Replies

1. 
   GregoryPaolini | May 18, 2007 09:23pm | #1

   I've seen several professional drum makers use plain old yellow glue for their drum bodies.   In my experience, it is stronger than the wood it binds anyway.

   As far as bubinga, I've worked with it a bit, and it doesn't share the oily properties that alot of the exotic woods have.  Yellow glue seems to work just fine with it, assuming you're using it as a solid for the drum body. Although If you plan to veneer it to the drum body, use a rigid glue such as plastic resin or epoxy.

2. 
   Jamie_Buxton | May 19, 2007 01:51am | #2

   Dunno if you've considered this, but you can buy drum shells from Anderson International   http://www.aitwood.com/     The printed catalog offers custom veneers, too.

1. 
   hamelech | May 19, 2007 06:10pm | #3

   J and G,Thank you for your responses! I'll take the plunge with the yellow glue and see what happensI thought about buying a shell, Keller is the big name manufacturer that keeps coming up. I scrapped the notion of making my own ply-shell, the complexity was incalculable. While browsing the Web for making drums, I came across sites that showed stave and segment construction, two methods I would have never thought of. Stave construction seems a very reasonable approach given my modest shop. A single 5/4, 5 foot long x 5" wide board fulfills a 8 segment ring 7" deep; this calculates to just over 2.5 board feet. Given SF Bay Area prices, I'm spending about $8-ish for a poplar board, and $20-ish for cherry, so I won't feel too horrible if I trash a 'learning' shell. This is less expensive than the $40-50 price for a manufactured maple shell, though it's true that a pre-made shell with bearing edges for the drum heads is a major head start. Cheers,Seth

1. 
   Jamie_Buxton | May 20, 2007 01:10am | #4

   Does weight enter into your situation?  That is, is this a marching drum or a bandstand drum?  The plywood shell probably can be thinner (and therefore lighter) for the same strength.

2. 
   JasonWhite | May 20, 2007 01:46am | #5

   "Free-floating" shells became all the rage about 20 years ago.  That's where the shell floats independently of the top & bottom rim (there are no lugs).  Makes for a louder, better-sounding snare drum (in my opinion).  I'm an old drum corps guy and all the corps are using them these days because of how loud they are.

   I'm pretty sure most snare shells are made of birch or maple (ply).

   TPToolpig (a.k.a. The man formerly known as "Toolfreak" and "Toolfanatic")

1. 
   hamelech | May 22, 2007 02:03am | #6

   Toolpig and Jamie,Sorry for not responding, I was enjoying the weekend weather.This is a drum set snare, so it won't suffer the rigors of a parade or a DCI field show. Weight isn't a factor, unless my son becomes involved in a band and 'ol Dad has to be the roadie.The current snare shell (Pearl Soundcheck) is a 'mahogany' ply, 6 mm thick. I've seen info that the thicker the wood shell, the less vibration, lending a sharper crack sound. Thinner shell equals more shell vibration, the drum plays warmer.Toolpig, I'm an ex-saxophone player, joined the school band and a competition marching band in the SF Bay Area. Couple of good local drum corps groups here, Santa Clara Vanguard and Concord Blue Devils. Lots of fun, keeps the kids out of trouble.Cheers,Seth

1. 
   hammer1 | May 22, 2007 06:47am | #7

   Have you seen Brady Drums web site? They have a few interesting pictures. http://www.bradydrums.com.au/index.php?id=block-drum-makingBeat it to fit / Paint it to match

2. 
   hamelech | May 22, 2007 08:31pm | #8

   hammer1,I think I've seen this site in the past, these guys may have had some pages once that were 'very' behind the scenes, basically showing the whole workflow. They've since re-vamped the site, but some pictures do look familiar, and what I saw before offers a lot of good information.Ah, the joys of figuring it all out!Thanks and cheers,Seth