12 x 6 maple kit

[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,

Seth

Random 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