PDA

View Full Version : The Poh Bop



Seth Dolcourt
06-26-2011, 11:51 AM
Hi,

The customer who ordered the maple concert drum has asked for a jazz bop kit. This will be my first full kit, though I've dabbled with a tom or two.

Specs - a 3 piece to start, he might add more later. For now, 10" dia x 8" tall rack tom, 14 x 12 floor tom, and an 18 x 14 kick. (Kick is the term for a bass drum.)

This will be a long project, lots of waiting in between updates. But the end result should be a lot of fun.

To the shop!


The customer requested bubinga, so bubinga he gets.

199254


A little close up. Not deep, deep red, quite a bit of yellow.

199255


These are the staves for the 10" dia x 8" tall rack tom. 15 degree angle on both long edges, stave width is approx 2.71", 12 staves total.

199256

Seth Dolcourt
06-26-2011, 11:57 AM
I lay the staves out edge to edge, rearranging staves for color and grain. I usually make 2 extra staves, just in case. I use the length of square stock to align the edges. I check that the joints are perpendicular to the bar. It doesn't matter if the ends of the drum are ragged, that will be corrected later down the line.


199257


Masking tape links all the staves together.

199258


I start lifting the links in the center.

199262


I get the staves upright...

199263


...just showing off...

199260


...and flat onto their backs for gluing.

199259


Glued and clamped.

199261

Seth Dolcourt
06-26-2011, 12:07 PM
The drum set's owner came by yesterday, and was able to photograph the flip-a-roo process. Yes, it's yours truly in the photos.

This is the 14" dia x 12" tall floor tom, 16 staves. Staves linked together with tape, and I start the lift.

199269


With the end-most staves barely touching the ground, I noodle and wiggle the whole rickety assembly so that the end staves walk themselves underneath....

199264


...thus completing the barrel. The staves become much more solid at this point, as they are all supporting each other.

199265


I tip the barrel up...

199267


...then flip it to its back, and unroll the barrel.

199268


Voila. This is how you muscle around 16 individual pieces of wood that don't like to be herded.

199266

Seth Dolcourt
06-26-2011, 12:18 PM
I have 32 edges to glue, I'm using T3, and it's 75 degrees outside. Open time is limited, and glue waits for no man. (Or woman. Glue is gender agnostic.) Don't argue with the wife, don't answer the phone, don't wave to the neighbor walking her 3 border collies.

I use a black nylon bristle brush, and get cracka-lackin'.

When all the glue is applied, I re-roll the barrel, and tip it upright.

199270


The advice is, get your clamps pre-set before you glue. It makes the whole process run smoothly. I use 2 hose clamps ganged together, that puts a very, very firm squeeze on the barrel. Here, I was just getting the clamps tight enough to get the positioned, so they're not crooked.

199271


The inside of the shell. Glue is cheap, in comparison to the amount of effort needed to glue a barrel. Wipe up the slop, lathing will further clean up any glue sins.

199272


It's a bubinga barrel.

199273


Both, out of the clamps.

199281

Ted Calver
06-26-2011, 4:15 PM
Seth,
Thanks for taking the time to post these pictures. It's a very interesting process.

Seth Dolcourt
07-11-2011, 10:08 PM
Here is the final piece, what will become the 18" diameter x 14" tall kick drum (or bass drum).

Now, I'll I have to do is turn them, finish them, and put on hardware. Easy. :eek:

Seth Dolcourt
07-17-2011, 1:11 AM
Hi, Creekers,

A little more progress on the shells. I've modified my edge jig, which cleans up the ragged edges, squares them to the sides, and ensures the top and bottom of the drum are co-planer.

To the garage.

I need a way to position a router in a fixed point in space. I came up with this jig, basically a stand, on which a basket holding the router can be adjusted up / down. I'm modifying the basket from a previous design, which was far more complicated for its own good.

Removing this aluminum angle, which guided the router.

202112


Figured out where I wanted to shorten the basket.

202110


Got my line nice and neat, I'll basically use a hatchet to hack off the part I don't need. Nah, a Japanese style pull saw will do fine.

202109


All done.

202108


A visual of my jig, which holds the router in a fixed point in space.

202111


I've inserted screws from underneath into the router's base mounting holes, so the router is completely secured to the jig.

202113

Seth Dolcourt
07-17-2011, 1:29 AM
Time to make sawdust fly!


With the basket at the right height, I extend the bit until I begin to cut the drum's edge. I rotate the drum, free hand. The free-hand is not affecting any critical dimensions.

This is a 10" diameter x 8" tall rack tom.

202115


I have a nice, clean cut on the end grain.

202118


All done. Some cosmetic splintering on the inside, but that will all be lathed away. Flip the shell over onto this nice edge, lower the bit, and run it again. Now, both edges of the drum will be square to the side and co-planer to each other.

202117


Same process, but with a 14" diameter x 12" tall floor tom.

202114

202116

Seth Dolcourt
07-17-2011, 1:34 AM
Finally, the 18" diamter x 14" tall kick drum (or bass drum, as some people know it as...)


I bet some of you are wondering how I get the shell, with two ragged edges, stable enough so it doesn't rock, and make sure that the staves' joints are perfectly vertical.

I used a Japanese file to make some wedges, and apply the wedges, checking with a square; if the sides are square to the table, and if the joinery is vertical, then I'm good to go. A big daub of hot melt glue keeps the wedges stuck to the shell.

202119


Run the edges, sweep up the mess. Thanks for looking!

202120

202121

Seth Dolcourt
07-23-2011, 11:34 AM
I was playing "approved hooky" from work on Friday, enjoying a floating holiday. Send some time turning the outside of the 10" diameter rack tom. There is still so much work to be done!


The shell mounted in the Drum-O-Later 6000 DX.

202757


The very first cuts.

202759


After all the routing, measuring and sanding to 80 grit is done.

202758

Seth Dolcourt
09-10-2011, 11:27 PM
Has it really been 6 weeks since I posted any work? That's a long time to be without drum updates. Well, that's what I think, anyway.


To the garage!

This is the beginning of turning the large, 18" diameter x 15" long kick drum. I took only these two pictures, then focused on getting the job done. But it's no different than the small rack tom I turned.

207324

207325


Magically, I've also turned the 14" diameter x 12" tall floor tom. No pics, I just done did it.

Seth Dolcourt
09-10-2011, 11:33 PM
Here is a video of me turning the inside of the 14" diameter x 12" tall floor tom. First time I've shot a video of how I do it.

For those of you wondering why I don't just use a lathe....I am. It's a shop made lathe whose one job is to inside-lathe a drum shell.

The link is 3 minutes of me, routing with my jig. (like you don't get enough of "tool shriek" in your shop, so you gotta watch a video of a guy using a router...:) )

youtube.com/watch?v=xnUSGprt-jk&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL


(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnUSGprt-jk&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL)

Seth Dolcourt
09-10-2011, 11:43 PM
Well, things got a little funky with the thread editor. I was attempting to say that the above 6 pictures are pics of the 18" diameter x 15" tall kick drum being inside routed, but all text remained underlined. So I'll just say it here.

Next steps - sand out the inside of the shell, and Waterlox 'em!


Floor tom, Waterlox-ed, sitting on top of the kick drum.

207333


Kick drum, Waterlox-ed.

207334

Seth Dolcourt
09-10-2011, 11:51 PM
...and, the 10" diameter rack tom gets inside turned, sanded, and Waterlox-ed.


Set up for the 10" diameter rack tom. The Bosch Colt is the perfect fit. Dunno how y'all feel about Bosch tools, but I love this little work horse.

207335



Starting the first light cuts.

207336


To get the Colt to fit inside the shell, I had to use this Rockler branded template bit. It was the shortest bit I could find in my bit box.

207337


Round and round, saw dust flying every where. This was my last cutting adjustment.

207338


Voila. Lots of sanding is in my future, bubinga is tough stuff. Sure wish I had a Festool linear sander.

207339


All sanded, inside and out.

207340


Ze Waterlox. Thanks for looking!


207341

Seth Dolcourt
09-11-2011, 7:47 PM
....and a gratuitous shot of all 3 bubinga drum shells, with a second coat of Waterlox. Probably will do a 3rd coat before staring the Behlen's lacquer; I have just enough left, and Waterlox gets thick 'n snotty when it does nothing but sit in a container. May as well finish it off.

18" diameter kick on the bottom, 14" diameter floor tom middle, and 10" rack tom on top.

Seth Dolcourt
09-24-2011, 9:03 PM
Today was spent spraying on Behlen's stringed instrument lacquer. Love this stuff, though there is a gripe. My schedule today was 3 rounds of spraying (separated by an hour), two thin layers per round - one horizontal application, the other vertical. I intend at least two more sessions to build up the lacquer.

For spraying the large floor tom and big kick drum, I mixed 2 parts lacquer to 1 part thinner, and sprayed with a disposable Preval unit. The Preval was not intended for jobs this big, but I'm doing it anyway, lacking any real spray equipment.

The rattle can formulation (which I'm using on the small rack tom) is a drama queen, there is always something wrong. This time, the nozzle orifice seems to be slightly larger than previous cans, so the lacquer is coming out in bigger drops, which then coagulate like beading water on a freshly waxed car hood, and then tries really hard to drip. Given a cylinder shape slung on its side, of course it would.

And...I'm getting these random, round black bits sprayed onto the drum's surface, like grains of sand. Fortunately, there are very few, and they pop off with no harm done. Still....the other two drum shells don't have this problem, so I know it's coming from the rattle can.

So, it's easy enough to use the spray-only quart can formulation on the rack tom, and avoid any more drama.

Thanks for looking!

10" diameter rack tom

208401


18" diameter floor tom

208400


14" diameter floor tom

208399


Stack o' drum shells.

208398

Ted Calver
09-24-2011, 10:28 PM
Beautiful work Seth!! Thanks for the update. I enjoy your posts very much!!

Seth Dolcourt
09-24-2011, 10:59 PM
Thanks, Ted. I appreciate the kind words!

This project is especially fun, because the kit's owner is a post-college, incredibly talented percussionist who will enjoy pulling every possible note from it. The intentions for it are jazz and bop - the 10" diameter tom is relatively small, and so is the 18" diameter kick. A rock 'n roll kit might have a kick drum of 22" diameter or larger - more spatial volume = more air to move around = mo' bigger, deeper boom. The 14" diameter floor tom is flexible for many types of musical genres, though a rock kit might like a 16" diameter floor tom.

Seth Dolcourt
11-25-2011, 10:43 AM
Wow, has it really been two whole months since an update? Let's get updated.

Not photo documented, I've sanded and polished the shells, and used a 45 degree chamfer bit to form the bearing edges.


An old idea, rediscovered. A story stick. And if they look like Home Depot paint stirring sticks, you are right. Home Depot gives them away as free painting supplies, so I helped myself. Perfect for this project.

The problem is repetitive lay out, and getting the hole spacing dead on perfect, both the distance from the edge of the shell, and the spacing between the lug's feet. Now, I'll choose a slightly over-size bit when I drill (e.g. bore a 7 mm hole for a 1/4" hole specification), but I don't want to take a ruler to the shell 8 times. That's drudge work.

It took a couple of tries, but this template is a dead-on fit.

213745


Some markings.

213746


Blue painter's tape provides some protection from the rough stick to the drum shell's polished finish.

213747


3 of the story sticks I've made so far, lug layout for the rack tom, floor tom and kick drum. There will be more story sticks, though not necessarily show-cased.

213748

Seth Dolcourt
11-25-2011, 10:52 AM
Time to drill and assemble the 10" dia x 8" tall rack tom.

Small brag - the joints are so tight, the wood flows from one stave to the next. This is actually a problem, because I can barely, barely pick out the joints. I know, the drum is a cylinder, it doesn't really matter where the lug holes are drilled, but this is a visual decision, not a construction decision. And I want the stave joints to be the drill location.

It look me a long time to get the edge of the blue tape dead-on the joint's line. I double checked using a drum-specific layout mat from a drum supply vendor, checking that the tape's edge landed every 60 degrees. A clever person with a CAD program can make one of these, but I have no CAD program, I'm not that clever, so I bought instead of made.

213749


Close up. In this case, I'm shooting for the left edge of the blue tape, on the red line. To verify the other end of the shell, flip it, and align to the right edge of the blue tape.

213750


Verified. Ready to drill.

213751

Seth Dolcourt
11-25-2011, 11:00 AM
This is my drum drilling station. Yes. It is a stick of 3/4" maple, clamped to my bench. That's it. Just a stick.

I've rounded over the sharp edges with a Microplane file (great tool!), and use a length of blue tape to cover the wood. That will keep the inside of the drum from getting scratched up.


213756


Two spring clamps holds the work. Unseen, I used the story stick to layout the holes, and use a brad point drill bit to dimple the shell. I removed all the blue tape, gave the shell some hand rubbed polishing, and set to drill all the holes.

213755


Close up of the first hole.

213752


Verifying the story stick was right. It was dead-on perfect. Rotate the shell, do this 5 more times.

213753


The last hole is 1/2" dia, this is the vent hole for the drum. Notice the drilling swarf is mostly bubinga, but the maple shows me that I've drilled all the way through.

213754

Seth Dolcourt
11-25-2011, 11:08 AM
Time to put some metal on.

213757


This is an escutcheon for the vent hole. There is great debate on drum forums if a vent is actually needed. The inside of the shell doesn't really need to "breathe" per se. But a vent hole does make a small difference in the timbre of the shell. A couple more holes will make the shell appear to be louder, and the tone opens up. Too many vent holes, and the timbre is rough sounding.

One vent is perfect.

213758


This is the lug, with plastic washer, and the special lug screws. The screw is a factory made unit with mounted lock washer and fender washer; this one has a 7 mm hex head with a Phillips screwdriver pattern, so two options to drive it. Thread pitch is 4mm x .70 They come in various lengths, depending on the thickness of the shell. These are 14 mm.

The lug length is 4.5"

213759


It doesn't take much to put on the lug.

213760

Quick work gets all the lugs in place.

213761


Sign your work!

213762

Seth Dolcourt
11-25-2011, 11:29 AM
Time for the floor tom.

Here is the story stick in action for the lug. The little square on the left lets me butt the story stick to it. I've "programmed" the distance from the shell's edge, and the lug's hole spacing. I use a 1/4" Forstner drill bit into the story stick's hole to dimple the shell at the right spot.

213764


The drum layout mat is used to locate the 3 places for the floor tom's leg mounts. Not quite 120 degrees apart, because that would conflict with the lugs. So I picked the blue line (which is the pattern for 10 lugs) to off-set the leg mounts. You'll see.

213763


The leg mount story stick in action. Is there a national monument to the awesomeness of story sticks? Well, there ought to be.

213765

Seth Dolcourt
11-25-2011, 11:36 AM
All holes are drilled.


213768


This is the benefit of the drilling station, contoured to the inside diameter, combined with a brad point drill bit. Practically no blow-out on the back side. Yeah, the fender washer covers all sins, but some basic pride-in-craft rules the day. Take the time to drill a good hole.

After all holes are drilled, I twisted a counter sink bit using my fingers alone to clean up the tiny fuzz on the edges of the hole's entry and exit. Tiny detail that the owner won't care about, but I do.

213769

Seth Dolcourt
11-25-2011, 11:46 AM
This is the vent escutcheon.

213771


Drums get hit, drums vibrate, vibration will shake things loose, especially mechanical connections. I wrap the threads of the escutcheon with plumber's teflon tape, which provides excellent interference. The nut is still removable, no accidental Loc-Tite drips on the wood or metal, and the tape doesn't mess up the plating the way Loc-Tite does.


213772


Vent and leg mount.

213773


9" long lugs, as the body of the shell is 12.5" tall. 14" diameter.

You can see the result of picking a different off-set for the leg mounts. They are in-board of a lug, and obviously not interfering with the lugs. Factory made drums have to make these same decisions, too.

213774


The leg is installed.

213775


Standing on its own. Yes, it's not level, but no big deal. The legs are adjustable, the drummer will noodle with height and angle to suit his preference.

213776


Signed my work.

213777


Detail of the leg mount. The leg is knurled, to provide grip, the leg mount just grips the knurling.

The leg mounts had ready-made rubber gaskets, and that is a nice touch. Glad I didn't have to make the gaskets.

213778

Seth Dolcourt
11-25-2011, 11:47 AM
Rack tom and floor tom complete.

Last drum of this project - the kick drum! I'm shooting for a Sunday completion.

Thanks for looking!

Seth Dolcourt
11-26-2011, 12:04 AM
I am on fire today. Other than noodling a couple more parts, I am done with the construction. I've called the owner to come pick it up tomorrow, Sat.

Let's get the 18" dia x 14.5" tall kick drum (aka, bass drum) done.


You've seen this before. Story stick programmed with the correct off-set from the edge, and lug spacing (9", center to center). I use a 1/4" Forstner bit to dimple the shell with the hole location.

213878


A bit more of hand rubbed polishing, which is so much easier to do when there are no holes in the shell.

213879


The first two holes are drilled, and a test fit of the lug. Perfect-o. The story stick is a champ.

213880


Wash, rinse repeat another 7 times. The 8 lug locations are now done.

213881


This little bit of joy is a rubber gasket, which represents a drilling pattern that I have to reverse engineer.

213882


A little head scratching, and I have what I need.

213883


My template is now portable, and has the lines I need to locate it accurately. Yeah, you say, but what is that gasket used for? I'll get there...

213884


The template on the drum shell. I used a brad point bit to poke the hole locations at the arrows.

213885

Seth Dolcourt
11-26-2011, 12:13 AM
Time to put the spurs to the shell. Literally.


The shell, drilled, including that gasket pattern.

213886


Ah. It's an arm-thing, you say. This is actually a spur. The black rubber bulb is threaded over a sharpened point, and by rotating the bulb up the threading, the point is exposed through the bulb. The spur helps the kick drum find traction, because the action of the beater pedal hitting the head will drive the drum forward.

So the bulb provides friction on low pile rugs and flooring, and the sharp point is for good 'ol fashioned digging in to thicker carpeting. Or wrecking a wood floor.

Here, the spur is retracted.

213887


This shot best shows both spurs deployed. Now it should make total sense.

213888


A little Sharpie....

213889


And kick drum waits with its little brothers for tomorrow - Customer Pick Up Day, where I hope to post pictures of a very happy dude collecting his spoils.

213890

Seth Dolcourt
11-27-2011, 12:37 AM
Yeah. He likes the drums.

Video 1 - http://youtu.be/I7raSJJm1aU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7raSJJm1aU) Snare is the 12" purple fade.

Video 2 - http://youtu.be/03QwTD-JifU Snare is a 14 x 7.5" bubinga.

He is buying a different snare drum from me, a 14 x 5 western curly maple (not in the videos), so I'm pleased to say he now has a full drum kit from me.

Thanks for looking!