Drum Sticks on Lathe

[Clint Baxter]

Saw a neat episode on "How's It Made" where they showed how drumsticks were made. The actual turning wasn't near as involved as the process of selecting sticks to create a matched pair. IIRC there was some sophisticated weighing and they ended up with an actual tested doing the final matching. If one could find that episode it would give some additional insight into creating their own set.

Good Luck, Clint

[Dale Coons]

I've made sticks from purpleheart and redheart and maple. Make sure you choose (or cut) pieces so the grain runs straight down the stick--if it runs off the side you're looking at an early split! I just used a store bought set for measurments. The 'wow' factor is real high, there's a lot of envy on the drum line!

You'll have fun with this!

[Brian Kent]

It seems like a prime time to use split stock to make sure the grain goes straight from end to end.

I used to start with a bucket of sticks and just kept playing and trading one at a time until I found two that weighed, sounded, and felt the same. I assume you would want to start with 4 or more sticks to find a matching pair. The more you make, the higher percentage will find a mate.

I have been very impressed in recent years how much better matched a packaged pair of sticks tends to be. I don't know if it is better quality control of the wood or matching at least by weight before they are packaged.

Do it. Learn and teach and use and sell!

[Brian Kent]

http://www.ehow.com/how_4865588_make...rumsticks.html

I especially like how you get a piece of wood at least 3 feet long and 2 feet wide, place the wood on a lathe, and chip and sculpt it with standard lathe tools until the drumstick is round and 1/4" thick. Then paint or stain it.

Sounds like a fool-proof recipe to me.

[Steve Trauthwein]

I made a couple sets for my grandson. Really hard to match. What really convinced me that it was impractical was acquiring a stick for a reference. I talked to a drummer at a show I was doing, he gave me one of his broken sticks that were readily handy from a tube of them. Sticks are also different dimensions for their specific use.

Steve

[Joe Charles]

Good stuff and I don't mean to threadjack but this is such an old thread I hope the OP doesn't mind. I'm a total newbie to turning and plan to start making some sticks tomorrow (after I pick up my lathe in the AM) Did I mention I'm a bit new? I've been drumming professionaly for twenty years and like a bit of "off balance" between my sticks, heavier on the left please, so that doesn't scare me. and I have a bunch of hickory, maple and ash to play with. I'm just wondering how best to turn a spindle like this on the lathe. I am totaly new so go ahead and laugh, tell me to read my new owners manual (which I will) but while at the store is there anything I should pick up to help with the process. I'm getting the HF bench top lathe http://www.harborfreight.com/5-speed...the-65345.html I thought would be a good starter, gets good reviews. I plan on picking up a larger faceplate for other things. I have their chineese 8 piece woodturning kit for starters.
Haven't visited here for a while and thought I'd throw this out at ya'll. Obviously I don't have a ton of loot to drop on this but can I get away with the centers which come with the unit?
Thanks in advance.

[Brian Kent]

Hi Joe. I am also a drummer and a novice turner. Are you familiar with splitting wood to get straight grain top to bottom? Also, look up steady rests, and make one out of 3 or 4 inline skate wheels and some plywood. You will need a lathe chuck (harbor freight has them with #2 morse taper) and you will need grinding wheels and a sharpening system.

[Joe Charles]

Thanks Brian, I'm off to get my new lathe. I've done enough reading here to know what i'm in for as far as spending money! But I'm looking forward to hours of fun. I'm not familiar with the term "splitting wood" to get straight grain, I'll have to do a search on that one. Wish me luck and maybe I can post some pics soon.
Thanks everyone for a great resource here at the creek!
Joe

[Paul Williams]

My son-in-law wanted to try making drum sticks. So last week we made a pair. Saying they are a pair might not be too accurate, but there are two of them. It was his first time on the lathe. We used cherry, and he practiced on a few pieces of scrap before starting on the sticks. We did not use a study and worked form the tail stock towards the head stock. Pretty good for a first time turnner.

If you can find a turnner at a local club or elsewhere to give you a hand getting started it will help alot. Most turnners I know would be glad to spend an hour or so with you to get you started off on the right foot.

[Brian Kent]

Good point Robert about the diameter of the wheels. Inline skate wheels are as big or bigger diameter than roller skate wheels. It would be interesting to find out what the smallest diameter is that a three wheel steady rest would support with inline skate wheels.

I am on my coffee break and just figured out that if the 3 wheels were the same size as the bottom of my styrofoam coffee cup, they could support a spindle 3/8" or less in diameter without touching. My jazz 7A sticks (very thin for light playing) are 1/2" diameter, so it would work.

Joe, i don't know if I am using the correct term, but I am talking about putting a hatchet in the end of a piece of a log and knocking it in until the wood splits. It will always split with the grain. The resulting piece will have the same wood fibers throughout the stick.

Also, If I was trying this, I would plan on making about a dozen sticks, start fires with half because they don't look or feel right, and then play with the remaining sticks until I found at least one or two pair that match.

[thomas prusak]

I've been playing drums for 30 years and never once ( until today ) worried about my sticks matching. Playing hard rock growing up I broke lots of sticks and always just grabbed whatever stick that wasn't broke. YET! just my thoughts and opinion

[Thomas Canfield]

I did not see a string steady mentioned, but that might be the cheap and easy way to provide a steady for the long spindles. Some type of support or hand backing seem to be required for a long spindle of that diameter.

[Robert Henrickson]

Just came across this -- turning knitting needles! Might have some ideas that would work for drum sticks. Explore the articles he has posted on his site -- lots of good ideas on how to make things at home

http://www.davidreedsmith.com/Articl...ng_needles.htm

[John Gbur]

There is an article on the same site about making a magnetic steady rest. http://www.davidreedsmith.com/articl.../magsteady.htm. I built one and am working on a second one. The wheel spacing determines how small an item you can turn. My next version may have closer spacing but the current version works fine for drumsticks.

[Ryan Mooney]

That knitting needle article is pure gold. I like all of David Reed Smiths articles, he explains it so even dolts like myself can understand.

I've been making drop spindles which have a similar set of problems and have had really good luck with the collect chuck theory turning out to ~12" long (I've done a few at 14" and that was around where it didn't work anymore without doing it in stages like the needle article suggests) and ~3/16" or a smidge less at the thin part. For those I just been turning one end round for ~1" between centers and then reversing it into the collect chuck and supporting the far end with a live center gently. Mostly using the skew with light shaving cuts and turning to finish about 2" at a time its stable enough that I don't have significant chatter (if I get to heavy handed in the middle it will bounce, that usually means my tool approach is wrong anyway). Interestingly - for me - I find a larger ~1.5" skew actually works better for me on these as I can control the angle better (its easy to see). I'm sure a better turner wouldn't have as much difficulty with a smaller skew and that would allow you to get into corners better but I definitely find it harder to control.

A related (if slightly more esoteric) theory and shows how to use/build a string steady is turning a trembleur: http://www.lavieenbois.com/html/trembleur_eng.htm I could definitely see making the mag steady as a string steady that would be very convenient indeed.. Hmm...

For those unfamiliar here are what drop spindles look like, the commonality with drum sticks is pretty obvious These were both turned with a collect chuck at one end and a live center at the other without re-chucking at all.

IMG_1383.jpg