The Poh-lightly

[Seth Dolcourt]

Hi, Creekers,

I'm back with another drum project. What's with the funky name? It's all a play on the first name of my customer, a highly talented drummer named Poh.

Previously we created the Poh-harmonic, which is a play on the Philharmonic line of concert hall snare drums as made by Pearl Drums (I'm sure Inc and registered and trademarked...) There was the bubinga Poh Bop kit, and now, this little gem, which is a smaller, nimbler, lighter drum kit. Poh's full time job is being a drummer, so he goes where the gig is, and he needs a kit that transports well, easy to set up / pack up, and above all, sound great.

Let's get started.

Start with a stack of staves. This group is for a 16" diameter x 12 tall kick drum. 16 staves, so each bevel is 11.25 degrees. Width of each stave is about 3.22", so the rough shell will be 16 1/8". Lathing down the shell will yield 15 7/8", which is needed to fit an industry standard 16" drum head.

kick_glue_1.jpg


Lay them out for a good grain story, tape them up to make a chain. Flip them onto their backs, glue up the bevels, and form them into a circle.

kick_glue_2.jpg


Clamp, and bake overnight. These are the Jorgensen web clamps. Cinches nice and firmly.

kick_glue_3.jpg


Here is the 14" diameter x 9" tall floor tom. I've ganged up some stainless steel furnace clamps. Very effective clamping for a cylinder object.

tom_glue_3.jpg


And the family of shells. 10" diameter x 6 tall, 14" x 9 and the 16 x 12 at the bottom.

stack_1.jpg

[Seth Dolcourt]

Here is a quick review of my lathe. It's a purpose built machine, mos' def' does not found in the catalog of the many fine lathe manufacturers out there.

10 x 6 is mounted. The traversing router does the work, I use a hand crank (located on the right) to spin the shell. Rpms are very low, I turn 5 to 10 rpm.

turn_10_1.jpg


Just take pass after pass. Periodically, check the size of the shell by measuring the circumference.
turn_10_2.jpg


And voila. I'm at my finish circumference. Sanding, of course.

turn_10_3.jpg


My inside-turning lathe.

inside_10_1.jpg


Little Bosch Colt traverses on the rails.

inside_10_2.jpg


Pass after pass, until I get the desired wall thickness, measured with a dial caliper. Sanding, of course.

inside_10_3.jpg

[Seth Dolcourt]

The 14" floor tom is inside lathed.
inside_14_1.jpg


The 16" kick drum gets lathed.
inside_16_1.jpg


In-progress shot.

inside_16_2.jpg


Another in progress shot.

inside_16_3.jpg



The family of shells is turned.
kit_turned_1.jpg


kit_turned_2.jpg

[Seth Dolcourt]

A coat of Watco danish oil.


stack_oiled_1.jpg


And quite a few coats of Target Coatings, EM6000.

I blame me, but I'm not exactly in love with Target. Again, it's not them, it's me. This is my first time using it, and rather than painstakingly test....I tested by shooting it right onto the shells. Test in production.

I know I did things wrong, too heavy a film thickness is probably my biggest sin. But....pressing on. Sanded to 2000 grit, then polished with 3M Perfect It.

polished_1.jpg

[Seth Dolcourt]

I know. The second quickest way to start an argument on SMC is to talk about sourcing from China. However....this is where drum parts are made. And these are not the cheap stuff that people associate with manufactured "there". These are pricey parts, high quality, and well worth it. Lea Hung is the source, and they don't distribute in the US, you have to buy direct from them (so a large shipping charge, too.) Their customer service was exemplary.

All the parts, bright shiny brass.
Lea_hung_order.jpg


Wing spurs and tube lugs.
Lea_hung_order_2.jpg


Tube lugs and tom brackets.

Lea_hung_order_3.jpg



I form edges on the lathed cylinder, by executing a 1/8" 45 degree profile on the outside of the shell, and another 45 degree chamfer on the inside, leaving about 1/16" of flat, unlathed edge. Sanded to smooth and fair the transitions between the chamfer and the flat.
rack_tom__edge_1.jpg

rack_tom__edge_3.jpg


rack_tom__edge_2.jpg

[Seth Dolcourt]

Drilling the shells for the tube lugs. Here, I have one dry-fit to test the spacing. I relied on a story stick for laying out the drill spacing.

drill_1.jpg


Lugs are installed with special mounting screws. The manufacturer of the hardware assembles a 4 mm screw, with lock washer and fender washer, as one unit. They come in various lengths, e.g. 9 mm long, 11, 14, 18, etc, depending on your shell wall thickness.

assemble_1.jpg


This is the mount for the ride cymbal.

assemble_2.jpg


More hardware goes on. Rack tom rail mount is that handle looking thing.

assemble_3.jpg


Mocking up the front head and hoop on the 16" diameter kick drum (commonly known as bass drums). Unseen is the mock up for the hardware that supported the back side of the kick drum. The hoop is a commercially available, pre-manufactured ring of ply-constructed maple.

assemble_4.jpg

[Seth Dolcourt]

That's my customer, Poh, fitting the drum heads on to the kick drum.

assemble_5.jpg


Yesterday, he fitted the drum heads and brass-plated hoops onto the two toms.

assemble_6.jpg



Back again to the kick drum, fitting up the cymbal mount.

assemble_8.jpg


Getting ready to play.

assemble_9.jpg


Yeah, baby! Awesome.

assemble_10.jpg


You Tube video of the drum kit. ----> What they sound like


Thanks for looking!

[Ted Calver]

Poh's smile says it all. Great post Seth. Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

[Seth Dolcourt]

Hi, Ted,

Thanks for the kind words!

Had this kit been a luxury item, it still would have been fun to make. Poh pays his rent as a full time drummer, gigs are at churches, local theater, students, weekly sessions, referrals, etc. So this kit is really a trade tool for him, as he establishes his professional brand. No doubt the kit will have plenty of adventures.

The next journey...padauk. That's all I'm letting slip right now. But it's gonna be fun.

[John Coloccia]

Interesting hardware on the bass drum. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like that.