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Thread: 12 x 6 maple kit

  1. #1
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    12 x 6 maple kit

    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.

    12x6_glued.jpg


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

    12x6_final_sanded_1.jpg


    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.

    purple_snare_polish.jpg


    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.

    purple_snare_layout.jpg


    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.

    purple_snare_drilled.jpg
    Last edited by Seth Dolcourt; 11-20-2011 at 3:10 PM.
    Play drums!

  2. #2
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    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.

    trick.jpg


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


    finish_0.jpg


    purple_snare_complete.jpg


    finish_1.jpg


    And the You Tube video.

    http://youtu.be/HMTintvFQ8A

    Thanks, Creekers!
    Play drums!

  3. #3
    Do you turn it on a lathe? How do you mount it?

  4. #4
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    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.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Play drums!

  5. #5
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    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
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Seth Dolcourt; 11-21-2011 at 12:40 PM.
    Play drums!

  6. #6
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    That is so cool
    Craig Matheny
    Anaheim, Ca
    45 watt Epilog Laser, 60 watt Epilog Laser,
    Plasma Cutter, MiG Welder
    Rikon 70-100 Lathe
    Shop Smith V510, To many hand Tools and
    Universal Repair Kit (1- Hammer and 1- Roll of Duck Tape)

  7. #7
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    You made him something nice,and all he does is BEAT on it with sticks???

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by george wilson View Post
    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!
    Play drums!

  9. #9
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    Pleasantville, NY
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    Quote Originally Posted by george wilson View Post
    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"
    "He who saves one life, saves the world entire"

  10. #10
    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.

  11. #11
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    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.
    Play drums!

  12. #12
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    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.

    kick_clamped.jpg


    Out of the clamps.

    kick_unclamped.jpg


    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.


    20_inch_disk_clamps.jpg


    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.


    outside_turn_2.jpg


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

    outside_turn_3.jpg


    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.

    outside_turn_4.jpg


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

    outside_turn_6.jpg
    Play drums!

  13. #13
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    Again, other threads do a better job detailing the inside turning function of my drum lathe.

    Here, I'm starting the first pass.

    inside_turn_1.jpg


    Working the inside face.

    inside_turn_2.jpg


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

    inside_turn_3.jpg


    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.

    oil_inside_2.jpg
    Play drums!

  14. #14
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    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.

    painted_1.jpg


    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.

    sanded_0.jpg



    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.

    sanded_2.jpg


    Sanding is completed.

    sanded_1.jpg


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

    buffing_1.jpg
    Play drums!

  15. #15
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    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

    kick_solo.jpg


    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.


    kick_n_snares.jpg
    Play drums!

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