shells, Beautiful patterns -‐www.rhythmkingdrums.com Vaughncraft Shells Steam bent shells -‐www.vaughncraft.com Unix Drums Canadian Stave Shells -‐www.unixdrums.com Tools: Harbor Freight -‐ www.harborfreight.com Drum Foundry -‐ www.drumfoundry.com
Finishing: www.stewmac.com http://webpages.charter.net/brucer1/Index.html http://guerrilladrummaking.com/2008/09/22/working-‐with-‐wood-‐read-‐up-‐on-‐finish-‐types-‐and-‐their-‐description http://www.drumdojo.com/finishing_a_drum_shell_2.htm http://www.drum-‐building-‐secrets.com/wood-‐finishing.htm
Tutorials: https://www.drumfoundry.com/t-‐dftutorialindex.aspx
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Checklist for Ordering Supplies to Build Custom Drums
Refer to this checklist when ordering drum supplies from your supplier. This list isn�’t meant totell you all of the specifics of ordering supplies like shell depth or tension rod length, its mainpurpose is to make sure that you know what components and how many you�’ll need to build acertain type of drum.
14" 10 lug Wooden Snare DrumSupply/Part Quantity Needed
14" wooden Shell (my preference is 10 ply maple) 1Double Ended Snare Lug 10Lug Screws w/washer 20
ORSingle Ended Snare lug 20
Lugs Screws w/washer20 40 Dependingupon lug choice
Tension Rod 20
10 hole 14" counter hoop BATTER SIDE (choose die cast,triple flanged or Yamaha style wood hoop) 110 hole counter hoop SNARE SIDE 1Snare Throw Off 1Snare wire butt plate 1Air Vent 114" Snare Wires 1
Grosgrain ribbon (for attaching snare wires) You can buythis at a fabric or hobby store. 20 inches14" drumhead batter side 114" drumhead snare side 1
Finish OptionsPaint
Stain
WrapVeneer
14" 10 lug Metal Snare DrumSupply/Part Quantity Needed
14" metal snare 1Double Ended Snare Lug 10Lug Screws w/ CUP WASHER 20
ORSingle Ended Snare lug 20Lugs Screws w/ CUP WASHER 20 40 Depending Upon Lug ChoiceTension Rod 20
10 hole 14" counter hoop BATTERSIDE (choose die cast, triple flangedor Yamaha style wood hoop) 110 hole counter hoop SNARE SIDE 1Snare Throw Off 1Snare wire butt plate 1Air Vent 114" Snare Wires 1
Grosgrain ribbon (for attachingsnare wires) You can buy this at afabric or hobby store. 20 inches14" drumhead batter side 114" drumhead snare side 1
Finish OptionsMost metal drums will come finished in chrome, brass, or black brass.
Most Aluminum drum shells come unfinished spray a lacquer orurethane to prevent tarnish
8" 5 Lug Wooden Rack TomSupply/Part Quantity Needed
8" wooden Shell (my preference is 6 ply maple) 1Single Ended Tom lug 10Lugs Screws w/washers 10 20 Depending upon lug choiceTension Rod 10
5 hole 8" counter hoop (choose die cast, triple flanged orYamaha style wood hoop) 2Air Vent 18" drumhead batter side 18" drumhead Resonant side 1Tom mounting Bracket 1Optional but Recommended: 8" 5 hole isolation mount 1
Finish OptionsPaintStainWrapVeneer
10" 6 Lug Wooden Rack TomSupply/Part Quantity Needed
10" wooden Shell (my preference is 6 ply maple) 1Single Ended Tom lug 12Lugs Screws w/washers 12 24 Depending upon lug choiceTension Rod 12
6 hole 10" counter hoop (choose die cast, triple flangedor Yamaha style wood hoop) 2Air Vent 110" drumhead batter side 110" drumhead Resonant side 1Tom mounting Bracket 1Optional but Recommended: 10" 6 hole isolation mount 1
Finish OptionsPaintStainWrapVeneer
12" 6 Lug Wooden Rack TomSupply/Part Quantity Needed
12" wooden Shell (my preference is 6 ply maple) 1Single Ended Tom lug 12Lugs Screws w/washers 12 24 Depending upon lug choiceTension Rod 12
6 hole 12" counter hoop (choose die cast, triple flangedor Yamaha style wood hoop) 2Air Vent 112" drumhead batter side 112" drumhead Resonant side 1Tom mounting Bracket 1Optional but Recommended: 12" 6 hole isolation mount 1
Finish OptionsPaintStainWrapVeneer
13" 6 Lug Wooden Rack TomSupply/Part Quantity Needed
13" wooden Shell (my preference is 6 ply maple) 1Single Ended Tom lug 12Lugs Screws w/washers 12 24 Depending upon lug choiceTension Rod 12
6 hole 13" counter hoop (choose die cast, triple flangedor Yamaha style wood hoop) 2Air Vent 113" drumhead batter side 113" drumhead Resonant side 1Tom mounting Bracket 1Optional but Recommended: 13" 6 hole isolation mount 1
Finish OptionsPaintStainWrapVeneer
14" 8 Lug Wooden RACK MOUNTED TomSupply/Part Quantity Needed
14" wooden Shell (my preference is 6 ply maple) 1Single Ended Tom lug 16Lugs Screws w/washers 16 32 Depending upon lug choiceTension Rod 16
8 hole 14" counter hoop (choose die cast, triple flangedor Yamaha style wood hoop) 2Air Vent 114" drumhead batter side 114" drumhead Resonant side 1Tom mounting Bracket 1Optional but Recommended: 14" 8 hole isolation mount 1
Finish OptionsPaintStainWrapVeneer
14" 8 Lug Wooden FLOOR Tom w/legsSupply/Part Quantity Needed
14" wooden Shell (my preference is 6 ply maple) 1Single Ended Tom lug 16Lugs Screws w/washers 16 32 Depending upon lug choiceTension Rod 16
8 hole 14" counter hoop (choose die cast, triple flangedor Yamaha style wood hoop) 2Air Vent 114" drumhead batter side 114" drumhead Resonant side 1Tom/leg mounting Bracket 3Floor Tom Legs 3
Finish OptionsPaintStainWrapVeneer
16" 8 Lug Wooden FLOOR Tom w/legsSupply/Part Quantity Needed
16" wooden Shell (my preference is 6 ply maple) 1Single Ended Tom lug 16Lugs Screws w/washers 16 32 Depending upon lug choiceTension Rod 16
8 hole 16" counter hoop (choose die cast, triple flangedor Yamaha style wood hoop) 2Air Vent 116" drumhead batter side 116" drumhead Resonant side 1Tom/leg mounting Bracket 3Floor Tom Legs 3
Finish OptionsPaintStainWrapVeneer
18" 8 Lug Wooden FLOOR Tom w/legsSupply/Part Quantity Needed
18" wooden Shell (my preference is 8 ply maple) 1Single Ended Tom lug 16Lugs Screws w/washers 16 32 Depending upon lug choiceTension Rod 16
8 hole 18" counter hoop (choose die cast, triple flangedor Yamaha style wood hoop) 2Air Vent 118" drumhead batter side 118" drumhead Resonant side 1Tom/leg mounting Bracket 3Floor Tom Legs 3
Finish OptionsPaintStainWrapVeneer
18" 8 Lug Wooden Bass DrumSupply/Part Quantity Needed
18" wooden Shell (my preference is 8 ply maple) 1Single Ended BASS DRUM lug 16Lugs Screws w/washers 16 32 Depending upon lug choiceTension Rod long enough for bass drum 1618" Bass Drum Hoop 2Air Vent 118" bass drum head batter side 118" bass drum head Resonant side 1Bass Drum Spurs (pair) 1Bass Drum Claws 16
Finish OptionsPaintStainWrapVeneer
20" 8 Lug Wooden Bass DrumSupply/Part Quantity Needed
20" wooden Shell (my preference is 8 ply maple) 1Single Ended BASS DRUM lug 16Lugs Screws w/washers 16 32 Depending upon lug choiceTension Rod long enough for bass drum 1620" Bass Drum Hoop 2Air Vent 120" bass drum head batter side 120" bass drum head Resonant side 1Bass Drum Spurs (pair) 1Bass Drum Claws 16
Finish OptionsPaintStainWrapVeneer
20" 10 Lug Wooden Bass DrumSupply/Part Quantity Needed
20" wooden Shell (my preference is 8 ply maple) 1Single Ended BASS DRUM lug 20Lugs Screws w/washers 20 40 Depending upon lug choiceTension Rod long enough for bass drum 2020" Bass Drum Hoop 2Air Vent 120" bass drum head batter side 120" bass drum head Resonant side 1Bass Drum Spurs (pair) 1Bass Drum Claws 20
Finish OptionsPaintStainWrapVeneer
22" 10 Lug Wooden Bass DrumSupply/Part Quantity Needed
22" wooden Shell (my preference is 8 ply maple) 1Single Ended BASS DRUM lug 20Lugs Screws w/washers 20 40 Depending upon lug choiceTension Rod long enough for bass drum 2022" Bass Drum Hoop 2Air Vent 122" bass drum head batter side 122" bass drum head Resonant side 1Bass Drum Spurs (pair) 1Bass Drum Claws 20
Finish OptionsPaintStainWrapVeneer
24" 10 Lug Wooden Bass DrumSupply/Part Quantity Needed
24" wooden Shell (my preference is 8 ply maple) 1Single Ended BASS DRUM lug 20Lugs Screws w/washers 20 40 Depending upon lug choiceTension Rod long enough for bass drum 2024" Bass Drum Hoop 2Air Vent 124" bass drum head batter side 124" bass drum head Resonant side 1Bass Drum Spurs (pair) 1Bass Drum Claws 20
Finish OptionsPaintStainWrapVeneer
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