my home made octobans

B

Big_Philly

Guest
Hey everyone,
inspired by some things I read here on DW and an article on making octobans I read on the internet I decided to give it a try. I wanted to get the basic materials as cheap as possible since it's just an experiment. So I decided to go for PVC rather than the more common acrylic. And since 6" PVC is an irregular size (very hard to find) in the Netherlands I went for an 8" diameter. I have made two octobans, one is 18"deep and the other 22". I equipped it with Remo Emperor, which is the only thing I regret. I can't really get the sound I want out of them (Yes, I did remember to make a bearing edge, so that's probably not the issue). I got some cheap noname lugs and screws, and Stagg tom brackets. I haven't got a stand yet though.

The standard PVC was a dark grey with some letters printed on them about the manufacturer, warranty and some production data. It was hideous. So I went to a paint store with one of my toms (I have a tama superstar custom in ocean fade lacquer, see signature line). It had to be mixed specially for me since they had nothing like it. The guy working there was amazed at the colour since it was not blue or green, but not really turquoise either. After a little experimenting he came up with the exact same colour and sold it to me at a small discount since he enjoyed the challenge of mixing that colour and we had a few good laughs discussing the colour and first few results.

Well enough with all the text, here's some pictures (sorry about the low quality):

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The "natural" PVC colour

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After spraying on a primer and the first layer of the ocean fade colour. I put some tape over the bearing edges to keep those clean.

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The two finished octobans.
The darker parts at the top are simply made by spraying another layer of paint; the paint is actually quite dark but the first layer was very thin and on a white primer. Now they look a lot more expensive and luxurious.

So now I'm gonna look for a proper stand. I have a piece of metal tubing that fits in the brackets so I'm probably gonna DIY a stand for it, by buying a cheap cymbal stand, drilling a hole in the tube and welding the tube onto the cymbal stand.
 
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thats wicked, who much did it cost you in the end?...do u have the link from the dw site?
 
They cost me about 200 euro's so far since I had part of it (most of the drilling) done by someone else with more experience. (the custom lacquer was expensive, even though I got a discount... ). The link to the webpage on how to make them:
http://www.robotics.com/tubetoms.html
The 200 euro's is without a stand but that's not gonna be very expensive if I DIY one.
 
Hey man, that really looks great. Cool to see that a poor student like me can make those octobans. Where did you get the lugs and rims? I might want to give it a shot, but I wouldn't know where to get the stuff here in Holland :).
 
That's some sweet stuff, Phil! I wish I was crafty...sure would make things cheaper.
 
You can ask for lugs and hoops at most music stores, or you could visit www.groovefactory.nl and see what they have. They have some pretty cheap heads and deliver for free throughout the netherlands.
The brackets are 22mm holes, so the Pearl ISS mounting system would fit there perfectly.
Thanks for the compliments :) I'm very proud of my octobans!
 
I saw the same article a while back, and have been looking around for some appropriate sized PVC. I actually just ran into some last night! Hopefully I'll have some that turn out as nicely as yours did.
 
You should ask good advice at a paint store about how to paint them, and generally be careful.
 
In a word,... AWESOME!! I never even thought about how easy it would be to make octobans before reading this thread. Now I suddenly have a new project.

Anyone every really compare the sound of home built vs the real thing?
 
The real Tama octobans are more naturally high-pitched because of the smaller diameter (they are 6" wide) and the harder material (I think they use fiberglass or acrylic). But if I tighten the heads a lot they have a very high-pitched but very powerful sound.
 
i'm so pumped to get started on mine...i think i'm going to get my sister to paint some psycedelic stuff on mine instead of trying to match the colour to my kit tho.
 
I've also been considering some tribal patterns, plenty of stickers available.
 
If I would ever do a project like this the color wouldn't be a problem; my drums are white :).

Do you have soundclips yet btw?
 
No, I don't have any mic'ing equipment :( But you're welcome to come and have a look ;)
 
they turned out amazing!!!! I wish I could do something like that. Maybe something to look into the future about :D
 
Thanks for all the compliments :)
Unfortunately a scratch appeared on the 22" octoban yesterday... I had some paint left so I covered it up a little bit but it did leave an ugly spot... So I went to the paint store immediately and bought a clear paint to protect it... I hope that works!
 
That's why I went for 8"... Way easier and it fits the name "octoban" better (octo = eight)...
 
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