Drum Building | How to Make Custom Drums

Tag Archive - Drum building

Black Sparkle Custom Drum Set

June 18, 2010 in Drums, General Updates, Reader's Drum Pictures with 0 Comments

I had a post in April talking a little about this kit, but I wanted to update you on the finished product. This is a very classic sized kit: 14×22, 8×13, and 16×16.

I learned a lot from building this kit. Just a few things I learned from this build:

"Nonflammable" contact cement is a product that I will avoid at all costs from now on.
I love the "Gel" form of contact cement because it is much easier to work with. No runs = no mess!
Video taping yourself building drums is harder than I thought.
I realized I like notching the overlap near the bearing edge for wrapped drums, but it also is harder than it seems.
I love chrome tube lugs. They bring class to any drum.
I made a new document to include in the Ebook – it is a checklist for ordering drum supplies, because even I forget to order supplies every now and then.

My favorite Custom Drum Builders

May 28, 2010 in Drum Building Resources, Drummer resources, Drums, General Updates with 3 Comments

I recently received and email from someone that was about to start building their very 1st custom drum set. He asked me how I decide on the finish and hardware of a particular drum or drum set that I’m building. This question has always been tough for me because I don’t always feel creative. I do however have a couple of places I like to go for inspiration.

I think that by seeing some amazing drums that have already been created, it can spark the creativity in my brain to think outside the box of just doing a normal looking wrap or a normal looking stain. When I go to a drum store I always look at all of the little details of the drums even down to the bearing edge or where they put the seam of the wrap.

…but let’s face it… most music stores that have drums don’t usually have the most amazing drums on display. This is where the internet comes in.

Some of my favorite custom drum builders are as follows: Continue Reading....

What does “100% Maple” Drum Shell really mean?

May 21, 2010 in Drum Building Resources, Drums, General Updates with 1 Comment

The other day I was carousing the Wal-Mart of music stores (Guitar Center) for some inspiration and ideas for a new kit I’m about to start building and happened upon a drum set that advertised 100% maple shells. The thing that struck me funny is that the drum set was only $599 for a complete drum set with mounting hardware (kick drum, 3 toms, and a snare drum). I just couldn’t believe my eyes, this set looked great, and for that price I was beginning to wonder how in the world I would be able to compete with a great looking drum with “100% maple drum shells” that could be purchased for less than half of what it takes me to actually build a similar drum set…

After I sat down and played on them I examined the shell, the hardware and the actual construction of the drum itself. There were a couple of very noticeable differences in the drums that I make and in the drums that were in front of me.

I might talk about some of the other differences in other posts, the first thing I noticed after turning over the snare drum and looking at the bearing edge was that there was no interior finishing done to the drum or bearing edge, and honestly the inside of the shell looked like any other cheap beginner drum set shell. It definitely didn’t look like the Keller maple shells that I use and recommend for building custom drums. I know that there must have been some corners cut to make this drum set so cheap so I asked one of the sales associates how these 100% maple shell kits could sell for $599. He explained that most of the cheaper “all maple kits” only have 2-3 actual full sheet plies of maple, and they usually have a couple layers of ground up maple plies that are just kind of filler in the middle of the drum. That way they can still get away with calling it “all” or “100%” maple shells, but in reality the shell will not play, feel or resonate like a true “all maple ply shell”. Interesting. Continue Reading....

Lessons Learned from: Contact Cement

April 30, 2010 in Drums, General Updates, Reader's Drum Pictures with 4 Comments

The past few weeks I've been waiting to get supplies in to build a new custom drum set for a P.Ellis Drums artist. I recently started the build process in my wood/drum shop. Like I have said before every time I build a new drum or drum set I learn something that changes the way I think about drum building. This time has been no different. I ordered all of the supplies that I didn't have on hand and when they got here I immediately began to unpack and count my supplies to make sure that they had sent me all of the right supplies, and to make sure they had sent the right amount. I can't tell you how many times I've started working on a drum set and have been pretty much done with the finishing process, cutting the bearing edges and drilling the holes for hardware only to find that I'm missing 1 key piece of hardware that makes it to where I can't ship the drums out to the owner. I have finished a drum set and had to wait for another 2 weeks to get 2 tube lugs that were supposed to be in my initial order but the supplier somehow miss counted….Lesson Learned: ALWAYS CHECK YOUR SHIPMENT OF SUPPLIES!

This is my first time working with this particular supplier on a full drum set order and I can honestly say this has been the best customer service experience I have ever had with a drum supply company.

I have been video taping all of my building sessions with the hope of being able to edit it down to something that will better show drum builders how to build a custom drum set. I do not know when this will be available, but I'll keep you posted on Twitter and Facebook!

Another drum build and another lesson learned: Don't use this product to wrap drums -

I figured in honor of Earth Day I would try to use the Eco-Friendly contact cement… This was a bad idea. I "scarified" both surfaces and applied the contact cement to both surfaces (2 coats) and waited about 30 minutes as I would with any other contact cement and tried to stick the 2 pieces together….and there was a bond…but definitely not a strong bond. I left the drum over night to see if it would be any better when I came back. It was not. It's not a good thing when I can actually peel the wrap off the drum with very little effort…So I just peeled off the wrap, removed the dried contact cement from the shell and the wrap (which was actually pretty easy…this eco-friendly stuff is known for it's easy clean up). So after wrapping the drums and then deciding that I had to start over I wasted about 2 days. Not my idea of being productive. I did however go back to using the DAP weldwood contact cement that I have used in the past and had great results from…and this time I used the gel formula…which I found out that I love. I will use from now on. It doesn't run, which means it is less messy, which means it doesn't get it all over me or my workspace.

I leave you with a couple of shots from the past week:

How to Make an Inlay Jig for your Router Table and Cut/Install Perfect Inlay on your Custom Drum Set!

April 5, 2010 in Drum Building 101, Drum Building Tutorials, Drums, General Updates with 0 Comments

The follow section is taken right from the pages of “How to Make Custom Drums”. Like what you see? Buy the full version and learn everything you need to know to be able to build your very own custom drum or drum set!

Making an Inlay Jig for your Router Table

Inlay’s can make your drums look pro and classy. This design is extremely easy to make and to use. Just cut a piece of laminated MDF to the size (width or length) of your existing router table then cut a 2×4 to the same size and screw the 2 together. (see picture) Make sure to counter sink your screws so they don’t get in the way. All you need now are 2 clamps. Continue Reading....

Ryan’s 1st Custom Snare Drum Build

February 25, 2010 in Drums, General Updates, Reader's Drum Pictures with 2 Comments

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 pay if you don’t have Paypal

February 3, 2010 in General Updates with 0 Comments

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.

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:

I 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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Facebook Page Wall Discussions

January 20, 2010 in General Updates with 1 Comment

We want you to stay connected and get any answers to your questions so we’ve created a Facebook Fan Page. There are some great discussions going on right now. Check it out and become a fan!

Drum Building 101 – How much time and money will I need to invest?

January 12, 2010 in Drum Building 101, Drum Building Resources, Drum Building Tutorials, Drums, General Updates with 1 Comment

How Much Money Will I Spend Building My Custom Drum Set?

I recently received an email asking how long it would take and how much it would cost to build a 5 piece drum set. Thanks for the question George, hopefully this answers it! The very first drum set I ever built was this: A 3 piece drum set (10” tom, 14” tom, and a 20” kick drum) that was stained blue and had gold “bling bling” hardware. I later built a snare drum to match the set but it came out a slightly lighter shade of blue than the other drums (more about that learning experience later). This drum set was my first ever experience with drum building. Before building this I had never worked with wood, I did not consider myself a crafty handyman, and I had never stained anything, unless you count grass and coffee stains! A couple of years before building my first drum set I became friends with a guy named Kevin. Kevin owned (and still owns) a recording studio in town. Kevin was the first person to introduce me to the idea of building my own drum set. He had a custom drum set in his recording studio that sounded amazing. When he told me that he made it with his bare hands I flipped out. When he told me how little he spent to make it I flipped out yet again. He had ordered all the materials for the set, stained it, put a clear coat on it, and assembled it…and HE RECORDS THAT DRUM SET ON 90% OF HIS STUDIO PROJECTS! My first build took about 2 weeks to get supplies shipped to me, 2 weeks to complete it and cost me approximately 0. Continue Reading....