Hardware DIY/Mods/Repairs Thread

Is there are DIY way of making a chain driven pedal into a direct drive pedal.

I have a Tama Iron Cobra Jnr., wondering if it's possible?

Yes, you can do it. I converted my DW5000s from chain to strap. I got tired of getting all the grease on my my clothes. I called DW and ordered a conversion kit, which they shipped to Guitar Center. I assume Tama will do the same for you.
 
Yes, you can do it. I converted my DW5000s from chain to strap. I got tired of getting all the grease on my my clothes. I called DW and ordered a conversion kit, which they shipped to Guitar Center. I assume Tama will do the same for you.

No I mean like the axis or trick pedals that have that direct drive piece, you would think it is less expensive to make a pedal with a direct rod than with a chain.

...and about gimping Tama hi-hat stands. You mentioned it was reversible, how do you remove the leg and place it back on if the hinge is riveted...and there is no way of removing the bottom collar because the spring tension adjustion lever it in the way, and incorporated into the whole hi-hat base assembly...BTW it's a Roadpro model.
 
No I mean like the axis or trick pedals that have that direct drive piece, you would think it is less expensive to make a pedal with a direct rod than with a chain.

...and about gimping Tama hi-hat stands. You mentioned it was reversible, how do you remove the leg and place it back on if the hinge is riveted...and there is no way of removing the bottom collar because the spring tension adjustion lever it in the way, and incorporated into the whole hi-hat base assembly...BTW it's a Roadpro model.

I use a Dremel to grind down the rivets. When I want to put it back together, I use bolts with lock nuts and cut down the bolts. I leave the bottom collar on as it doesn't hurt anything to leave it there (at least with the pedals I use).
 
What about independent beater adjustment?

My pedal doesn't have that, and yesterday I tried out a friend's Sonor double pedals (with indepedent beater adjustment) and they felt great, I'm guessing because the beater angle in relation to the cam was different.

I wonder if there is a way to separate the beater clamp from the cam and if I can adjust it (I know it's fixed), the left beater can be adjusted independently of the left cam but I'm realy pissed off about the right cam because that is what is used the most.
 
What about independent beater adjustment?

My pedal doesn't have that, and yesterday I tried out a friend's Sonor double pedals (with indepedent beater adjustment) and they felt great, I'm guessing because the beater angle in relation to the cam was different.

I wonder if there is a way to separate the beater clamp from the cam and if I can adjust it (I know it's fixed), the left beater can be adjusted independently of the left cam but I'm realy pissed off about the right cam because that is what is used the most.

In every foot pedal I have ever seen, the beater higher-or-lower adjustment is separate from the cam. Both are attached to the horizontal pedal shaft, but they are separate pieces.
 
Is there are DIY way of making a chain driven pedal into a direct drive pedal.

I have a Tama Iron Cobra Jnr., wondering if it's possible?
It is possible (this is not my pedal):

directglide.jpg


You will need custom parts machined on a CNC or something though.

What about independent beater adjustment?

My pedal doesn't have that, and yesterday I tried out a friend's Sonor double pedals (with indepedent beater adjustment) and they felt great, I'm guessing because the beater angle in relation to the cam was different.

I wonder if there is a way to separate the beater clamp from the cam and if I can adjust it (I know it's fixed), the left beater can be adjusted independently of the left cam but I'm realy pissed off about the right cam because that is what is used the most.
It'd take some machining too as far as I can see. You'd have to grind down the beater holder part of the cam and replace it with a standard Iron Cobra beater holder.
 
Since I'm new to the DW forum, IDK how popular E-kits are. I do a fair amount of DIY on them. I mod'd Yami PCY135 & 155's to work as three zone cymbals with Roland modules (that support three zones). The result is cymbal for less than half the price and IMO works a little better. The only quirk is choking the edge doesn't kill a bell sound. But I never choke a bell anyway.

I also built a variable hi hat controller that has been going strong for a long time. Cost is about $20 to make. Add this contoller and one of the Yami PCY135 cymbals and you have an excellent alternative to a Roland VH-12 for less than $150 new. Just thought I'd throw these out there to see if there's any interest, or maybe it's old news to this board.
 
I cut down my hihat rod and xhat for easier placement. The shorter xhat is especially useful since I can now move my ride in close and low. This is the xhat holder I have, it's a sonor XH474:
sol_sonor_xh474_1.jpg



I used a hacksaw to chop off a piece, and a Dremel to round off the edges:
sawedoff.jpg



I also flipped the top hat holder around to make it shorter. I was planning to use a small screw to hold it in place, but the rubber ring seems to hold it in place just fine for now. Here's the finished xhat:
xhatpostmod.jpg



Mounted:
xhatplusride.jpg



On the main hihat stand I just shortened the rod and rounded off the edges. I left a little room for adjustment, here's the result:
hihatq.jpg


More pictures in my kit thread:
http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59061
 
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That is high-quality work and an impressive mod, very well done. Have you played this pedal?
Unfortunately, not yet, as it resides in another town. In the owner's experience, the modded pedal is much more responsive and feels much lighter under foot than it was with either chain or strap (he has also made custom straps for it, from some sort of tape used for printing presses).

It's high-quality custom machined parts indeed. Making the exact blueprints for the parts and the final assembly was DIY, the rest was a pro job.
 
I'm going to completely refinish my drums, and as a part of the cosmetic changes, I want to fabricate my own tom suspension mounts. My set is a beginner's 5 piece Ludwig Accent CS Custom that I have added 8" and 10" Toms to. My 8" tom came with a Ludwig factory suspension mount already on it. I like the way it sounds, so I want to make all the other drums sound as good. The 2 challenges I face are as follows:

1) My tom mounts are for tube style arms, thus there's a hole in my 10", 12", & 13" toms.
I thought about using either wood putty to fill in the hole, or just covering it up with some aluminum tape and making cosmetic adjustments to make it look right.

2) I looked at suspension mounts on musiciansfriend.com, and was impressed with the TAMA design as shown below. I want the challenge of designing and building, as well as not spending as much money to buy what I can readily make.

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tama-Rockstar-Tom?sku=583009

Does anyone have experience with this? Any thoughts or advise would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
I'm going to completely refinish my drums, and as a part of the cosmetic changes, I want to fabricate my own tom suspension mounts. My set is a beginner's 5 piece Ludwig Accent CS Custom that I have added 8" and 10" Toms to. My 8" tom came with a Ludwig factory suspension mount already on it. I like the way it sounds, so I want to make all the other drums sound as good. The 2 challenges I face are as follows:

1) My tom mounts are for tube style arms, thus there's a hole in my 10", 12", & 13" toms.
I thought about using either wood putty to fill in the hole, or just covering it up with some aluminum tape and making cosmetic adjustments to make it look right.

2) I looked at suspension mounts on musiciansfriend.com, and was impressed with the TAMA design as shown below. I want the challenge of designing and building, as well as not spending as much money to buy what I can readily make.

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tama-Rockstar-Tom?sku=583009

Does anyone have experience with this? Any thoughts or advise would be appreciated. Thanks!

Unless you have a very good shop and machine skills, would really suggest just buying new or used mounts. They aren't terribly expensive. Mounts need some fairly precise measurements or else you can put your drum out of round with an improperly sized mount. Plus, without really good skills and equipment, homemade mounts will never look as good as factory made mounts.
 
Thanks for the response DMC, I have good machining skills as I used to work for a steel heat treating and welding company that also did simple repairs and mods with tool grade steel. I'm sure my former boss there would either let me do some simple stuff there or have one of the guys do it for me at a reduced cost. As for machining the mounts, I wouldn't actually create the mounts that attach to the L arms, but rather the bracket that physically attaches to the lugs themselves. (I fear that I misspoke when I called the brackets "mounts" LOL) I have figured the amount of angle I would need to attach to 3 of the lugs on all 3 drums, and the amount of distance needed to keep the mounting plate away from the shell, and allow the mount to be properly secured. Here is a close up of the mounting bracket that I want to copy. As for appearance, I am going to manufacture, bead-blast, prime, and then paint the brackets in chrome finish.
See attachment for photo shopped image.
 

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Thanks for the response DMC, I have good machining skills as I used to work for a steel heat treating and welding company that also did simple repairs and mods with tool grade steel. I'm sure my former boss there would either let me do some simple stuff there or have one of the guys do it for me at a reduced cost. As for machining the mounts, I wouldn't actually create the mounts that attach to the L arms, but rather the bracket that physically attaches to the lugs themselves. (I fear that I misspoke when I called the brackets "mounts" LOL) I have figured the amount of angle I would need to attach to 3 of the lugs on all 3 drums, and the amount of distance needed to keep the mounting plate away from the shell, and allow the mount to be properly secured. Here is a close up of the mounting bracket that I want to copy. As for appearance, I am going to manufacture, bead-blast, prime, and then paint the brackets in chrome finish.
See attachment for photo shopped image.

Wow, sound like you have the skills and equipment to pull this off correctly - I could do something like this, but it wouldn't look too good. Go for it and show us the results!
 
On second thought I might just buy the universal Gibraltar mounts... the price of tool grade steel is gonna be more costly. I may attempt it in the future, but for now I think I'll buy them. Oh well... was a worthy idea.
 
On second thought I might just buy the universal Gibraltar mounts... the price of tool grade steel is gonna be more costly. I may attempt it in the future, but for now I think I'll buy them. Oh well... was a worthy idea.

Do you have to use tool-grade steel? I bet the real mounts don't use that. Also, have you considered other metals? I have genuine Gauger mounts and they are aluminum, which is also much easier to work with than steel.
 
Aluminum would be easier, but I've decided to go with Ludwig suspension mounts. I stopped at my local music store to order them today. I did finish my "drum makeover" this weekend... took me 7 days but I think it went well. I will be posting the results soon.
 
Made my red shot triggers easily removable.
Sold them though. Now have acoustic pros and these red shots used to work better, lol.

x6b53e1ee.jpg
 
some of you may remember my threads about wanting a base plate on my cheap double pedal main pedal and my bass drum moving excessively.

well. i made a base plate for my pedal. it already feels waaaay better and my bass drum no longer moves.

i made the base plate all for less than $25. i even have left over steel, enough for about 3 more base plates.
 

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