My First Snare Drum "Build"

zambizzi

Platinum Member
Hey all, I'm building my first drum so I thought it'd be fun to create a thread that shows it from beginning to end. I'll update it as I make progress.

The shell was made by Tim Wolfe at JTP Co. It's a 14"x5.5"x.5" ash stave shell - he also did the edges and beds for me as I don't have the tools to do it myself. I'll buy a router table and do that myself next time (if there is a next time).

Here's a few shots of the raw shell and how different it looks with just two coats of tung oil, to start. I'll do 10-12 coats before drilling for the tube lugs, strainer, etc.

Let me know what ya's thinks!
 

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Wow! Looks good after the first coat even. Why ash?

It was cheap...ha!

Other than that, just because it's way different than anything I own or have owned. It seems like it would make a good snare wood, being somewhere between maple and birch (according to the experts).
 
Very brave doing it yourself good look with the final product ,was thinking exactly the same but i didnt dare to do it myself , was thinking to buy a shell from jtco or a free floating of pearl but never did. maybe ill look how you do it and auto-motivate.
 
I bought a JTP shell (instead of one of Frank's) for a couple of reasons. Frank is busy and doesn't have any pre-built, so far as I know...and I didn't want to wait for him. I'm sure I couldn't have gotten it as cheap as I got this one, either. Also, I've got two snares coming from him and thought it'd be cool to make a comparison.

Jeffery - I'd recommend you give it a try! Tung oil is stupid-proof and very hard to screw up...and you need nothing else if you use it to finish a shell. All of this was required for me...since I have no skill or knowledge on wood-woorking or drum-building at all.
 
Jeffery - I'd recommend you give it a try! Tung oil is stupid-proof and very hard to screw up...and you need nothing else if you use it to finish a shell. All of this was required for me...since I have no skill or knowledge on wood-woorking or drum-building at all.

doesnt tung oil eventually dry out?
are you going to have to redo this at any time?

im asking because i am in the process of refinishing a tama kit and was considering tung oil as an option.
 
doesnt tung oil eventually dry out?
are you going to have to redo this at any time?

im asking because i am in the process of refinishing a tama kit and was considering tung oil as an option.

Mmm...that I don't know. I've got a corner-shelf stand that's been in my family for about 150 yrs. that we re-finished w/ tung about 5 yrs. ago. It looks and feels as nice and smooth as it did the day we finished it.

Upon recommendation at Ghostnote, I used Bioshield No. 9 tung. It's entirely natural and contains some sort of resin that is supposed to seal as well as penetrate the wood.

If I'm wrong and I had to, I'd be OK with removing the hardware in 5-10 yrs. to re-apply a coat of tung or two.
 
looking good, i'd never have the guts to attempt that.

what size is the drum by the way? and what do you plan for it hardware wise? or are you not that far ahead in your mind yet?
 
looking good, i'd never have the guts to attempt that.

what size is the drum by the way? and what do you plan for it hardware wise? or are you not that far ahead in your mind yet?

Oh geeze, I forgot to mention that little detail. It's a 14"x5.5"...the edges are good 'ol offset 45's.

Yeah, I've got everything sitting in a box waiting to be slapped onto the drum. I bought 10 chrome tube-lugs, 2.3mm hoops, and a nice RCK strainer. I've got both 30 and 24-strand Puresound wires sitting here, I'll try both.
 
Very nice looking natural finish. Keep the progress photos coming.
 
It truly does look nice with that tung on there...cannot wait to see the rest. I keep telling myself that I am going to do this as well but finding the time has been an issue lately...keep the pics coming.

JIM
 
Hey Vin,

Did you get the BB?

Oh, please keep this thread going. I have absolutely NO handyman skills at all!

That said, if I buy the shell with edges and bed done, I want to know if it is something I should try!

Looks GREAT so far. Hope to hear a sample. Stave Ash should be an interesting sound!

Mike
 
Hey Vin,

Did you get the BB?

Oh, please keep this thread going. I have absolutely NO handyman skills at all!

That said, if I buy the shell with edges and bed done, I want to know if it is something I should try!

Looks GREAT so far. Hope to hear a sample. Stave Ash should be an interesting sound!

Mike

Hey Mike - nah I'm gonna hold off on the BB. I'll get another one eventually. I'll definitely post some sound clips as soon as I have this old girl put together!
 
You have no woodworking skills or experience and you're going to drill the hardware holes yourself? You're pretty brave.

Measure thrice, cut once. Or drill once. Or whatever.
 
You have no woodworking skills or experience and you're going to drill the hardware holes yourself? You're pretty brave.

Measure thrice, cut once. Or drill once. Or whatever.

Chicken and egg, man. How will I get good at drilling drum shell holes if I never try it?

I'm going to measure it thirteen times, have my wife triple-check my work...and then sleep on it a day prior to doing it. It's my first build...I'll probably *still* hose something! :)
 
That's awesome!

As of late, I've gotten the itch to attempt one myself. I do have quite a bit of wood working under my belt.

Looks great so far. Thanks for posting and taking the "point man" position for those of us who are thinking of making one also.

Also, the tung oil will leave a very, very thin layer of lacquer-like coating on the shell when it cures. I recently removed this layer refinishing the inside shells on my kit which were sealed with tung oil a while back.
 
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