I was thinking about maybe trying this, because I have heard from some that it is a great way to save some money but still get a custom sound. I was wandering how many of you guys have tried it, how did it go, and how would you recommend doing it?



thanks guys!








_________________
Drums ARE my life.

There are a lot of places to go to get supplies. Drummaker.com and amdrumparts.com both sell everything you need and will do the bearing edge cutting and drilling for you for a fee ( I 've heard amdrumparts does it for free as long as you order everything from them). This works if you want a wrapped kit. If you want a lacquer kit, you'll have to do it all yourself because lacquering a shell with holes drilled in it is a pain in the butt.

You'll save on the labor charges but you won't save much on the hardware. Depending on what you want, you could still spend over $1000 just on hardware.








_________________
www.pjclevenger.com

www.medicinemandrumsaz.com

DML Special: 20% off all drums.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left!

Timekeep69 wrote:

There are a lot of places to go to get supplies. Drummaker.com and amdrumparts.com both sell everything you need and will do the bearing edge cutting and drilling for you for a fee ( I 've heard amdrumparts does it for free as long as you order everything from them). This works if you want a wrapped kit. If you want a lacquer kit, you'll have to do it all yourself because lacquering a shell with holes drilled in it is a pain in the butt.

You'll save on the labor charges but you won't save much on the hardware. Depending on what you want, you could still spend over $1000 just on hardware.

Yup. What he said. The do it yourself places will save you money on the shells and lugs and such, but you still gotta pay full price for your stands and whatnot.....If you already have that stuff it's no big deal though. As soon as I have a spare $1500 laying around (who knows when that will be) I'm gonna try building a kit. I think I'm gonna go acrylic-no need to stain, laquer, or wrap. I love the way they sound. And I think that's where the biggest savings will be. A vistalite or OCDP acrylic or DDrum acrylic kit would cost a lot more.








_________________
"The power of pop music to corrupt and putrify the minds of world youth are virtually limitless."
-Larry The Dwarf, 200 Motels
www.theboisdarcs.com
www.myspace.com/theboisdarcs
www.shiner.com

i'm gonna build my own snare soon. I'll be ordering my parts from amdrumparts.com theyre'll cut my bearing edges and drill my hold for me, i'm gonna get black diecast hoops, and some nice looking black lugs, and have my vocalist stain and laquor the shell (he used to refinish furnature for a living) it shouldnt be too expensive. the diecast hoops will probly b the most expensive part








_________________

xdoseonex wrote:

i'm gonna build my own snare soon. I'll be ordering my parts from amdrumparts.com theyre'll cut my bearing edges and drill my hold for me, i'm gonna get black diecast hoops, and some nice looking black lugs, and have my vocalist stain and laquor the shell (he used to refinish furnature for a living) it shouldnt be too expensive. the diecast hoops will probly b the most expensive part

No offense but you're assembling your snare drum, not building it.








_________________
www.pjclevenger.com

www.medicinemandrumsaz.com

DML Special: 20% off all drums.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left!

Timekeep69 wrote:

No offense but you're assembling your snare drum, not building it.

That's a fact.... of course, lots of custom builders are really just assemblers when you consider what's really going on.








_________________

zen_drummer wrote:

Timekeep69 wrote:

No offense but you're assembling your snare drum, not building it.

That's a fact.... of course, lots of custom builders are really just assemblers when you consider what's really going on.

Yes and no. Drilling straight holes and cutting good bearing edges isn't as easy as one would think.

I don't agree with the argument that because most companies use Keller Shells they're all the same or that it's not really building. Carpenters don't cut down the trees and make their own 2x4's. Most furniture makers buy their wood from someone else too.

To have someone else apply a finish, cut the edges and drill the holes is really the same as buying a desk from Wal-mart and saying that you built it and in reality all you did was take it out of the box and assembled it.

Same thing.








_________________
www.pjclevenger.com

www.medicinemandrumsaz.com

DML Special: 20% off all drums.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left!

^ that is a flawless point in my opinion, kudos to you, what happens to the look of the wood if you only apply a stain and nothing else, would its just look dull?








_________________
After I funked my drumset at 11 o'clock, i rocked it all night long, and then we swung til the early morning, where I jazzed all over it. The next day my drumset and i did a little reggae, then shuffled, made a little salsa, and then waltzed.

Lol, thats somewhat true, it is basically assembling, not making.

What me and my grandad did was baught a long, straight piece of maple, soaked it in the bath-tub, made a mold, turned it around that mold to make the sphere, I think we got around 5 times maybe, but then reinforced it with pieces of wood, then drilled all the holes, put the edges on, then assembled Lugs I had lying around my house, It's almost done, we decided to paint it. But we still gotta make something, we are going to make the mounting pit so, it's going to be fun..

Me and my grandad have also made um, 6 pairs of Drumsticks, they are my favorite sticks to use.

So, if thats not drum building I dunno what is.
I'll also put pictures up soon of the drum..








_________________



Tama/Zildian/Mano Percussion/RythmTech

HeaveyDrummer wrote:

Lol, thats somewhat true, it is basically assembling, not making.

What me and my grandad did was baught a long, straight piece of maple, soaked it in the bath-tub, made a mold, turned it around that mold to make the sphere, I think we got around 5 times maybe, but then reinforced it with pieces of wood, then drilled all the holes, put the edges on, then assembled Lugs I had lying around my house, It's almost done, we decided to paint it. But we still gotta make something, we are going to make the mounting pit so, it's going to be fun..

Me and my grandad have also made um, 6 pairs of Drumsticks, they are my favorite sticks to use.

So, if thats not drum building I dunno what is.
I'll also put pictures up soon of the drum..

Now THAT'S drum making!








_________________
www.pjclevenger.com

www.medicinemandrumsaz.com

DML Special: 20% off all drums.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left!

yeah when i build i go through Bestdrumdeals.com
they do any cutting or drilling. so i get to do all of the fun work haha.








_________________
Colten
4 piece Risen kit
dw hardware
zildjian and sabian cymbals

HeaveyDrummer wrote:

Lol, thats somewhat true, it is basically assembling, not making.

What me and my grandad did was baught a long, straight piece of maple, soaked it in the bath-tub, made a mold, turned it around that mold to make the sphere, I think we got around 5 times maybe, but then reinforced it with pieces of wood, then drilled all the holes, put the edges on, then assembled Lugs I had lying around my house, It's almost done, we decided to paint it. But we still gotta make something, we are going to make the mounting pit so, it's going to be fun..

Me and my grandad have also made um, 6 pairs of Drumsticks, they are my favorite sticks to use.

So, if thats not drum building I dunno what is.
I'll also put pictures up soon of the drum..

dude you gotta tell me what ply you used and what you used for a mold cause now i wanna build a 20x20 kick








_________________
Colten
4 piece Risen kit
dw hardware
zildjian and sabian cymbals

xrftsx wrote:

yeah when i build i go through Bestdrumdeals.com
they do any cutting or drilling. so i get to do all of the fun work haha.

Is it me or do they only have 2 colors for wrap?








_________________
www.pjclevenger.com

www.medicinemandrumsaz.com

DML Special: 20% off all drums.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left!

building your own DRUMS is fairly cheap but to make a SET with hardware, cymbals, etc. it's a bit more pricey. drum shells can easily be bought at a local drum luthier or via online through many shell producers. i've heard that DW gets keller shells for their maple and birch drum set. for anything exotic like bubinga and birdseye maple your gunna have to look real hard or be really friendly with ur local drum luthier but other than that drilling holes are kinda hard, if u screw up once it's over, there is nothing you can do to save that shell and u just lost [insert price tag of shell here] bucks. always measure twice and then measure again, you don't wanna screw anything up

Nhara wrote:

always measure twice and then measure again, you don't wanna screw anything up

Industry standard is measure 20 times, drill once.








_________________
www.pjclevenger.com

www.medicinemandrumsaz.com

DML Special: 20% off all drums.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left!

HeaveyDrummer wrote:

Lol, thats somewhat true, it is basically assembling, not making.

What me and my grandad did was baught a long, straight piece of maple, soaked it in the bath-tub, made a mold, turned it around that mold to make the sphere, I think we got around 5 times maybe, but then reinforced it with pieces of wood, then drilled all the holes, put the edges on, then assembled Lugs I had lying around my house, It's almost done, we decided to paint it. But we still gotta make something, we are going to make the mounting pit so, it's going to be fun.

to make a single board into a 5 ply drum, you would need to start with a board that is over 18 feet long... that's one heck of a bathtub you and your grandpa have!








_________________

I "put together" a 16"X26" kick drum recently with parts I got from Precision drums out of NY. I wrapped it silver sparkle and it just rocks. I am constantly hitting pawn shops and yard sales for old junky drums, shells, etc to experiment on as far as cutting bearing edges...a fun hobby! I get better with every drum I tweak...who knows, when I get old and retire from the road, my dream is to have a little drum shop somewhere.








_________________
Vic Firth sticks, Sabian cymbals, and Attack drumheads played with pride!

I've had the experience of building a drum kit and I thought it was great! I'll only say, to do it right, it's more expensive than you may think. If you use top notch parts, cast hoops, expensive lugs, keller shells, suspened tom mounts, kick drum legs, floor tom legs, etc; can all end up costing a pretty penny once you're done. It all comes down to personnel preference. Once I completed the kit I used it for a while, but it ended up not really being my dream kit, so I ended up selling it for a loss because eventhough I used all name brand componants to put the kit together, There wasn't a DW or Yamaha or Pork Pie name attached to the kit. But if you want to build a kit, that you are planning on keeping and using and can afford it, I'd recommend the experience of building a kit yourself.

Just my 2 cents








_________________
http://www.scotttyrchadrumz.com
http://www.myspace.com/scotttyrchadrumz

i went to a tech college and took the guitar building courses. i've built an acoustic guitar, electric bass, and just recently i built my own drumset.

basically, anyone with some basic wood working skills and common sense can drill the holes and assemble the drum. the real skill comes in the finishing. finishing wood is by far the most difficult step in any wood working project especially finishing musical instruments because of the high level of professionalism in musical instrument finishing.

i spent some time working as a carpenter and most custom carpenters don't even do their own finishing. they hire a professional finisher to do that part. in most cases carpentry and wood finishing are two different fields of work but in instrument building the instrument builder needs to know both trades. not an easy thing.

before even thinking about finishing anything. i would buy Bob Flexner's book "Wood Finishing". read that and then decide if you want to finish a drumset. he is, in my opinion, the doctor of wood finishing. he easily explains everything about wood finishing with all the different techniques and finishes. he explains the differences and the good and bad aspects of each type of finish and all the different techniques involved in applying a finish. you can't just get a brush and start slapping on finish and expect it to look like your high gloss DW set nor get yourself a spray gun and thing everything will go hunky dory cause you know how to use a spray can of paint.

wood finishing is a long and tedious process. to get a high gloss piano finish can take up to a month depending on what type of finish you use and how you apply it. then the process doesn't stop there. after a finish is applied and dried out there is a process in which the newly applied finish needs to be wet sanded and then buffed out.

buy the book, he explains it all.

building your own drumset in a pain in the ass. i've built three of them from scratch - done the bearing edges (including snare drums) drilled the holes and did the stain/lacquering. there's a lot of times when you're not 100% sure if you did it right but when you get it all done it looks great and sounds fantastic. i strongly recommend every drummer build at least one snare drum in their life. i've gotten all my stuff from precision drum co in new york - fantastic folks there. you should all check it out.

Scogar wrote:

I was thinking about maybe trying this, because I have heard from some that it is a great way to save some money but still get a custom sound. I was wandering how many of you guys have tried it, how did it go, and how would you recommend doing it?



thanks guys!

http://www.drumsmylife.com/here-vp68827.html#68827

All the best...B








_________________
Yamaha Beech Custom, old Ludwig Supra-Phonic, Black Beauties or Ocheltree snares, Zildjian, DW pedals, Vic Firth 3A/5A/or 8D dependent on music & mood, and Pearl Racks..."Mainly"
And Microsoft free...
Buenos Nochas Meinen Freunden... ';o]

This thread along with the websites provided has inspired me to make my own snare! After I buy my cymbals I think I shall do this! I wanna try building an acrylic snare first but I'm wondering if theres a way to get designs on em? Or how to get your own custom logo badge?








_________________
Mapex M Birch
DW & Mapex Hardware
Zildjian Cymbals
Evans Heads

i would absolutely love to do this, but refuse to ever do it. I have a feeling if I tried to put stain or lacquer on anything at all, I'd mess it all up. Until the day I can watch someone in person do it as they explain everything and all the steps I'll take a seat and just get everything I need from guitar center or ebay, lol. but like I said before, I would LOVE to do this.








_________________
www.myspace.com/crimsonorchidband

www.crimsonorchid.com

Gold N Times will sand blast designs into their acrylic shells.








_________________
www.pjclevenger.com

www.medicinemandrumsaz.com

DML Special: 20% off all drums.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left!

Timekeep69 wrote:

zen_drummer wrote:

Timekeep69 wrote:

No offense but you're assembling your snare drum, not building it.

That's a fact.... of course, lots of custom builders are really just assemblers when you consider what's really going on.

Yes and no. Drilling straight holes and cutting good bearing edges isn't as easy as one would think.

I don't agree with the argument that because most companies use Keller Shells they're all the same or that it's not really building. Carpenters don't cut down the trees and make their own 2x4's. Most furniture makers buy their wood from someone else too.

To have someone else apply a finish, cut the edges and drill the holes is really the same as buying a desk from Wal-mart and saying that you built it and in reality all you did was take it out of the box and assembled it.

Same thing.

I dont know if i would consider drilling holes and cutting 2 bearing edges the difference between assembling and building








_________________

Timekeep69 wrote:

There are a lot of places to go to get supplies. Drummaker.com and amdrumparts.com both sell everything you need and will do the bearing edge cutting and drilling for you for a fee ( I 've heard amdrumparts does it for free as long as you order everything from them). This works if you want a wrapped kit. If you want a lacquer kit, you'll have to do it all yourself because lacquering a shell with holes drilled in it is a pain in the butt.

You'll save on the labor charges but you won't save much on the hardware. Depending on what you want, you could still spend over $1000 just on hardware.

the vocalist for my band used to refinish furnature, and he said he would have absulutely no problm finishing a drilled shell. what are the pronblems you run into?








_________________

xdoseonex wrote:

Timekeep69 wrote:

zen_drummer wrote:

Timekeep69 wrote:

No offense but you're assembling your snare drum, not building it.

That's a fact.... of course, lots of custom builders are really just assemblers when you consider what's really going on.

Yes and no. Drilling straight holes and cutting good bearing edges isn't as easy as one would think.

I don't agree with the argument that because most companies use Keller Shells they're all the same or that it's not really building. Carpenters don't cut down the trees and make their own 2x4's. Most furniture makers buy their wood from someone else too.

To have someone else apply a finish, cut the edges and drill the holes is really the same as buying a desk from Wal-mart and saying that you built it and in reality all you did was take it out of the box and assembled it.

Same thing.

I dont know if i would consider drilling holes and cutting 2 bearing edges the difference between assembling and building

I do.

Screwing up either will ruin your drum. A bearing edge can be re-cut (sometimes) but if you screw up the lug alignment you either live with it or start over on a new shell.

With someone else cut the edges and drill the holes, all you have to do is screw on the lugs, strainer and butt plate. That's not building a drum, that's assembling a drum.









Last edited by Timekeep69 on Wed Nov 07, 2007 10:13 am; edited 2 times in total
_________________
www.pjclevenger.com

www.medicinemandrumsaz.com

DML Special: 20% off all drums.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left!

So, this thread go me thinking about designing and assembling my own acrylic snare. I went to am drum parts and apparently they dont sell just the acrylic shells. They say they're only available as completed drums. Where can I go to get just the shell. If possible I'd like to buy everything from one place.








_________________
www.myspace.com/lookingtodrum

Tama
Saluda
Evans
Pro-Mark/Vic Firth

Looks like drummaker.com has just the shells.








_________________

Dr. Rodney McKay wrote:

Well, I only know one thing and that is that flying darkness that eats energy can only be very, very bad.

http://www.MySpace.com/PageFive

www.drummaker.com

http://goldntimesdrums.com/

http://www.rcistarlite.com/








_________________
www.pjclevenger.com

www.medicinemandrumsaz.com

DML Special: 20% off all drums.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left!

OK. I'll have to check them when I get home. Drummaker won't work on my work computer.








_________________
www.myspace.com/lookingtodrum

Tama
Saluda
Evans
Pro-Mark/Vic Firth

AMDRUMPARTS.com is a good way to build your own drums








_________________
Who-Leo Makes Beats.

zen_drummer wrote:

Timekeep69 wrote:

No offense but you're assembling your snare drum, not building it.

That's a fact.... of course, lots of custom builders are really just assemblers when you consider what's really going on.

I dissagree...the fact youre using a keller shell doesnt mean you didnt build the drum...you have to measure it like crazy, you have to get the edges right...buying drum with edges and holes drilled is assembling. put the parts on. having a raw shell is a different story. the time alone to get a good finish is worth most custom drum prices...
But for materials you could also try www.drumfoundry.com
Keep us updated on the progress.








_________________
Drums so tough they'll beat YOU to death!

[quote="Scogar"]I was thinking about maybe trying this, because I have heard from some that it is a great way to save some money but still get a custom sound. I was wandering how many of you guys have tried it, how did it go, and how would you recommend doing it?


I am thinking about trying this but it mite be hard but idk.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to message me.








_________________
www.pjclevenger.com

www.medicinemandrumsaz.com

DML Special: 20% off all drums.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left!

yeah i actually plan on building my next kit, i think im going through Drumfoundry.com for my kick shell, and bestdrumdeals.com for everything else.
im doing the edges, lug holes, my lil venting system, etc..
here are the sizes
20x20 kick
8x10, 8x12rack toms and 14x14 floor toms
7x13 snare.
the finish right now is gonna be black/ebony satin stain.
and right now its only costing me about 1300 compared to everyone else i got a quote from. ohh that price doesnt include shipping. but everyone i asked was asking about 2400-3000 range. so hahah, im going the easy way out, and i actually enjoy building and staining shells.
its should be fun








_________________
Colten
4 piece Risen kit
dw hardware
zildjian and sabian cymbals

Just curious, who'd you get quotes from?








_________________
www.pjclevenger.com

www.medicinemandrumsaz.com

DML Special: 20% off all drums.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left!

yeah im considering building my own kit as well....








_________________
PDP, Tama, and Pearl Drums
DW, Pearl, and Gibraltar Hardware
Sabian, Zildjian, and Saluda Cymbals

www.myspace.com/EOTEband

Timekeep69 wrote:

Just curious, who'd you get quotes from?

mainly all custom builders like Truth, Battlefield, six gun.
mainly them.

Ah.








_________________
www.pjclevenger.com

www.medicinemandrumsaz.com

DML Special: 20% off all drums.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left!

if anyone is thinking of ordering drum shells from drumfoundry.com

think again, it took for ever for the shells to get to me and they had to ship them piece by piece cause the order wasnt completed! it sucked!

but if you want acrylic snare shells? go to Gold N Times, as discussed before! but also, www.drummaker.com has a line of acrylic shells called

AQUA BOMB, and they are the same colors and considerably cheaper than RCI shells. i go with aqua bomb evertime now!








_________________
Creature Drum Co. Kit
20x24, 12x6, 15x13
Ghost Black Satin Stain w/ Brass Hardware

14x7 Hybrid Snare (Green Glitter/Clear Acrylic) {STOLEN}

Aqua Bombs are made by RCI.








_________________
www.pjclevenger.com

www.medicinemandrumsaz.com

DML Special: 20% off all drums.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left!

why are they cheaper then?








_________________
Creature Drum Co. Kit
20x24, 12x6, 15x13
Ghost Black Satin Stain w/ Brass Hardware

14x7 Hybrid Snare (Green Glitter/Clear Acrylic) {STOLEN}