How to Build a Drum Shell
The quality of your drum kit's sound is entirely dependent on the type of materials used to construct your drum kit's drum shells. Building a drum shell is a time-intensive project. If you are inexperienced in shaping drum shells, it can be a frustrating experience. But once you begin to perfect the technique of drum shell building, you will find that you can construct your dream drum kit without having to spend thousands of dollars on expensive drum kits.
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Things You'll Need
- 2 to 3 sheets of your desired lumber
- Wood glue
- Drum shaping form
- Large tub or container for wood soaking
Instructions
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Determine the thickness of your drum shell. The thickness of your drum shell directly affects the tone and volume of your drum. Thicker drum shells are optimal for snare, floor tom and kick drums because they produce less internal vibration and provide a rich tone. The downside is that they are also much more difficult to shape.
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Purchase the appropriate plies of lumber for your drum shell. The majority of drum shells are made with mahogany, maple or birch.
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Cut the lumber into strips equal to the desired circumference of your drum shell. For instance, if you want to build a 24-inch x 18-inch kick drum, you will have to measure and cut that measurement out of your lumber. Larger drum shells produce louder-sounding drums that may sacrifice rich tonality and timbre.
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Purchase a drum shell form equal to the desired circumference of your drum shell. A form is a large tube that you can wrap your lumber around to shape the drum shell.
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Soak the lumber in warm water, and then soak the lumber in boiling hot water. Keep adding boiling water until you can easily wrap the lumber around your drum shell form.
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Wrap the lumber around the form, and then use several C-clamps to hold the lumber in place around the lumber. Allow 16 to 24 hours for the drum shell to dry. Repeat this procedure for however many plies of lumber you want to use in the construction of your drum shell.
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Use wood glue to glue the plies together after they have been shaped and dried. The more glue you use the less your drum shells will ring. Be very liberal with the glue you use to glue the drum shells together. Clamp the plies together with C-clamps and allow another 16 to 24 hours for the glue to dry.
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Tips & Warnings
Find someone to assist you for the shaping process of the lumber.
Take your time shaping and clamping the drums. Birch, maple and mahogany can crack easily.
References
- Photo Credit Drum Roll image by Kathy D from Fotolia.com
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Comments
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This article is also akin to building a rocket in your backyard and getting in it and jetting off to the moon. Is is way more complex than this. Where can you find a "form"? Do I use 2 x 4 lumber? Please elaborate more as this is just scratching the surface of an extremely complex process and cannot be done by the average handyman. :)
