12 x 6 maple kit

[Seth Dolcourt]

Hi, Creekers,

This will be a thread about my son's personal maple stave drum kit. And, it's a lot less about the step by step construction, as some of my threads are, and more about the end result.

So I'll lead off with the snare drum. 12" diameter x 6" tall x 1/2" thick. The paint (yes, Creekers - paint!) was shot by a buddy of mine. The paint is automotive kandy, so it is intended to be transparent, rather than opaque. Really, a toner.

The undercoat is good 'ol Seal Coat shellac, then automotive poly urethane. The purple was faded on, so intentionally darker at the bottom than the top.

Shiny lugs by Drum Foundry, and the Trick strainer was modified by another drum buddy who is pretty handy with a lathe; he made a maple cap that covers a knurled knob on top, and replaced a finger knob on the lever with a maple knob.

I've also attached a You Tube video of my son playing his new drum.

Thanks for looking!


The maple shell blank, glued and in the clamps.

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The shell, after turning and sanding. Ready for shellac and paint.

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Weeks later, the shell is back from the painter. To remove the stippled, orange peel surface, dry sand using 3M automotive Stik It finishing film, 1200 grit 260L Wet sand with 1500 and 2000. Sanding goes very quickly, no need to beat up the drum with heavy sanding. In other words, sand just enough to get the work done, and move on to the next grit.

Buff with wool pad and Maguire's rubbing compound, yellow foam pad and Maguire's polishing cream. Hand rubbed with Maguire's glaze.

The orange ear plug (it's clean, not icky!) shows the level of gloss in the purple.

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The shell, after being edged with a 45 degree chamfer bit. The outside has about a 1/8" or less chamfer, the inside has the bulk of the chamfer. They meet at a peak that is about 1/32" wide. That tiny land is the bearing edges that the drum head contacts.

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All the drilling for all the hardware parts is complete. Yes, you have to be comfortable with drilling a perfectly done finish. This is a bad time for scratches, or drilling in the wrong spot.

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[Seth Dolcourt]

Moving on....

This is the strainer, modified, polished, and fitted with a maple cap and knob. I won't attach a photo from the web of a Trick strainer (ain't my image!), but if you want to Google it, you will be able to see the difference between the stock Trick and the modified one. The modified Trick is a crown jewel.

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Boom! All dressed up. Painted wood might not be your thing, but even me, a complete wood snob, likes some sizzle with my steak.


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And the You Tube video.

http://youtu.be/HMTintvFQ8A

Thanks, Creekers!

[John Coloccia]

Do you turn it on a lathe? How do you mount it?

[Seth Dolcourt]

Hi, John,

Standing on the shoulders of giants, I have devised a special purpose lathe (2, really) - using a router as the cutting engine - for turning drums. I don't own a conventional lathe; the issue is less about power, and more about swing capacity.

A 14" diameter x 6" depth shell blank is not very massive, and there are suitable solutions for turning a shell beyond the capacity of the rated swing over the ways - turn the headstock 90 degress (if it can), run the headstock to the end of the ways (if it can), perhaps install a riser block. Further, a 14" diameter drum is light enough to be glued to a face plate and left unsupported on the open end.

Since a full kit of drums can include a 20" to 24" diameter kick drum (AKA a bass drum), the drum maker is faced with solving for mounting a heavier shell, as well as supporting the open end of the cylinder. All solvable, of course. Slowing down the RPMs is necessary, too, guys on the drum forums are saying 250-300 max for a 20" and greater shell. (I know there is a formula out there that helps to determine safe RPM for a given diameter, I don't have that committed to memory.)

Anywho, here is my lathe. Two devices, separating outside and inside turning functions.

[Seth Dolcourt]

And here are shots that I hope demonstrate how the shells are mounted for outside turning.

A steel axle is the heart of the rig. The shell is sandwiched between 2 MDF disks (and further tightened with All thread connected the disks), which are mounted to the axle using some shaft mounting collars. I turn the axle using a disk connected to the outboard end of the axle. Variable speed!

For inside turning, the shell's outside face sits on an axle that I've covered with shrink tubing. As I turn the axle, the shell turns, the router cuts, and chips fly.

http://youtu.be/xnUSGprt-jk


Cheers,

Seth

[Craig Matheny]

That is so cool

[george wilson]

You made him something nice,and all he does is BEAT on it with sticks??? :)

[Seth Dolcourt]

You made him something nice,and all he does is BEAT on it with sticks??? :)

I know, huh? What a horrible way to treat finely crafted furniture!

[jeremy levine]

You made him something nice,and all he does is BEAT on it with sticks??? :)


I said something similar to my drum instructor , the reply and I quote "drums are played not hit"

[Steve Tucker]

Seth,
As a drummer and woodworker, this has been a goal of mine for a while. I was able to create a snare drum a while ago, but at the time, did not have a jig created for my router, for rounding. I just had a pole barn built at the end of summer, and once the weather breaks in the spring, I will have cement poured for my shop floor, 18x30. My plan is to create the jigs for making these drums. Your drum build is fantastic. Have you visited other web sites of stave drum builders?
Again, nice job.

[Seth Dolcourt]

Hi, Steve

I help to run a drum building forum. I'll PM you the URL and other details.

Like SMC, the drum forum is no cost and easy going. It's the contribution of the members that make it a great place to visit.

[Seth Dolcourt]

I have a second drum to show, this is the kick drum (often called the bass drum.) Finished it up about a month ago, so now is a great time to show it.

The 20" diameter by 15" tall rough shell, in the clamps.

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Out of the clamps.

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I modified some parts to my custom drum lathe. Those puny looking disks marked as 13L and 13R are really 13" diameter, I bolted them to some 20" MDF disks, which are used to clamp the shell to the 1" solid steel axle.


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Here is the 20" diameter shell rigged up in the lathe. I have other posts at SMC which show in better detail the lathe and how I put it all together. Hate to have you search for those threads, but this particular thread is about results, rather than process.


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Rotate the shell, transit the router back and forth, advance the depth of cut, and soon, efforts are rewarded with a cylinder.

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I turn the lathe with one hand, and sand the shell with the other hand. The first few passes is with a spare maple stave, with a cork face, to which I adhere 100 grit paper. Yeah, like a really big shop-made sanding block that spans the full width of the shell. 120 grit with a 5" RO sander to clean up the scratches from the 100 grit.

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Done, out of the lathe. Ready to turn the inside.

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[Seth Dolcourt]

Again, other threads do a better job detailing the inside turning function of my drum lathe.

Here, I'm starting the first pass.

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Working the inside face.

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Making the final pass. Finished wall thickness is about 3/8".

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Magically, I've executed the process of hand-sanding the inside, up to 150. Oiled up the inside with 2 coats of Waterlox, just to get the job done. The inside of a drum is very rarely seen, so the finish can be utilitarian, and not furniture-quality.

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[Seth Dolcourt]

Paint, Creekers, paint! Yes, you can paint wood, and not sully it. Technically, automotive kandy (spelling is intentional) which is transparent, so you can still see the grain, even in the dark areas. The maple hoop is basically natural, the bottom hoop is kandied. House of Kolor brand automotive polyurethane top coat, several layers of that. Practically bullet proof.

Of course, this is maple. Paint would look quite gross on figured walnut.

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This is spendy stuff, the 3M brand 260L Stik-It abrasive disks. Figure $1.25 per. The cork pad is a shop-made affair, where I glued a used hook 'n loop (abrasive side down) to a square of 1/16" thick cork. The 3M Stik-It disk is PSA, so it sticks to the cork, then the loop side of the cork pad sticks to the hook pad on the RO.

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Even at such a fine grit, the abrasive cuts like crazy. This section was enough to kill the disk, where all the abrasive was cleaned completely off the plastic backing. Took me 30 seconds or less to complete this section. I needed 6-7 disks at 1000 grit, and 4 at 1200 grit, to sand the whole shell.

Wear a very good respirator, the dust is quite nasty.

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Sanding is completed.

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Buffing. Harbor Freight buffing machine, 3M rubbing compound, and foam pad from Finish Masters.

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[Seth Dolcourt]

Here is the completed kick drum, with all the chrome lugs and legs attached.

What does it sound like? Like this. http://youtu.be/CBDIFBSX0mY

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Purple madness! The kick drum, with a 13 x 7 snare drum (on the tall stand) and the 12 x 6 snare drum on the short stand.


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[Aaron Ledbetter]

Very nice! I love to work with wood, but I'm most certainly a drummer first - and I love seeing these posts. I've studied many of the jigs that people have made, and it's on my list to build an entire kit (ambitious, I know!)

One thing that has plagued me is how to deal with smaller size drums (8 and 10 inch toms). Have you build any drums of that size? Any recommendations?

[Seth Dolcourt]

Hi Aaron,

Yes, I've built a 10" rack tom. Easy to turn the interior with a Bosch Colt router. The pictures attached show the Colt inside the 10" rack tom.

I've not built an 8" using the router jig, so I have no idea if a Bosch Colt will fit. Pretty much only one way to find out...!

An alternative to turning the inside of an 8" tom is to ....not. Perhaps use a rasp or Microplane type file to hand-shape the chamfer on the inside edge. That would be a fun bit of Neanderthal-flavored woodworking.

A second alternative is to find a turner or machine shop to turn the inside. This might be a case where "buying" a result instead of "making" a result would be a benefit.

Cheers,

Seth

[Aaron Ledbetter]

Thanks Seth!

I've thought about a palm router (would have to buy one) for the smaller drums. Though I was unsure that it would work. It's great to have a visual - thanks for taking the time!

By the time I actually make it to the 8", hopefully I'll have better plan :)

[Bobby O'Neal]

I really dig the 12" snare. Sounds like it'd be a killer second snare, cranked down for some crack and thwack.

[Jeff Bartley]

I just stumbled into this part of SMC.....Seth these are really cool builds! Your jigs for turning are great, simple, and I bet very efficient. To build an 8" tom wouldn't that be small enough to turn on most 'normal' lathes? You'd need to figure out a clever way to mount it but I doubt that would be a stumbling block.
Thanks for sharing your work Seth! Btw: my 2 1/2 yr old really enjoyed the youtube vid of your son playing!

[Farhad Mahini]

Dear Seth,
Great inspiration on the part of router jig making -- suggest u post it on routerforum. It's a pity that the smallness of the setup is limited to the height of router. Anyway a fantastic way to make wine barrels too.

[Seth Dolcourt]

I just stumbled into this part of SMC.....Seth these are really cool builds! Your jigs for turning are great, simple, and I bet very efficient. To build an 8" tom wouldn't that be small enough to turn on most 'normal' lathes? You'd need to figure out a clever way to mount it but I doubt that would be a stumbling block.
Thanks for sharing your work Seth! Btw: my 2 1/2 yr old really enjoyed the youtube vid of your son playing!

Hi, Jeff,

Regrets, I hadn't seen this post until now, sorry for the belated response.

So far, I can do a 10" tom, no issues. I have a build request for an 8", which can be done with the outside turning, but it's a head scratcher if the Bosch Colt will fit inside the 8". Methinks not, so it'll be a challenge.

There is a lot of noodling work to get the jigs and shells in place, so it's not exactly efficient. Were I to produce a kit weekly...I'd need a very different strategy. For the occasional drum, it does fine.

I'm glad the video found an appreciating audience! A word of caution - if your child become a drummer you will have to endure hearing jokes like - what do you call the person who hangs out with musicians? The drummer.



Dear Seth,
Great inspiration on the part of router jig making -- suggest u post it on routerforum. It's a pity that the smallness of the setup is limited to the height of router. Anyway a fantastic way to make wine barrels too.

Hi, Farhad,

I'll check out routerforum, thanks for the tip!

I designed the outside turning jig for 10" to 24" diameter stave shells. The pillow blocks which support the axle have vertical travel, so it's a matter of noodling their position - lower for a larger drum, higher for a smaller drum. (Please see the attached picture...)

I have two lengths of 1" diameter precision ground rod; the 24" long rod does most of the shorter drums, like snares and rack toms. I have to change to a 36" long axle to route floor toms, and long kick drums; naturally, I need longer extruded aluminum channels for the router when using the longer axle. The two pictures of the shells shows a 10" dia x 8" long rack tom and a 18" dia x 14" long kick drum in the same outside turning jig.

The inside turning jig is limited to how small a router I can fit inside a shell. Theoretically, I could inside turn a monster-sized shell.

[Greg Portland]

Hi Aaron,

Yes, I've built a 10" rack tom. Easy to turn the interior with a Bosch Colt router. The pictures attached show the Colt inside the 10" rack tom.

I've not built an 8" using the router jig, so I have no idea if a Bosch Colt will fit. Pretty much only one way to find out...!

An alternative to turning the inside of an 8" tom is to ....not. Perhaps use a rasp or Microplane type file to hand-shape the chamfer on the inside edge. That would be a fun bit of Neanderthal-flavored woodworking.

A second alternative is to find a turner or machine shop to turn the inside. This might be a case where "buying" a result instead of "making" a result would be a benefit.

Cheers,

SethRandom thought --> Would is be possible to modify your interior jig to accept the Bosch @ 45 degrees with a 45 degree chamfer bit (no bearing)? That would get you an extra inch or two of clearance. I think the only issue would be the required bit length. Heck, even a long straight bit would let you rough out the interior before doing the final pass using hand tools.

[Seth Dolcourt]

Hi Greg,

Thanks for the suggestion.

Bosch does offer a tilt base for the Colt, you're right, and tipping the router complementary to the chamfer bit's angle would give me clearance.

I'm mentally concerned with the entire cutting length of the bit engaging the wood. It seem an opportunity for catch that would cause the router to jump. Possibly, the intent of the tilting base was to use a straight bit as a chamfer, and for light cuts that don't engage the bit's entire cutting length.

If I can fix the tilting base to a longer sub-base, maybe with some poly carbonate scraps from Tap, I might feel the safety has increased enough to try it.

Thanks for kick-starting the idea!

Cheers,

Seth