Life on the frozen tundra of South Dakota Life on the frozen tundra of South Dakota

My First Attempt At Building A Drum

My First Attempt At Building A Drum

Instrument completed on 7/16/2018

Instrument completed on 7/16/2018

So as I make mention ad nausium to anyone and everyone, my son the Tundra Boy is a musician. If I am honest, he's probably a better musician than I am. I can play certain instruments better (right now, anyway) but overall when it comes to raw talent, ability and potential, he wins hands down.

He plays many instruments, but if you pin him down to pick just one there will be no hesitation on his part: drums. He is a drummer, and has been since age three.

At the time of this writing, his current drum kit is a yellow maple DW Collector's Series set given to him as a generous gift from his uncle. It has been augmented, accessorized and expanded until it now fills about a third of our large music room.

However, like his father, the Tundra Boy is a gearhead. He's always interested in adding more music equipment to his arsenal. So, naturally he wants more drums. And not coincidentally, with me being an instrument builder he quickly came to the conclusion that I should build him a drum kit.

He came to that conclusion a lot faster than I did. In fact, I'm really not sure I'm there yet. That to which I have conceded, however, is to start by building him a snare drum. I figured I'd give that a try and if it went well and I enjoyed the process, then perhaps maybe I'd continue on and build more. But (despite what he tells everyone) I haven't yet made up my mind if I'm going to build any more than this single drum.

So, here it is. My first drum. I must say I think it turned out better than my first guitar did. The Tundra Boy determined all of the specifications he wanted, and I took it from there:

  • Wood: Birdseye Maple

  • Size: 14" X 6.5"

  • Hoops: Drum Factory Direct 2.3mm Triple Flange 10 Lug Brass

  • Lugs: Drum Factory Direct Brass

  • Throw: Drum Workshop Mag Throw Off in Gold

  • Butt Plate: Drum Workshop 3 Position in Gold

  • Snare Wires: Drum Workshop True Tone 20 Strand

  • Heads: Drum Workshop (Remo)

The completed drum.

The completed drum.

The completed drum.

The completed drum.

The completed drum.

The completed drum.

The completed drum.

The completed drum.

The completed drum.

The completed drum.

The completed drum.

The completed drum.

The completed drum.

Check out the construction photos of this drum.

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This page last updated on 07/17/2018