Bubinga stave kit

[Unix]

I did this for a client name BossBones (Mark). Size are:

20'' x 18'' x 1/2'' bass drum
18'' x 16'' x 1/2'' floor tom
16'' x 14'' x 7/16'' floor tom
14'' x 12'' x 3/8'' tom
12'' x 10'' x 3/8'' tom

All Bubinga figured and the result will be spectacular with a the finish.

[Nineball]

Looks awesome Francois, makes me that much more excited to order a snare from you!

[mind_drummer]

Un travail magnifique !

Two thumbs up !

[Ozzy Biz]

Wow. I can't wait to see those babies all lacquered up and dressed with hardware.

[Deathmetalconga]

Simply amazing, as always.

I'm curious: does making a stave shell take more or less work than a ply shell? Are the tools and machinery more elaborate? It seems to make a ply shell, you have to shave the logs precisely, glue the plies together under great pressure, precisely trim the plies, then form them perfectly into shells under more heat and pressure.

It seems like making a stave, block or solid shell couldn't be that complex - but I've never made a drum shell so I don't know. I just think that if the mass market drum industry were geared up for staves, we'd see stave sets at Guitar Center. Maybe staves and solid shells aren't really harder to make, but the industry has invested millions in ply technology so that's why 99 percent of wooden drums are ply.

[gaspesien]

Go Francois Go!

That's going to be an amazing kit, no doubt!

[Unix]

Simply amazing, as always.

I'm curious: does making a stave shell take more or less work than a ply shell? Are the tools and machinery more elaborate? It seems to make a ply shell, you have to shave the logs precisely, glue the plies together under great pressure, precisely trim the plies, then form them perfectly into shells under more heat and pressure.

It seems like making a stave, block or solid shell couldn't be that complex - but I've never made a drum shell so I don't know. I just think that if the mass market drum industry were geared up for staves, we'd see stave sets at Guitar Center. Maybe staves and solid shells aren't really harder to make, but the industry has invested millions in ply technology so that's why 99 percent of wooden drums are ply.

First, company that make ply shell dont shave their own lug, a company specialyse does it for them, secondo how much do you think a sawmill plan can cost?

If you think making a stave is not complex you go try a bass drum 22" x 20", lol... In ply if you take keller for exemple only the outer and inner ply are cut precise. The other ply can have a gap up to 1/16". In a stave if your 40 angles are not perfect your shell wont close. Another thing if you dont choose your wood correctly, not only it will look awfull but with bad wood, you can have cracking problem.

Ply drums are easier for big company to build because only the outer and inner ply matters, and also it take way less time to build a ply shell.

Sometimes things looks easier to make then they really are !

[GRUNTERSDAD]

My question is about drum shell resonance. I keep hearing about thin ply shells having great sound because of the amount they resonate, so I wonder how does something 1/2 inch resonate to produce sound. Thanks.

[Unix]

Two things:

The shell is glued on 65 square inch, way less than a ply shell, and it's not cross laminated, so the wood is not chock (if I may says that). The best exemple I can give you is this.

Take a piece of Russian plywood 1/4" x 3" x 14" (100% Birch), and take a piece of pure birch plank 1/2" x 3" x 14", you hold them in a corner and hit them in the middle, after that you tell me what resonate the most.

The sound of a drum is not produce by the shell but by the combination of the vibration off the two head, all the shell will do is alter the sound depending on is construction method. A thin shell will have a warmer sound a ticker shell will have more punch and volume.

[Deathmetalconga]

My question is about drum shell resonance. I keep hearing about thin ply shells having great sound because of the amount they resonate, so I wonder how does something 1/2 inch resonate to produce sound. Thanks.

A thick shell can give you great resonance depending on how it's made. In a solid or stave shell, all the grains are aligned with each other - each grain is a micro-resonator and carries sound to the next grain, directly from the bearing edge and into and out of the resonating chamber. In a cross-laminated ply shell, the grains cancel each other out to some degree and do not transmit vibration as efficiently; also the glue may dampen vibration. You can compensate with a thinner shell. This is neither good nor bad, simply a property of ply construction.

But a solid or stave shell gives the best of both worlds. The thickness gives volume and projection, while the coherent grain alignment gives richness and resonance.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Thanks for that DMC......

[AveyTare]

i sent you a PM and then i found your web page. your drums are amazing - i love stave and solid shell drums so much...

[Unix]

Well explain Spirit, I have sometime some problem to explain what I have in mind, you know english is my second language, not always easy to answer some questions.

Another thing it would be impossible to build a stave as thin as a ply shell because all the grains are aligned with each other, so it make it more fragile than a ply shell, cross laminating make the shell way stronger. If you drop a stave shell, if it's well made it will never breack on the joint but on the wood itself.

What's closer to a ply it's a stave 1/4" thick with a built-in rering (intregrated reinfrorcement ring).

[Deathmetalconga]

Well explain Spirit, I have sometime some problem to explain what I have in mind, you know english is my second language, not always easy to answer some questions.

Another thing it would be impossible to build a stave as thin as a ply shell because all the grains are aligned with each other, so it make it more fragile than a ply shell, cross laminating make the shell way stronger. If you drop a stave shell, if it's well made it will never breack on the joint but on the wood itself.

What's closer to a ply it's a stave 1/4" thick with a built-in rering (intregrated reinfrorcement ring).

The built-in reinforcement ring is beautiful and flawless. Your work shows a very high degree of craftsmanship.

Don't worry about the languauge thing. I admire you for posting on a board that isn't in your native language. I read somewhere there are more people who speak English as a second language than people who are native speakers.

Strength is one of the many advantages of plywood. You can have a thinner, lighter shell that is much stronger and much more resistant to splitting and warping than stave or natural whole wood.

[aruration]

Hey this might be off topic but it's a thing I want to ask. What's the diffrence between a stave shell and a solid shell ?

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

A solid shell is made from one piece of wood. A stave shell consists of a series of sections that are each made of solid wood that are glued together and then lathed to create a round shape.

[Unix]

There is the finish product.

[maddrummr]

Holy Smokes thats beautiful.

[Action Jackson]

Man! those are wonderful and the finish brings that Bubinga to life yea?

[cnw60]

holy crap - those are supremely beautiful shells.

I'd love to see photos of them when they are totally built out.

[Drum-Head]

*drools* Me want some bubes! (lol!)

Super travail et le grain du bois est magnifique!

[aruration]

A solid shell is made from one piece of wood. A stave shell consists of a series of sections that are each made of solid wood that are glued together and then lathed to create a round shape.

Thanks for that mediocrefunkybeat.

By the way great work unix.
Well Done!

[bojangleman]

beautiful! but i have one question..probably stupid..of course, its coming from me...but since the drums are thicker, that means they have to be heavier...would they not need some heavy duty hardware to even support them?

Alex

[Unix]

In total all the shell weight 53 pounds, 13 for the bass drum, so... I dont know. For shure you dont buy cheap hardware to go with a kit of this quality, so yeah HD hardware.

[Salicete]

I think you will find that even though the heavy stave shells are indeed heavy relative to ply construction, their weight is no so great that it would require overly heavy-duty hardware; however, it would at least require "quality" hardware.

I would not use brittle cast hardware like you see coming from China these days.

Also, those are some absloutely beautiful shells.

[Big_Philly]

*drooling on keyboard* I want one of those!

[Unix]

Would be more than happy to built you one.

[bojangleman]

another question... but how long does it take to build a set of those? i can see it taking sooo much longer than the regular ply's. and do you have to hand glue the edges together?

thanks again..lol

Alex

[stevo]

Wow. Being a woodworker, I have been pondering this for a while. My only sticking point is bending the wood. I don't have a set-up now for this process. I just love the way the grain "pops" with a little oil on them. At one point, I was pricing a DIY kit, and from what I figured, it was cheaper to buy mass-produced product. What is your thought on this?
They look great!

[katman]

Wow. Being a woodworker, I have been pondering this for a while. My only sticking point is bending the wood. I don't have a set-up now for this process. I just love the way the grain "pops" with a little oil on them. At one point, I was pricing a DIY kit, and from what I figured, it was cheaper to buy mass-produced product. What is your thought on this?
They look great!

This wood isn't bent. It's made up of staves with very precisely cut angles so that, when glued together, they form a perfect tube of the correct diameter. This is then lathed round and smooth inside and out to the correct shell thickness. A lot of work, but well worth it.

Shells can also be bent - either multiple plies glued together (most of the drums you see) or one single thick ply that is bent with steam (usually reinforced with a re-ring).