Building your own drumkit... - Page 1

Posts: 26 Threads: 8

Hi all,

I'm in the process of building a drumkit from scratch. Found an ad for 6 ply raw Keller shells at a very resonable price for being i Sweden. Paid about $ 450 for 10"x10", 12"x12", 14"x14", 16"x16" & 24"x18" shells.

I've got most things sorted out such as access to a carpenter shop for trimming shell deepth and cutting bearing edges and found a couple of good hardware suppliers in Europe.

The plan is to end up with this kit 10"x8", 12"x9", 14"x12", 16"x14" all rims mounted toms and 24"x18" kick. They'll be covered in red sparkle wrap. I'm going for a modern sound as I already have a good vintage Ludwig kit so I'll cut the bearing edges in 45 degree angels.

However I have a some questions... Help

Are moderns drums treated with anything on the inside of the shells like oil, wax or some kind of coating? I had a look inside a couple of high end kits (DW, Tama, Pearl) at a local shop and as far as I could see none of them where treated inside.

What are the pros and cons with untreated inside of shell?

To minimize the risk of screwing up when I'm applying the wrap I'm going to just tape them a'la Japan style. Are there any dangers in this as opposed to fully glueing them?

I've Googled the net for resources on drumbuilding and found some good stuff here and there but not that definitive gold nugget of information. Does anyone have some good links about drumbuilding and releated information?

Posted on 17 years ago

mkickliter

Member

Joined 17 years ago

Posts: 2 Threads: 0

Regarding finishing the inside of the shells; not much of an advantage sonically,unless you were to do something drastic, but if you live in a very humid area and keep your kit in basement you might try tung oil (which will yellow as it ages) on the inside to seal and protect the wood. Some folks have sealed with a "light" coat of clear flat spray paint. Check some wood finishing websites. Chances are, the drums will out last you anyway.

Regarding double stick tape; It works fine. Since most of us do not have access to a pinch roller, you might need an extra set of hands to help press into place, and roll out any slack, and "tighten" the covering. Remember measure twice, cut once.

Good luck,

Posted on 17 years ago

Antipodes

Member

Joined 17 years ago

Posts: 662 Threads: 33

Hejsan,

Some people say taped wrap has a tendency to bubble if exposed to extremes of temperature (hot lights, sunlight, etc) though have no experience myself. Did a kit though using just regular contact adhesive using the floor and my hands to flatten out everything and it went off without a hitch.

Trimming the excess wrap up to the bearing edges was the only bit I thought was realy difficult - getting absolutely straight lines, no matter how slowly I went at with a cutter, was really difficult - not to mention filing it properly afterwards.

Will PM a few useful links.

Posted on 17 years ago