Tag Archive - drum building tutorial

5 Thoughts on Drum Building Safety

April 19, 2010 in Drum Building Resources, Drums, General Updates with 0 Comments

danger-signI have never had any major incidents when building drums, however there are some important safety precautions to take into consideration. Working with sharp powerful tools should make this obvious, but the joy and excitement of working with those tools can make thoughts of safety drift far away.  With that in mind here are 5 tips I feel are crucial in any shop.

  • Clean your shop – Removing unneeded materials and tools from your work space will help insure that you and your piece are easy to move around as needed.
  • Pay Attention – Glancing at a TV or door/window or anything other than your cut invites contact with the blade.  ALWAYS finish the cut before looking away.
  • Take your time – If you are in a hurry to get done making your custom drum then you need to take a look at why you are doing the work in the first place.  Enjoy the process; it’s not always the destination but the journey.
  • Invest in yourself – YOU are the most important “piece” while working with wood so protect yourself as you would your project “piece”.  Wearing safety goggles, ear protection, dust masks, etc. should be the rule, not the exception.
  • Use your head – Take some time before you start to plan out your cuts and “see” how they will unfold.

Following these guidelines should give you a much more enjoyable and safe drum building  experience.

 

Thanks to Don Sternadel, manger of the Austin Woodcraft Store, for these great safety tips!

What Will My Custom Drums Sound Like?

January 20, 2010 in Drum Building 101, Drum Building Resources, Drums, General Updates with 10 Comments

I have received a couple of emails from people that are skeptical about the sound quality of a drum set that they build. I know that this is only my opinion, but I believe that if you follow my steps laid out in the book, (especially when it comes to outsourcing woodwork) you can build the best sounding kit you have ever played on! The moment I played on Kevin’s custom drum set (see orange drum set pictured below) I knew I had to have that sound. Having your drums sound good also has much to do with the drum head selection and how you tune your drums. What I almost always have on my drums are these heads:

Kick Drum – Evans Emad on batter side, with an Evans Emad for the Resonant side
Toms – Clear Remo Emperor on batters, clear Remo Ambassador on resonant
Snare – Remo Coated Ambassador on batter, Remo Hazy Ambassador on the snare side.

As for tuning your drums I’ll be posting more about that later, but make sure you check out this blog post.

Now for the part you really care about. Below are some recordings of the 2nd drum set I ever built. When I built this set, I still knew very little about drum building, but I still had some amazing results:

Custom drums built for StevenI recorded this drum set on the Home Hiccolm & the Rocketboy’s (now they are just called the Rocketboys) “Sing, Bird, Sing” EP. For the record we cut a port hole in the front bass drum head. This kit is (length X diameter) 8×10, 14×14, and 18×20 and sounds incredible. Don’t just take my word, listen to it yourself. Here are some selections from the album recorded at The Glass Jar Studio:

Do I wake or Sleep? By the Rocketboys

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