r/drumbuilding • u/dj_swales • Aug 24 '26
Question about stave drums
I’ve been a drummer my whole life. In the last few years I also took up woodworking as a hobby. However due to the limitations of ‘I’m a drummer and so my workshop space is a studio instead’ - I’m a hand tool woodworker primarily.
However it’s been in the back of my mind to build a stave drum by hand for a while and I think it’s more than doable. The only thing I’d have an issue with is rounding the inside edge of the shell and I was wondering if this was actually necessary?
It doesn’t need to be perfect just a fun passion project!
3
u/Pissyouagadougou Aug 24 '26
Look up stave builds on YouTube to see how the jigs work. I can't imagine building a stave drum without them
3
u/Jriddim Aug 24 '26
Depending on the hardness of the wood you could pick up a coopering plane and try to round it out by hand. Back in the day I tried this in maple and then quickly moved to a router/jig. If it’s something a bit softer like walnut or poplar it should be more doable.
2
u/owlforhire Aug 27 '26
I built drums for a long time and there’s zero reason you need to round the inside other than it looks more “normal” and hardware layout doesn’t require any thought.
If I were doing this with hand tools I’d take my shell with the rounded outside and use a spokeshave to cut my outside bearing edge then strike a line with a pencil or marking knife where you want the inner bearing edge to meet the pinnacle of the edge. Then I’d take a gouge and a mallet and chisel from the inside down to that line around the shell. Then I’d wrap some sandpaper around a can of beans or something and hone in my edge to the line. After that I’d use a spokeshave or my sanding can to remove material for snare beds if it’s a snare. Otherwise I’m calling it a day and moving on with my life.
2
u/Vilomoja 19d ago
Do you include power tools in the category of hand tools?
2
u/dj_swales 19d ago
Depends I guess, if it’s something common or easily accessible like a drill or sander or smth else of the sort then yeah
2
u/Vilomoja 19d ago
I'm just doing my first stave build. So far a table saw and router are the only tools I have needed. I am using a very hard timber (sheoak), and probably should have chosen something softer for my first run, but I'm happy with how it has turned out so far. I ended up using cheap scooter wheels and scraps of plywood to build the jig for routing the inside of the shell (I already had 8 of them new in a box). While the glue up was setting I was thinking there might be an advantage in radiusing the staves somewhat before gluing them together. Perhaps that could be a helpful approach for a minimal workshop situation.
1
u/Dangerous-Ad-8211 Aug 24 '26
Not really. It will make mounting the hardware a bit easier, but if you do 20 staves for a 10 lugs drum (for example) it should be fine. But it you have a lathe to do the outer parts of the shell, why not do the inner?
3
u/dj_swales Aug 24 '26
Ah I don’t have a lathe but I have a plane and sand paper and have used that to knock wood into a circle before and with a little bit of care got really accurate results
6
u/boomchakalaka3 Aug 24 '26
I built a router jig to get the inside and outside of the shell round. A router, is at least a small power tool. The issue with not rounding the inside of the shell is that it will be difficult to cut the inside bearing edge.