Anybody build drum sets?

[Dave Dionne]

My son just called and wanted to know if it was possible to build a drum set? Not a tongue drum but a drum set.

Any body have experience in this?

Thanks Dave

[Chuck Saunders]

Building a drum set is easy assuming you by the shells. I recommend www.drumfoundry.com as a good supplier of the hardware.

[Ryan Hovis]

Something I'd really like to do, however the folks at Yamaha can do it better than I ever could. Laminating perfectly round shells, getting the a good bearing edge, way beyond most people's skill sets. Not saying it can't be done but I wouldn't even know where to start.

[JayStPeter]

Google Keller drum shells, and you can look on ebay. DW used to use them before making their own shells. Lots of small semi-custom makers still do. Like many things woodworking, the reason to do this is not to save money. Buying complete sets is generally less expensive. If that's your reason, look for a high quality used set. Building is if you want something you made yourself and customized to your specs. There's only a couple shell makers out there though. You cut the shells to height and put your own bearing edge on them and install your own hardware and finish. I wouldn't attempt to make my own multi-ply shells. Especially with high quality shells like these available.

[Josiah Bartlett]

You can also build drums by coopering solid pieces together like barrel staves instead of laminating them. It is probably easier to make them come out nice, especially if you build a big shopmade router lathe to surface them round. I'm sure there will be a drummer along soon to talk about the differences in tone quality by doing this, but I suspect your first attempt at a drum set isn't going to be any better or worse no matter which way you do it.

Musical instruments can be very fun and satisfying projects. I still have and play the electric guitar I made in college using borrowed tools. I travelled about 100 miles to make the guitar, using on person's jointer to glue up the body, another person's band saw, my router, my dad's drill press, and my college engineering lab to assemble all the hardware and solder up the electronics. Its not the best playing or sounding guitar I've ever touched, but it is uniquely mine and I get comments on it when I play it. I put a clear gel finish on it and it looks great.