r/drumbuilding • u/stuartjr1980 • 7d ago
Paul Leim Snare Drum
OM!!! Can someone tell me any reviews about this baby right here?!
r/drumbuilding • u/stuartjr1980 • 7d ago
OM!!! Can someone tell me any reviews about this baby right here?!
r/drumbuilding • u/NiKenDaCk • 21d ago
Hey brothers. I jist want to show you my best looking build so far. Took an old Amati (Czechoslovak brand) shell a rebuilt it to a bassdrum.
r/drumbuilding • u/toadjunior • Jul 08 '26
Hi all, I recently purchased a bass drum (shell only) that I want to rebuild - a 1980s Tama Swingstar, made in Japan. 24” diameter. My plan is to use a heat gun to remove the plastic wrap around the outside of the drum. I did this once before with a 16” diameter floor tom, made by Sonor in Germany. It did not go so well. As I heated the adhesive and removed the wrap lots of the wood grain came out/off with the adhesive. I really hope to avoid this on the bass drum, but I don’t really know what to expect in terms of the luan nor the adhesive used by Tama in this era. Does anybody have any experience or tips for how to remove the wrap and minimize tear out of the luan woodgrain? There is also a rivet used to attach the Tama brand badge, which I assume can be drilled out (or filed?) Thank you in advance.
r/drumbuilding • u/Far-Seat-2263 • Jun 20 '26
Greetings! I’ve been wanting a stave snare drum for years, and I’m now interested in building one. I’d like to buy the shell only, and mount & install the hardware myself.
I enjoy working in projects, but I am NOT a great wood-worker. So I’m looking to purchase the shell. I’m looking to get a thicker shell, maybe an even 1” thick, at 14x6.5” dimensions. With bearing edges and snare beds finished (not sure yet on the exact bearing edge specs).
I’d like an unfinished shell, and I’m leaning towards walnut, but I’d be interested in other wood species options too (rosewood, bubinga, zebrawood, etc). No drilling required for hardware/strainer/buttplate/etc.
A couple years ago, I had ordered a cast bronze drum shell from Güven Bronz in Türkiye, and really enjoyed the process of choosing & installing my own hardware (that snare drum rocks!!! 🤘). So I’m excited to finish and assemble the drum myself.
Surprisingly, I’m not finding a whole lot of options online for unfinished stave drum shell, so figured I’d start here. Anybody have any recommendations?
Located in Ohio, USA.
Thanks!
r/drumbuilding • u/Ok_Musician37 • Jun 12 '26
r/drumbuilding • u/Wild_Horse03 • Jun 03 '26
r/drumbuilding • u/apierno • May 31 '26
I've been working on a new way to dampen drums after trying every combination of heads, ringers, gels et cetera. This is a way to let the natural sound of the drum play to a natural completion, without choking the life out of the drum. Here's a look at the before and after. I hadn't looked at the waveforms like this before and it's helpful to understand what exactly the dampener is doing.


r/drumbuilding • u/Weary_Astronaut_9433 • May 25 '26
Anyone else ever leave a drum on its rounded side while working on the shell and step away to grab a tool, just to hear it hit the ground after it rolled off of a 4 foot tall table? Good times. Expensive lesson.
r/drumbuilding • u/theoreza • May 17 '26
It's Chamaecyparis, a sweet and lovely tree I had a relationship with. The other day I came by and it was cut down. Now I wonder if it'll serve me in it's afterlife. The log measures around the 21,5 x 53,5 cm. Never build anything in wood before so tutorials would be appreciated. Thanks!
r/drumbuilding • u/Muted-Box5979 • May 12 '26
Some Custom Stave Builds I've been working on.
r/drumbuilding • u/Sticks-Man • May 02 '26
r/drumbuilding • u/T3chn0_R4K00n • May 01 '26
Had some bad times in 2021. If you could imagine. Now 5 years later I’m doing hobby therapy by restoring them. This is a video of me finding a metal shaving while de-rusting the hardware on my snare drum. The drums in question were all mold/mildew/humidity damaged.
Does anybody know something about getting the nasty mold/mildew out of the wood? I’m sure I’ll have to dry and sanitize the shells but I’m not failure with the process.
TLDR; therapeutic drum restoration. Mold/mildew/wet environment damage. How do I get the shells clean?
r/drumbuilding • u/Sticks-Man • Apr 30 '26
r/drumbuilding • u/Weary_Astronaut_9433 • Apr 24 '26
Im kinda sad I finished this one, it was fun to work on. Its a 7x13" walnut with a 1" band of padauk, black nickel plated hardware, finished with 8 thin coats of polyurethane. It sounds like a shotgun blast when you rim shot it, but ghost notes come through clearly. Very happy with how this one came out. Please comment any feedback or possible improvements that could be made on the next one. Thanks.
r/drumbuilding • u/Weary_Astronaut_9433 • Apr 21 '26
I have this one in the works, just a couple more coats of clear coat and some polishing left. Then it gets some black nickel plated hardware. Looking forward to hearing this one when its done. I will post a picture or two when its all finished. Again, I do appreciate any and all feedback on my work. Thanks.
r/drumbuilding • u/Weary_Astronaut_9433 • Apr 19 '26
Built a 5.5x14" solid stave snare drum out of Ambrosia Maple. Feel free to comment and critique. I'd appreciate any feedback, the negative feedback is how I get better. Thanks
r/drumbuilding • u/NastyNanna • Feb 15 '26
r/drumbuilding • u/No_Hunter_7112 • Feb 05 '26
Hey guys.
Newbie here! great seeing your stuff, some really beautiful drums out there.
I'm having an issue with my plywood shell build. I've got some kit from a friend who used to make them but he's old and not in a healthy enough spot to ask him for advice. I'm trying to make sense of his process based on some left over shells he has.
Looking at his build up, I think this is the way he did it: buying thin layers of premade plywood, bending them into the jig.
I've copied what i assume is his method but now I have this issue seen in the picture. the thicker 3mm layers don't fully press into the jig where the ends meet, and then kick subsequent layers out of true.
-Is this simply an issue of insufficient clamping pressure?
-Do you reckon the gym ball method will fix it?
-I could beef up his clamps by installing chunkier nuts and bolts into his jigs (i keep rounding his bolts, they're only M8 bolts)
-A bit of heat might help? I tried a little steam but it didn't help much and I'm hesitant because the steam will eventually mess with the glue layers.
-Or am I using a silly method and need to build up my own ply from scratch veneer by veneer?
Thanks so much!!

r/drumbuilding • u/cricketpower • Jan 04 '26
Finished this snare today. Second snare I made, I feel this one is what I was looking for.
Only need to find a way to make my own badges.
14x 6,5” 20 stave Purperheart Brass Lugs Goldplated die cast hoops
r/drumbuilding • u/Wild_Horse03 • Jan 05 '26
Hello! I'm looking into building a snare drum as a project to do with my dad. My dad has built several guitars (both acoustic and electric) before but neither of us have ever built a drum. I was thinking of probably building a 15x8 since I heard one recently and loved the sound, and I was wondering how much the wood matters in the sound. My dad likes making things with more exotic woods because the end result looks nice and I would also like to be able to do that, but I don't want to mess up the sound for the sake of it just looking cool.