40 lb. Custom Steel Snare

[KCDrummer]

So, my friend Joe and his dad have this hobby of building miniature steam engines. NOT model trains, mind you, these are actual coal-burning, live steam, 1/8 scale locomotives that run on a 7 1/2 inch track. What does this have to do with drums? Well...

A few years ago, Joe realized that the steel pipe they use for the locomotive boilers was 14 inches in diameter. Hmmm...what else is 14 inches in diameter? That's right, snare drums! So they cut off some sections of pipe and fashioned snare shells. They've built about half a dozen so far and gave me one as a graduation gift a few year ago. I've had it put away because it was set up with snares and heads for orchestral playing, but I recently got it back out and outfitted it for drumset.

The shell is 14 X 5 and industrial powder-coated inside and out. The powder coat is a mixture of gold and black, which give it that cool bronze fleck look. It's 3/8 inch thick SOLID STEEL, and is outfitted with die-cast hoops, tube lugs and a Nickel Works strainer, so like I said, it weighs about forty pounds and packs quite a punch.

The first two pics are of Joe with a completed locomotive and with one that's about half completed, so you can see what the pipe looks like as part of the locomotive.

[gretsch223]

Wow that thing looks great! It's amazing what you can do with random parts and make something for a drumming purpose.

[Flamacue]

That's a really nice looking drum...Do you have any sound bytes we could get a glimps of how solid it sounds?

I think the only thing that sucks, it probably weighs more than most bass drums...but it's still pretty cool. I want one too!

[Guinness]

That's a pretty cool idea. Great looking snare. Did you lathe 45 degree bearing edges? What did you use to achieve this?

[Flamacue]

That's a pretty cool idea. Great looking snare. Did you lathe 45 degree bearing edges? What did you use to achieve this?

I was wondering that myself...

[Wavelength]

Holy crackling rimshots, Batman!

[Ironcobra]

that snare is HOT i love it, the finish looks like boiling-bubbling chocolate

[jayp]

That is such a beautiful drum! I love it! Can we get some audio and some details on your bearing edge?

[KCDrummer]

I've got a recording session Monday that I think I'll use it for, so I'll post it when it's done.

The bearing edges are single 45 degrees, but with a slightly rounded edge. If it was sharp, the steel would cut through the head. They used an industrial lathe and router to cut the bearing edges and snare beds. Joe's dad used to work for Bethlehem Steel, so over the years he's aquired about a million dollars (literally) worth of industrial fabrication equipment. It's all sitting in a shop in their back yard.

[komodo]

Thar looks brill! Wish i had a snare like that :p beautiful finish

[Michael G]

I wanna ride that train.

[frank0072]

wow man, now that is really something special. So you say it is 20 kilograms, or are pounds in the US something else then in Europe? That's quite some weight. This snare will live on forever, even if you would bury it in the ground :).
Have a great time playing it!

[maddrummr]

Awesome!

Love how the snare looks especially that hardware, cant wait to hear how that train roars.

[d.c.drummer]

Yes, i beg of of, please post that recording. That looks so awesome. I think my cymbal bag is heavy.... sheesh!

Just out of curiosity, if he were asked to make another one, would he? ...and if so how much would it run?

[crazyhorse]

Nice! I'd heard of people building them out of piping before but hadn't seen one put together quite as nice as that.

[Ozzy Biz]

Wow. Just wow. wow....

[KCDrummer]

Yes, i beg of of, please post that recording. That looks so awesome. I think my cymbal bag is heavy.... sheesh!

Just out of curiosity, if he were asked to make another one, would he? ...and if so how much would it run?

Probably, they've got some shells made that just need coating and hardware--in other words, most of the heavy fabrication is done. They're all 14" in diameter, 5", 6", or 7" deep. Don't know how long it would take, but it would probably run between $500 and $800.

Contact Joe at jlvoye@hotmail.com or 219-928-1877.

[hauk]

that is really cool. i'm usually not so big a fan of gold hardware, but paired with that amazing finish it looks great

[KCDrummer]

Yeah, I never would have thought of mixing two colors, and if I had, I wouldn't have expected it to come out "flecked" like that. From further away, it just looks like a solid metallic color, but up close you see the two colors separated, and the hardware ties it all together.

[da cheese walks]

wow man that is mind bogglingly heavy.....jaysus....!!!


seriously 40 lb??!??!

id say it sounds crazy too....

[Drummer Karl]

...someone got a very heavy baby...that is great! It is heavy and beautiful. I`m really looking forward to listening to some sound clips. Doesn`t matter how long it takes to wait... :-)

Really nice!!

Karl

[KCDrummer]

I lied, I'm recording NEXT Monday, not this Monday, so it'll be a bit longer.

[razorx]

I've got a recording session Monday that I think I'll use it for, so I'll post it when it's done.

The bearing edges are single 45 degrees, but with a slightly rounded edge. If it was sharp, the steel would cut through the head. They used an industrial lathe and router to cut the bearing edges and snare beds. Joe's dad used to work for Bethlehem Steel, so over the years he's aquired about a million dollars (literally) worth of industrial fabrication equipment. It's all sitting in a shop in their back yard.

that is such an awesome drum. i live close to bethelhem steel

[Big_Philly]

WOW! That thing looks so gorgeous with the gold hardware! I'm curious how it sounds, I bet it sounds really powerful and heavy.

[d.c.drummer]

I lied, I'm recording NEXT Monday, not this Monday, so it'll be a bit longer.

unfair!!!!!!


oh well, what can i do?

[Deathmetalconga]

Mindblowingly cool. Anything that's not plywood is an immediate turn-on for me.

I would like to see one left totally unfinished, with bare steel hardware as well. Yes, you'd have to oil it down periodically to keep the rust away, but there's something about the look and feel of bare metal that is primitive and wild.

[KCDrummer]

Mindblowingly cool. Anything that's not plywood is an immediate turn-on for me.

I would like to see one left totally unfinished, with bare steel hardware as well. Yes, you'd have to oil it down periodically to keep the rust away, but there's something about the look and feel of bare metal that is primitive and wild.

They thought about doing that, but turning raw, untreated steel into stainless steel is much more expensive than powder coating it. I agree, I was thinking a stainless steel shell with brass hardware.

[Deathmetalconga]

They thought about doing that, but turning raw, untreated steel into stainless steel is much more expensive than powder coating it. I agree, I was thinking a stainless steel shell with brass hardware.

I wasn't thinking stainless (although that would be nice too). I meant just bare, raw steel, maybe buffer polished, but no treatment beyond that. The only issue would be rust, but occasional rubbing with a rag and a bit of WD-40 would keep it looking great. That unfinished look wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but it would really emphasize the steel of the shell and I'd dig it.

[Class A Drummer]

Geez 40 lbs. Id love to play it. Im really interested in what that would sound like.

[hateplow]

Mindblowingly cool. Anything that's not plywood is an immediate turn-on for me.

Then you'll love this 4-lug free-floater....

[crazyhorse]

LOL! Very nice piece of hardware there.

[badlydubbedsean]

TBH it looks like mud but that is not a bad thing, especially with the smexi gold hardware... and the fact that a rimshot on it probably is like a shotgun.

BOOM!

good work.

[bballdrummer34]

It HAS to sound like a gun shot. Post as soon as possible. ha

[hawk9290]

that was your graduation gift from a friends parents??? holy crap, man, why don't I have friends like that. That thing looks beautiful, and I'm sure it sounds like a beast. Absolutley amazing! Seeing that makes me want to put my dad's lathes, buffs, polishing brushes and machine tools to work, I would kill to be able to have, let alone, make something like that.

[Deathmetalconga]

Then you'll love this 4-lug free-floater....

HAHA! A great example of solid-shell construction, I might add.

I actually do have some of those little plastic sticks. They came with a kid's toy years ago and I they are good for certain percussion instruments.

[latzanimal]

Joe's dad used to work for Bethlehem Steel, so over the years he's aquired about a million dollars (literally) worth of industrial fabrication equipment. It's all sitting in a shop in their back yard.

Can I come over? I wanna play, too!

Ah, the things that could be created........

[KCDrummer]

Can I come over? I wanna play, too!

Ah, the things that could be created........

Well, if you're ever in Portage, Indiana, stop on by. Joe's mom will welcome you as one of her own and feed you until you want to hurl. Just don't tick off Joe's dad, the man once killed a horse with one punch. I'm not kidding, he really did.

[Cymbalrider]

And I thought Copper snare drums weighed a lot....
I suppose these are the real heavy metal snare drums.
I wonder what a 3" deep one would sound like--think piccolo snare but steel.
You guys should start a business with those things. If only you could figure out how to make the steel rims yourselves you'd be all set. Some extra money to put towards those trains...

[Deathmetalconga]

And I thought Copper snare drums weighed a lot....
I suppose these are the real heavy metal snare drums.
I wonder what a 3" deep one would sound like--think piccolo snare but steel.
You guys should start a business with those things. If only you could figure out how to make the steel rims yourselves you'd be all set. Some extra money to put towards those trains...

Seriously, if you guys have the material and skills, you could have a real niche in cast steel pipe drums. There's a market for it.

[KCDrummer]

They also have access to high-grade bell brass pipe, they were thinking about making a piccolo out of that. If they do, I've got dibs!

[ledzepjb]

Awesome!
2222222222000000000

[DoubleBassUrFace]

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, i wanna hear it.

[iamtak]

get your friend to make some hoops like these: http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/7/8/0/255780.jpg

but metal... just see how heavy you can make this thing. Any idea what that might do to the sound?

[beatsMcGee]

mindblowing, how many hours of work goes into something like that ?

[KCDrummer]

Yeah, one of these days I want to throw some wood rims on there, just to see what happens.

They don't take that long to make, a few days. A lot of the time goes into the powder coating, they send the shells to another shop to get that done.

[stickers]

Dammit where are those sound clips...

[KCDrummer]

Dammit where are those sound clips...

I'm thinking the same thing. The studio is still hanging on to the recording and I don't know if I'll ever get to hear it. The recording was for a student project and I don't know if the studio will release the recording to us, since it was only for educational purposes. Other studios I've worked at give the artist a free copy of the recording when they do something like this, but the guy who runs this studio is a tight wad and wants to charge us not only for the copy of the recording, but for the studio time as well. Seems rather fascist to me, but it's not my call...

[iamtak]

Ithe guy who runs this studio is a tight wad and wants to charge us not only for the copy of the recording, but for the studio time as well. Seems rather fascist to me, but it's not my call...

Studios make money by charging you for the recording and the time spent there, thats how they make money.

[KCDrummer]

Studios make money by charging you for the recording and the time spent there, thats how they make money.

Yeah, I'm aware of that. But this studio, like many, has an educational program with students of various levels. It's kind of the equivelent of a teaching hospital. The students are assigned different types of projects, some of which involve doing a multi-track recording of actual humans. These humans, such as myself, occasionally donate their time to go into the studio and play for the recording project. We didn't solicit the studio to record us, the studio solicited us to let them record us. Other studios I've done this sort of thing at have been gracious enough to give the musicians who donated their time a copy of the recording they made. The student gets his/her project completed, the musicians get a recording of themselves, everybody wins.

[YamahaDrummerAus]

Yeah, I'm aware of that. But this studio, like many, has an educational program with students of various levels. It's kind of the equivelent of a teaching hospital. The students are assigned different types of projects, some of which involve doing a multi-track recording of actual humans. These humans, such as myself, occasionally donate their time to go into the studio and play for the recording project. We didn't solicit the studio to record us, the studio solicited us to let them record us. Other studios I've done this sort of thing at have been gracious enough to give the musicians who donated their time a copy of the recording they made. The student gets his/her project completed, the musicians get a recording of themselves, everybody wins.

Thats a good idea.

I cant wait to hear this drum. I too think it will sound like a gun!