Yesterday, I finished the last phase of converting an old 16 inch crash (which I never really liked) into a sizzle cymbal which I now highly value. I am very slow and meticulous in anything I do so it took a bit of time. First, a template was made by simply tracing around the cymbal onto a piece of bristol board. Ten small holes were punched into the bristol board at 36 degree angles, an inch from the edge. The template was secured to the underside of the cymbal and washable marker was used to mark the holes. Template removed. Marks were measured in order to triple-check accuracy. A dot of permanant marker was applied over washable dots. A friend opperated a small home drill press and I held the cymbal securely on the bed (board underneath) while he drilled from the underside with a small bit as a pilot hole (medium speed). A 3/16 inch bit was employed next. The holes came out perfectly! Ten split rivets were positioned in the holes. The sound is remarkable! With split rivets, they can be easily removed if the sizzle is too much. I would never do this to a valuable vintage cymbal but, in this case, the project turned out better than I anticipated. Love this cymbal! Brian
10 rivets in a 16" cymbal? Whoa! I've being putting rivets into cymbals for over 40 years, for myself, but mostly for others. I've done at least 75 by now, usually for professional and student jazz drummers. If a ride is thin and responsive, most folks seem to rarely want more than 2 or 3 so the tone of the cymbal isn't completely masked by the sustain. Ten seems like overkill IMHO. The template seems like a bit of overkill too, but each to their own.
I hope that the drilling was done at very low speed, that you kept the site of each hole well lubricated during drilling to keep it cool, and you supported the opposite side of the cymbal under each hole with a wood block to receive the drill bit once it passed through the cymbal. I'm not sure why you needed to use two different sized drill bits. If you use the right size, and its not dull, each hole should take between one and two minutes. High speed drilling is not good for the cymbal.
The purpose of rivets is to add sustain, not cover up defects. The general rule is that a crappy cymbal will make a crappy sizzle cymbal, and a great cymbal will make a great sizzle cymbal. All that a lot of rivets will do is to mask the cymbal's sound, but it will not improve that sound.
