Outside the box drum shells

Glue is cheap. Seems like the more staves the better, up to a point.
I'm not worried about the cost of glue, rather the amount of glue vs wood. The more staves, the more glue.

I'm thinking here about how much glue is used in ply drums and how that glue affects the wood. A stave drum only has glue at the joints. The less joints, the less glue, the more pure wood surface area the drum has.
 
If you can make decent drums with Palo Verde, you’ve found great use for an otherwise useless tree. About the only thing they are good for are falling on cars in storms. Hope Mesquite doesn’t work out. They at least smell good after smashing the other cars.
"Doesn't" or "Does" work out?
I think as that wood is everywhere (as well as the Palo Verde) it'll be good to play with. Make some 4" wide staves and go to town!
I wanted to do a stave drum in tribute to Claypools rainbow bass.
Rainbow staves would be sweet!!
I'd like to see a stave drum made from drumstick portions (not the tip end)
YouTuber RdavidR did a bass drum beater out of those. It would take A LOT of sticks, but if it's all hickory it would be a good, hard drum.
 
Rainbow is maple walnut purple heart and ebony. I think what would get complicated is basically making staves out of thin pieces of each wood.
 
Rainbow is maple walnut purple heart and ebony. I think what would get complicated is basically making staves out of thin pieces of each wood.
Even if you went bigger, you'd still get the look IMO.
That's a great idea for sure.
 
I think with multiple wood types you'll get something fairly unique looking and sounding but a beautiful drum can still sound like crap. That would suck so bad to make a visual masterpiece that's a complete turd sound wise.
 
I think with multiple wood types you'll get something fairly unique looking and sounding but a beautiful drum can still sound like crap. That would suck so bad to make a visual masterpiece that's a complete turd sound wise.
True. Like the "closet wood kit" on another post.
 
"Doesn't" or "Does" work out?
I think as that wood is everywhere (as well as the Palo Verde) it'll be good to play with. Make some 4" wide staves and go to town!
My comment was kinda tongue-in-cheek. Palo Verde has to be good for something. At least mesquite smells good in the fire. Palo Verde roots smell like a sewer, it’s messy, it falls down, breaks apart…. Won’t have much wood grain, but who knows. It may be a killer drum.
 
My comment was kinda tongue-in-cheek. Palo Verde has to be good for something. At least mesquite smells good in the fire. Palo Verde roots smell like a sewer, it’s messy, it falls down, breaks apart…. Won’t have much wood grain, but who knows. It may be a killer drum.
All good points. Grunter's Dad gave me a site for layout so I'll get busy cutting staves. The trunks aren't that thick, but people with fallen PV's or mesquite are always willing to let you haul it off for free.
 
All good points. Grunter's Dad gave me a site for layout so I'll get busy cutting staves. The trunks aren't that thick, but people with fallen PV's or mesquite are always willing to let you haul it off for free.
There is that. Should be an interesting project though.
 
I think with multiple wood types you'll get something fairly unique looking and sounding but a beautiful drum can still sound like crap. That would suck so bad to make a visual masterpiece that's a complete turd sound wise.
I agree except that no beautiful drum could ever possibly sound like crap. A beautiful drum could have terrible rims, heads, bad tuning, snare wires or a combination of everything, but I doubt that a well constructed stave snare could do anything other than sound and be beautiful especially if treated properly :)
 
There is that. Should be an interesting project though.
I sure hope so. If not, I'll learn a lot from it too.
I agree except that no beautiful drum could ever possibly sound like crap. A beautiful drum could have terrible rims, heads, bad tuning, snare wires or a combination of everything, but I doubt that a well constructed stave snare could do anything other than sound and be beautiful especially if treated properly :)
Agreed.
 
Doesn't Arizona have a lot petrified wood? Or how about chollo wood, have the first cactus snare ever. 🌵
 
Doesn't Arizona have a lot petrified wood? Or how about chollo wood, have the first cactus snare ever. 🌵
That would be epic!!
I would suggest letting whatever wood you use, dry out for a while, a long while. It would be a shame to cut the staves and then watch them twist or bend as they dry
Absolutely. I actually have a few mesquite logs in my firewood pile that have been there for 10 years. Whether or not it's enough for a 14" drum is the question.
 
I would suggest letting whatever wood you use, dry out for a while, a long while. It would be a shame to cut the staves and then watch them twist or bend as they dry
This is great advice @GruntersDad!
My dad is a luthier and most of the wood he uses is decades old. He has quite a bit of exotic wood of different varieties from all over the world. I’ll find out if anything he’s not planning to use that might be appropriate for a stave snare and let you know. I am interested in learning to be a drum smith at least as a hobby, and would be willing to provide @Cmdr. Ross with the wood if there’s anything that would be a good material just to see how it turns out. 👍 :)
 
This is great advice @GruntersDad!
My dad is a luthier and most of the wood he uses is decades old. He has quite a bit of exotic wood of different varieties from all over the world. I’ll find out if anything he’s not planning to use that might be appropriate for a stave snare and let you know. I am interested in learning to be a drum smith at least as a hobby, and would be willing to provide @Cmdr. Ross with the wood if there’s anything that would be a good material just to see how it turns out. 👍 :)
That would be excellent. ❤️
 
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