*Drum building question - Help needed PLEASE!*

**ozcan** · 15th September 2015, 07:05 PM

Hello everyone! I am a relatively new drum builder, and I've run into a bit of a....well....no, a HUGE problem actually, and DESPERATELY need some help! I'm building solid "stave", or "block" snare drums. I've built a few that have turned out great, and a few have given me some issues. The most common issue I've had to deal with was alignment, and how to correct it. Basically, each drum is constructed with 16 stave blocks, all glued together in sequence. The staves I have have been machined with a C & C machine, and have tongue-in-groove joints, and use a small piece of wood "fillet" to secure each segment. OK, here's where the problem occurs.....

In lining up and gluing all my segments on my jog, it's VERY difficult to get everything aligned perfectly, and each segment may have slight varying tolerances as well, so things don't always end up 100% flat on both edges. Sometimes the segments all fit tightly, but are at a few % of an angle, therefore giving me no perfectly straight edge to deal with. That being said, I can't use a "fence" on my table saw to correct either edge, as I have no true straight edge to work from.

I need to know a way to not only find a perfect center all around the circumference of my round 14" drum, but also need to find a way to measure out accurately, mark, and cut off each end evenly. I'll attach a few images below, and am HOPING someone can help me. Please feel free to message back with questions if more details or additional photos are needed. Thanks in advance!

20150311_222930.jpg 20150313_025415.jpg 20150324_220417.jpg 20150401_004736.jpg 20150411_164255.jpg 20150512_121717.jpg

**ian** · 15th September 2015, 07:41 PM

If you have a flat horizontal surface, you can get a reference to square the end of each drum by:
1. shimming the drum so that the staves are truly vertical - as determined by your try square.
2. run around the bottom of the drum with a pencil taped to a block of wood -- this will give you a reference line on the drum that is at right angles to the axis of the drum
3. cut to the line and the end will be square.

finding the centre

mark a large X on your table,
position the drum so that the length of leg of the X is the same each.
the centre of the X should be the centre of your drum -- assuming your drum is truly circular

**ozcan** · 16th September 2015, 08:53 AM

Originally Posted by ian

If you have a flat horizontal surface, you can get a reference to square the end of each drum by:
1. shimming the drum so that the staves are truly vertical - as determined by your try square.
2. run around the bottom of the drum with a pencil taped to a block of wood -- this will give you a reference line on the drum that is at right angles to the axis of the drum
3. cut to the line and the end will be square.

finding the centre

mark a large X on your table,
position the drum so that the length of leg of the X is the same each.
the centre of the X should be the centre of your drum -- assuming your drum is truly circular

Ian, thx for the feedback mate, I believe your idea about shimming it level on a level surface, and using a block of wood and pencil may work well enough for my purposes. As far as finding the center though, I guess I wasn't clear enough on that. I'm not looking to find the center of the drum as a whole, I'm trying to find the all around center of the stave segments, as in, the OUTSIDE center, or the overall outer centerline of the staves. Reason being, if I could find the absolute center point of the outside of my staves, I could measure outward on each, find identical outer measurements, mark a line around with, say....a cloth tape, and then cutoff the excess, leaving me with 2 round edges.

Does that make sense at all now? Thx in advance!

**ian** · 16th September 2015, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by ozcan

Ian, thx for the feedback ...
As far as finding the center though, I guess I wasn't clear enough on that. I'm not looking to find the center of the drum as a whole, I'm trying to find the all around center of the stave segments, as in, the OUTSIDE center, or the overall outer centerline of the staves. Reason being, if I could find the absolute center point of the outside of my staves, I could measure outward on each, find identical outer measurements, mark a line around with, say....a cloth tape, and then cutoff the excess, leaving me with 2 round edges.

Does that make sense at all now? Thx in advance!

you want to draw a circumference on the staves so you can trim the staves to the line and have a round drum

doable
easiest would be to mount the drum on a mandrel and use techniques similar to turning on a lathe

alternatively,
make yourself an X out of wood strips big enough to span the drum.
after trimming the ends of the drum square to the axis and parallel to each other, use brads to tack the X to the drum so that the centre of the X is located on the axis of the drum
a pencil on the end of a piece of string with the other end fixed to the centre of your X will draw a true circle on the staves

**Yanis** · 16th September 2015, 10:09 AM

My son makes similar drums but he starts with the pieces flat and uses a table saw to create the angles. After the glue up he uses a home made jig to mount the drum on a lathe head stock to finish the inside, outside and ends. Not sure that he has even considered using a CNC.

**Johnthebob** · 16th September 2015, 11:16 AM

I have been building drums for about 7 years. Make a jig for your table saw. I have made a sled for each size drum and have a clamp that holds the staves in position against a fixed fence for each size drums will share photos when I get a chance. I have never used a tongue in my drums and have never had the need to, just simple butt joint. the strongest part of the drum should be the glued joints. Still unsure why you want to find the centre of each stave? is it part of your rounding process?

Here is a video for my lathe https://vimeo.com/45385557

**Aus Bucket** · 10th February 2016, 12:47 PM

New here and don't know if i should be bumping an old thread .
John , is there any chance of getting the photos of the sled and the clamp that holds the staves against the fixed fence ?
Cheers,
Greg

**simso** · 10th February 2016, 03:51 PM

Have made a few, possibly can help

**Aus Bucket** · 11th February 2016, 03:58 PM

Originally Posted by simso

Have made a few, possibly can help

Do you have anything similar to what John was talking about ?
By the way , sweet looking snare and shells .

**simso** · 11th February 2016, 09:03 PM

What part are you stuck with

steve

**Aus Bucket** · 15th February 2016, 04:13 PM

I don't understand what John means by holding clamping the staves against a fixed fence .
If he has made a sled it would have to move .

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