Archive - February, 2010

Ryan’s 1st Custom Snare Drum Build

I just got these pictures in from Ryan in Lubbock, TX! Ryan cut his own bearing edges, marked his own lug layout, drilled for hardware, cut his own snare bed and put a clear satin finish on his drum – and he was able to do most of this from his apartment! Looks great Ryan!

Check out what Ryan had to say:

"Philip’s ebook “How to Make Custom Drums” is definitely one of the most specific and comprehensive drum-building guides anywhere today. Philip was able to take from his own experiences as well as the many vague and spotty resources available online and produce something that can truly guide anybody with a little time and desire to build their own custom drum/drums for a fraction of the cost of a “custom-ordered” kit. From the many pictures to the very detailed step-by-step instructions, Phillip not only makes building custom drums possible for the rest of us, but makes it incredibly fun and fulfilling. It’s exciting enough to get a new drum for yourself, but knowing that you not only designed it, but crafted it and put it together with your own two hands is monumentally more valuable than the $25 you’ll spend on this book. After buying Philip’s book, I was able to build and finish my first custom snare drum in a week mostly from the comfort of my own apartment. The whole process was so enjoyable that I can’t wait to order the parts necessary for me to build my first full drum kit! Philip has done an incredible job with this entire project and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed."

-Ryan, Lubbock,  TX

How to Prevent Your Drums From Slipping Out of Tune

lug detuningDo you have problems with your tension rods detuning themselves as you play a gig? I know that I dealt with this for a very long time myself. I would sometimes find myself trying to tune my snare drum back up after a couple of songs because usually the lug nearest to where I hit my rim shots ends up detuning and dropping the drum’s overall  pitch.

This just made me frustrated…until I found out about  Loctite Thread Locker Blue.

loctite thread locker blueLoctite has been great for me for the last couple of years that I’ve used it on my kits. I apply just a small amount to each tension rod on all of my drums. You have to be careful because this stuff can get messy.loctite tension rod

I have also started to put it on all of my hardware screws and lugs screws that attach the hardware and lugs to the shell.  One mistake you definitely don’t want to make though is getting the permanent Loctite thread locker. There are multiple ratings of adhesive-ness (is that even a word?) and you have to make sure you get THREAD LOCKER BLUE REMOVABLE. Continue Reading....

Greg’s first attempt at drum building

This was sent in from Greg Doucette from Canada! That is a great looking drum Greg! This is a Stave snare drum 4.25" x 14" 10 lug. Maple with Padauk accent.

 

Check out what Greg had to say:

"Philip's Ebook on how to make custom drums was instrumental in encouraging me to proceed with my idea of building my own custom drum. I am a hobby woodworker so building the stave shell was less daunting than it might be to some with little experience or lack of tools. As far as all the other process such as marking and drilling  for lugs and other hardware, creating a bearing edge etc., the information on the various processes and recommended tools gave me confidence in my ability to proceed.

The many references to suppliers of various component parts necessary to construct the drum made it easy for me to get a sense of what the project would cost and what I needed to do to get started. This book presents good solid information on innovative ways to construct your own drum building equipment for example sanding and truing the drum edges in preparation for cutting the bearing edge.

I will probably work with a purchased shell next time but the book will continue to be my Bible when it comes to the orderly process of building your own drum."

-Greg Doucette

Just in case anyone was wondering, building stave drum shells is not covered in the book, however just like Greg said, I point you towards many builders who specialize in making beautiful exotic looking stave shells for you! Who knows, maybe you'll be ordering your next stave shell from Greg!

How to pay if you don’t have Paypal

If you want to buy "How to Make Custom Drums" but don't have a Paypal account you can use your credit card or bank account to pay for it. Paypal still takes care of it, and I have nothing to do with processing the account information in case you were worried about that.

pay with creditcard