I've had a few requests for details on the shelves. Feel free to use and interpret and/or modify as necessary. Posted here for reference should others decide to build something similar in the future. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions or want a larger drawing. You could probably make them wider to an extent. If you make them too wide the cross members may sag. The dimensions shown worked very well with no sag and are very stable.
Here is the basic drawing for one shelf unit:
Some things to note. The side boards and caps at the top and bottom are 2"x6", (sorry - not sure of the equivalent for our European friends). It's difficult to tell but there is a 2"x4" at the front and back at the bottom and also at the back, top that span the width of the unit. These were lap joined to the 2"x6"'s. All joints were glued and screwed. The screws were counter sunk and puttied and sanded over prior to painting. The 2"x4" cross braces were used to add rigidity to the unit rather than relying solely on the 2"x3" cross members that were used front and rear to cradle the drums. Also note that the drawing shows the front bottom leg angled and not flush with the floor. The actual shelf unit is flush with the floor so full contact of the front, bottom of the 2"x6" is realized. The approximate angle of the front 2"x6" is 15 degrees from the 90. The top 2"x6" end caps are also flush with the front leg, (pictures show this below).
An example of a lap joint can be seen below:
A few pictures of the end caps at top and bottom:
Regarding the 2"x3" cross members that are used front and back that cradle the drums:
After the frame of the unit was built I found the best way to determine the location of the 2"x3" cross members that cradle the drums was to use small wood blocks and clamps along with the approximate range of drum diameter that would potentially occupy the shelf in question. To keep the center of gravity low and to utilize the natural contour of the frame, larger (bass) drums go at the bottom followed by floor toms in the middle and rack toms at the top. Due to individual needs of each drummer you will need to plan and adjust accordingly, (e.g., a 26 inch bass drum user will need to make adjustments as well as a 20 or 18 inch bass drum user). The frames I made accommodate 22 to 24 inch bass drums at the bottom, 13, 14, 15, 16 inch toms in the middle and 10, 12 and 13 inch toms at the top.
Here is an example of how to gauge the position of where your 2"x3" cross members should go, (this is shown on the outside of the shelf unit as they are already built - do the same on the inside of the frame when building yours):
Some important things to keep in mind when positioning each shelf:
1. For the lowest shelf make sure that it is high enough to give you a few inches of clearance from the floor. Should water or something else contaminate your drum room you don't want your bass drums soaking it up.
2. Pick a drum head that will be fairly representative of the range of drum sizes you plan on storing for that particular shelf. For example, I used a 15" head for my middle shelf and then made sure a 13" head or drum would work there as well as a 16" drum.
3. If you can, position all three shelves and then gauge the clearance when you remove a drum from a particular shelf. This is not important for the top shelf but for say the bottom and middle shelf you will find that you need to lift the drum up and out as the drums are truly cradled like a new born baby...shhh...don't wake the baby. If the shelf above is too low then you won't be able to get any drums in or out and that will suck.
4. Examine the angle of how the drums on a particular shelf is cradled. The last thing you want is the drum to somehow roll out and onto the floor. It would have to be pretty badly angled for this to happen but its worth mentioning.
Here is a picture of the bottom most shelf with one of the two bass drums removed:
As far as the 2"x3" cross members they are wrapped for nearly the entire width with carpet padding and then carpet. I was fortunate enough to have some left over carpet that was used to carpet the drum room so it matched which was a nice touch. I simply wrapped and stapled the padding around the circumference of the 2"x3" and then did the same with the carpet. To give it a finished look I nailed in a similarly colored aluminum carpet threshold plate to cover the seams.
Each cross member is attached to the frame using two aluminum decorative "chair brackets" as can be seen in the pictures below:
I think that's about it. If I could change one thing it would have been to lower the rear cross member that bolsters the top of the shelf frame. Due to its location the top shelf is limited to smaller drums. Not that I would want or should put anything very large up so high but a 14" snare bumps that rear brace. The picture below shows it's location. The 12 inch tom in the picture just clears hitting the rear brace:
Not a big deal and I still get plenty of use out of that top shelf.
Yes - a very long post but I want to make sure anyone who wants to take this on has all of the necessary information to make it a success. If you do build them please let me know how they came out and any lessons learned from the process.
Thanks and happy building!