Drum Building Projects

The first raw shell stained orange with water-based dye

Ready for spraying the fade. Yes, that's a record player

After spraying the red component of the fade with an airbrush.

After the black component of the fade.

I then added a thinners-based stain to make the colours richer, and also accent the parts of the grain that resisted the water-based dye.

Disaster... while sanding a thin coat of polyurathane with wet sandpaper, I broke through to the wood. To cover up this debacle, I abandoned the dark caramel fade in favour of a black cherry fade. This is how the shell looks now, I also recut the bearing edges and snare beds.

The orange water-based dye again

Partway through spraying the fades

The spraying part of the fades completed

After applying the woodstain. I intended to make the 6.5" snare darker, and used a different stain. However it was way too dark, so I ended up bleaching it and starting over.

Incompletely documented:
   around 12 sprayed layers of polyurathane
   uncounted hours of hand sanding
   a couple of attempts at buffing and polishing
   re-squaring the ends
   cutting bearing edges
   cutting snare beds
   drilling...

Essential tools:
   curved sanding block made from laminated cork tile/    sandpaper glued to a thick sheet of MDF
   router mounted on sheet of perspex

Attaching the lugs

After all that work, a result at last!

Keller maple shell with gloss deep caramel fade.
14" x 8"
10 brass finish Ego tube lugs
Nickel strainer
Brass finish die cast hoops
Puresound 24 snare wires (20-strand shown here)

Sound - somewhat dry with a concussive attack, supported by heaps of low-end thump. Lay into it hard and you almost get a rimshot effect.

Listen to a sound sample of Bombasticus #1
(reso finger-slap; tuned deep & muffle ring; higher & ringy)

Keller maple shell with gloss deep caramel fade.
14" x 6.5"
10 Ego tube lugs
Nickel strainer
Die cast hoops
Puresound 16 snare wires

Sound - considerably less ringy than my equivalently-configured brass 6.5", but more attack, more depth.

The grain on this drum has even more character than usual, because the shell was dyed, stained, bleached, re-dyed and re-stained.

Listen to a sound sample of Paladin #1
(reso head finger-slap; high tuning no muffling)

Keller maple shell with gloss deep caramel fade.
14" x 8"
8 Ego tube lugs
Dunnett strainer
Die cast hoops
Puresound 24 snare wires (Pearl 20-strand shown here)

Sound - dry with a sharp attack and plenty of depth. Slightly more defined than Bombasticus #1.


Listen to a sound sample of Bombasticus #2
(reso finger-slap; deep & muffled; high & ringy)

Keller maple shell with gloss dark cherry fade.
14" x 8"
10 Worldmax traditional tube lugs
Nickel strainer
Pearl brass finish triple flanged hoops
Puresound 24 strand snare wires (16-strand shown here)

Sound - dry with a sharp attack and plenty of depth. Drier than Bombasticus #1 and #2.


Listen to a sound sample of Bombasticus #3
(reso finger-slap; deep & muffled; high & ringy)