Tag Archive - diy drum building

Jeremy’s Custom Snare Drum Pictures

February 15, 2011 in Drums, Reader's Drum Pictures with 0 Comments

I just got another email from a customer in San Angelo. I love getting these emails and sharing them all of my readers! I hope that these pictures and stories from other drum builders will help you realize that you can build drums!

“Hi there! My name is Jeremy. I’m from San Angelo, TX. I just recently completed my first drum set. I built the kick and toms at the end of last year and completed the snare drum in early February. All of the tips and tutorials from your e-book and website really helped me along the way and now I have a hobby which I can enjoy for years to come. I have included some picture of the set. I did a natural tung oil finish on the kick/toms. I did a two-tone, dark walnut over natural maple finish on the snare. Thanks for all of the help and keep up the good work!”

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How to Wrap a Drum Shell Part 2

March 24, 2010 in Drum Building 101, Drum Building Tutorials, Drums, General Updates with 1 Comment

This is the 2nd and last post on how to wrap your drum shells! Enjoy! Check out the first post here. Another important blog post to view along with this post is “How to Keep your Wrap Seams From Coming Up“.

After you have made sure there is not sanding dust on the wrap or on the shell you can apply your contact cement. If you have already drilled your holes for hardware you may want to tape the inside up so that no contact cement can run on the inside of the shell. Use a paint brush or roller brush to apply the contact cement to the shell, the back of the wrap, and the overlap! You’ll need to apply 2 coats to achieve maximum adhesion, and you can do them one right after the other. Leave no space uncovered or else you’ll have some bubbles in your wrap. Make sure you really get the overlap good! Consult the directions on your contact cement to get the best results.

Keller Shell contact cement

Most contact cement needs about 15-30 minutes of drying time BEFORE you try to put the wrap on the shell. When the glue dries on all surfaces you may proceed. – Attention! – The glue must be dry for you to have a permanent bond, it sounds counter intuitive, but trust me, if you try to stick things together with contact cement when the cement is not completely dry, it will become un-bonded over time.

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How To Keep Drum Wrap Seams From Coming Up

March 10, 2010 in Drum Building 101, Drum Building Resources, Drum Building Tutorials, Drums, General Updates with 1 Comment

I have a confession to make. I recently discovered that the seams on the 2nd wrapped drum set I ever made are starting to come apart. This is unacceptable, but luckily you get to learn from my mistake. Wrapping your custom drums with a sparkle, glass glitter, onyx, pearl, or solid color wrap  is an easy way to get a great finish on your drum without spending days, weeks, or months apply a stain and lacquer finish. Just make sure you do it right the first time or this will happen.

my custom drum wrap lifting at the seam Continue Reading....