How to Make a Drum Set at Home

A drummer performs in concert on a drum set.

The modern drum set typically consists of a snare drum, two tom toms, a floor tom, a bass drum and cymbals. Hardware attaches these drums and cymbals together. While it would be difficult to create your own metal cymbals and hardware for assembling the drum set, it is possible to create at home the shells, which make up the main body of the drum set. Drum shells, rims and heads can be purchased at many outlets, such as Globaldrumco.net, Precisiondrum.net, or Drummaker.com.

Things You'll Need

• 1 14" Snare drum shell
• 1 10" Tom tom shell
• 1 12" Tom tom shell
• 1 16" Floor tom shell
• 1 22" Bass drum shell
• 1 Batter drum head for each drum
• 1 Resonant head for each drum
• Rims for each drum
• Stain or Drum Wrap

Instructions

1. Finish your drum shell by either applying stain or drum wrap to the shell. A few coats of wood stain will give it a natural finish. Applying a synthetic drum wrap with glue can allow you to use specific designs and unnatural colors, such as stripes or sparkles.

2. Seat the batter drum heads on each drum. Make sure that each drum head matches the diameter of each drum and that it is firmly attached to the top of the drum. The batter heads are the heads you strike when playing the drum with sticks.

3. Place the rims over the batter heads of each drum. The drum head will now sit between the wood of the drum and the metal rim above it. Secure the metal rim to the drum by screwing its wing nuts into the lugs on the drum shell.

4. Seat the resonant head of each drum. The resonant head goes on the bottom of the drum shell and vibrates when the batter head is struck, giving it a fuller sound.

5. Affix the rims to the batter side of each shell. Screw the wing nuts of the metal rim into the lugs of each shell so the head is pulled firmly across the shell's diameter.

Tips & Warnings

• The musical outlets that sell drum shells, rims and heads often also sell the hardware and cymbals that can be added to your drum set to augment its sound.

• When finishing your drum shell, avoid applying stain to the lugs or other metal hardware.

• Tighten the wing nuts of your rims slowly and in a star pattern similar to the lugs of a car tire to avoid breaking the drum head with sudden tension.

References

• Globaldrumco.net: Drum parts
• Precisiondrum.com: Drum wraps, shells, hardware and more
• Drummaker.com: Build, Upgrade, Customize, and Repair Drums