Drum

[PChristy]

The drummer in my son's band has asked me if there is away we can cut the depth of a drum down without messing up the drum - not sure what he is wanting - I haven't seen the drum itself - any of you guys ever heard of this - done it or seen it done?

 

[Mike Davis]

Most drums are made with a laminated plywood frame/drum/barrel. Modern band drums have metal screw/bolts that hold and tighten the heads. And most are covered with a plastic skin, some are glued some are loose.

You will have to remove all of the hardware, cut the drum to the height they want, preferably equally from each end, cut down the screws and reassemble all of the pieces.

The tricky part is getting the edge of the drum smooth so the heads roll over and tighten well without sticking or even ripping and avoiding any hardware that may be in the way. I would probably set up a router to trim and round the edges then sand by hand.

Cutting down the width will affect the sound.

 

[PChristy]

Thanks Mike I am not sure why he wants to cut it down - sound I am guessing - It might be more trouble then it is worth - I will let him know -

 

[Mike Davis]

I doubt you have a band saw that large. As I said in the previous post I would set up a router to cut it.

Just remembered the screws are not threaded all the way. You will have to buy new ones or rethread the screws. Some types are chrome plated which presents another challenge.

 

[rcflyer23]

The one way I have seen it done is with a REALLY tall fence on your table saw and you roll the drum into the blade and rotate it. I don't think that's probably the safest way to do it. I would probably take a jig saw to it cut it fat on the line because you are going to need to sand it level anyway.

When building drums even if you get a prefab shell you typically have to sand the top and bottom so they are level and I mean dead level, a lot of guys will use marble slabs that are perfectly level and put sand paper on them and sand in a circular motion. Then to Mikes point you will need cut what is called a bearing edge on the top and bottom so the edge is smooth and the head can roll over it cleanly. Most people do cut that on a router table and use I believe a 45 degree chamfer bit. If it's a snare then you have a whole different set of things you need to cut as well.

Also to Mikes point you will have to deal with the lugs on the body of the drum and depending on where you are cutting it you would have to re drill the lug mounting holes and might possibly leave open holes on the side of the drum which can affect the tone.

Quite honestly from an ease and safety aspect I would just buy a new shell from Drum Foundry they sell Keller Shells which a lot of the bigger guys use for their shells. These guys will sell everything you need to build a drum. You will not need the lugs most likely so that will save him some their and you probably can find a drum wrap to match his set as it is. The nice thing with Drum Foundry is you can specify the diameter and height of the drum and if you want them to cut the bearing edge for you.