Hardware DIY/Mods/Repairs Thread

Deathmetalconga

Deathmetalconga

Platinum Member
INDEX OF OTHER HARDWARE MOD THREADS:

techristian plays mindblowing four-way foot patterns and created this cowbell mount especially for right-foot playing
Tired of gangly stands? tbmills shows his OEM-quality chop job along with how-to steps
tbmills kickin' it with a very clean installation on an internal bass drum mic mount along with a helpful tutorial
Fourstringdrums' clever and simple method to convert a cymbal stand to a secondary hihat stand
Glen Thomas' amazing homemade edrum trigger, foot percussion mount, foot-operated snare
leo_battery wanted a double pedal so bad, he just made his own
Time Bandit's finely machined mini-stackers
GRUNTERSDAD, a true dipstick, shows ingenious method for non-slip grip coating
Limey and friends find the best way to mount/convert a 13-inch tom into a bass drum
GRUNTERSDAD chimes in with method for making your own chimes.
Junglelord shows his almighty gong drum, made from a standard bass drum and djembe stand.
Bobrovsky, the Russian with a giant drum set, created a cable-driven double pedal setup and a cable-driven gong striker.
bears_eating_drums had little cash but lots of ingenuity and came up with this unusual foot percussion mount
Someone patent this! VegasDrummer69 came up with a one-legged snare stand.

I've always liked working with metal and tinkering. I like making my own custom drum hardware and discussing drum hardware and I see a lot of other people on this board like working on their own hardware as well. DIY projects save money and allow you to create drum set arrangements not possible with off-the-shelf hardware. You can see this hardware on my set at http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18719. If you have a hardware mod - even if it's humble duct tape - this is the place to share it. If your lock nut is stripped and you need help, hopefully you will find some help here. If you'd like to do something but you're not sure of how to proceed or what tools you'd need, this is also a place for answers.

I can tap, thread, cut, bend, weld, drill, roll rings and hoops and even do a little milling. However, my metalworking skills are very crude compared to what a professional machinst could do. But I am able to make my own custom stuff, do any repairs and my work has held up well to the abuse of drumming.

Below is a recent hardware project, a triple cymbal stacker. Most stackers keep your cymbals like five feet apart, or there is no offset. I used 1/4 inch steel rod, some extra-deep nuts, 8 mm bolts, a MIG welder and a few other items to make these stackers, which have about three inches of distance and offset. I can pick out the cymbals individually, or do a dramatic rake of all of them. Knurled Allen bolts keep the stackers from spinning loose. All washers are welded to the nuts and all felts are glued to the washers, minimizing the amount of small pieces to drop.

Stackers alone
Cymbalstackers.jpg


Stackers with cymbals - bottom view
Cymbalsstacked1.jpg


Stackers with cymbals - top view
Cymbalsstacked2.jpg
 
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fourstringdrums said:
Very nice. I wish I had the knowledge/tools to do stuff like that. The only modification I've ever done to hardware is this:

http://drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23459&highlight=closed+hi-hat

and this http://www.handidrummed.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15 (which I no longer use)

Both didn't require the skill that yours did, but it was a cheap solution none the less.
Click to expand...

Great idea!

While your idea isn't technically hard, it is accessible to just about anyone and you showed a lot of ingenuity in figuring this out, especially since you don't do this a lot and used simple tools. I don't think a mod or DIY should require a flux-core wire-feed MIG welder to be good or useful (although it sure helps me sometimes!). In fact, simpler and cheaper is better. It's fun to use the fancy tools but I sometimes have to pull myself back and force myself to use the simplest approach possible, even if it involves nothing more than a razor and pliers.

Thanks for putting the link here. I bet there are a lot of other threads with a single DIY project that could/should be linked up.
 
BASS DRUM CRADLE:

I got a new custom drum kit with an 18-inch bass drum, ordered without spurs to minimize penetrations. I looked at all the stock options for raising the drum but couldn't find anything I liked. Either I'd have to drill a bunch of holes in the drum or I'd have to schlep around a 50-pound cradle.

So I used my hoop roller and welder to make my own cradles. I went to a local gasket maker and got this really thick neoprene to create clearance for the tuning bolts, then put Velcro on the bottom of the hoops and top of the cradles. I put scratchy Velcro on the bottom of each cradle so it grabs on to carpet. I love Velcro and use it for just about everything. One of the cradles has a "foot" welded on for the bass drum pedal clamp.

This works well. I can actually leave the cradles on when I put the drum in its Hardcase and the Velcro holds everything together. The steel flexes slightly, allowing just a little give and bounce as it suspends the drum. It's all painted dark silver/gray - chroming is way beyond anything I could do.

Front cradle on drum
FrontBDcradle.jpg


Rear cradle on drum
RearBDcradle.jpg


Cradles alone
BDcradles.jpg
 
FOOT PERCUSSION HOLDER

For about 10 years, I used one of the enormous and heavy LP Gajate foot pedal mounts for percussion items. I noticed that I never did adjust it and it was a pain to carry around, being about the approximate size of a Scud launcher. So I thought to make my own out of a section of steel beam and some 3/8 inch rod. A bit of tapping and threading secure it to itself and the pedal.

While it is not at all adjustable, it doesn't matter because I raise or lower the beater for different size percussion items.

Bracket mounted to pedal
Footpercussionholder-1.jpg


Tambourine mounted to bracket
Foottambourine.jpg


LP block mounted to bracket
Footblock.jpg


Cowbell mounted to bracket
Footcowbell.jpg
 
Deathmetalconga said:
FOOT PERCUSSION HOLDER

For about 10 years, I used one of the enormous and heavy LP Gajate foot pedal mounts for percussion items. I noticed that I never did adjust it and it was a pain to carry around, being about the approximate size of a Scud launcher. So I thought to make my own out of a section of steel beam and some 3/8 inch rod. A bit of tapping and threading secure it to itself and the pedal.

While it is not at all adjustable, it doesn't matter because I raise or lower the beater for different size percussion items.

Bracket mounted to pedal
Footpercussionholder-1.jpg


Tambourine mounted to bracket
Foottambourine.jpg


LP block mounted to bracket
Footblock.jpg


Cowbell mounted to bracket
Footcowbell.jpg
Click to expand...

Awesome. And the total cost to make this vs. a Gajate?
 
fourstringdrums said:
Awesome. And the total cost to make this vs. a Gajate?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about the materials cost. I go to the local scrap yard a couple of times a year and pick up odd pieces of metal as well as various size rod. Maybe a couple of dollars for these particular pieces and the bolts, including a couple of mounting rod prototypes that didn't work out. It took about three hours to make from start to finish, including perfecting the design and some brief trials. I like doing this kind of thing so the time isn't an expense anyway.

I think a Gajate is now around $89, at least for the original model. They have a revamped model that isn't quite so ginormous and that goes for around half that.

If you have a vise, hacksaw, tape measure, large pliers, propane torch and a file (just about every garage does), you could be doing some basic stuff like this, especially simple percussion mounts. Music shops sell chrome 3/8" rod but it's very expensive. You could get hot-rolled rod at the hardware store for much less and, with the tools above, you could bend it to your custom specs. If you add in a cheap $10 tap and die set from Slave Harbor Tools (www.harborfreight.com) you will be able to make an exponentially greater variety of mounts. If you like puttering and making things, this is just plain fun, as you know from the clever auxiliary hihat mount you came up with

My next post will be a simple percussion mount requiring only basic tools.
 
Deathmetalconga said:
I'm not sure about the materials cost. I go to the local scrap yard a couple of times a year and pick up odd pieces of metal as well as various size rod. Maybe a couple of dollars for these particular pieces and the bolts, including a couple of mounting rod prototypes that didn't work out. It took about three hours to make from start to finish, including perfecting the design and some brief trials. I like doing this kind of thing so the time isn't an expense anyway.

I think a Gajate is now around $89, at least for the original model. They have a revamped model that isn't quite so ginormous and that goes for around half that.

If you have a vise, hacksaw, tape measure, large pliers, propane torch and a file (just about every garage does), you could be doing some basic stuff like this, especially simple percussion mounts. Music shops sell chrome 3/8" rod but it's very expensive. You could get hot-rolled rod at the hardware store for much less and, with the tools above, you could bend it to your custom specs. If you add in a cheap $10 tap and die set from Slave Harbor Tools (www.harborfreight.com) you will be able to make an exponentially greater variety of mounts. If you like puttering and making things, this is just plain fun, as you know from the clever auxiliary hihat mount you came up with

My next post will be a simple percussion mount requiring only basic tools.
Click to expand...

Hmm I may have to enlist you to make me a few things :)
 
Hey Deathmetalconga,

Thanks for the excellent foot percussion bracket idea! I've been thinking about getting a gajate bracket for a while and the cost was a big drawback. The lack of bulk is a nice bonus too.
 
I made a straight cymbal stand a few years back out of chromoly steel, braising all of the joins with an oxy. It worked well, but the folding legs died after a while, so I haven't seen it in a while.
 
Ozzy Biz said:
I made a straight cymbal stand a few years back out of chromoly steel, braising all of the joins with an oxy. It worked well, but the folding legs died after a while, so I haven't seen it in a while.
Click to expand...

Wow, you do brazing. I'm too lazy to try gas welding, although I admire the neatness of gas welds. I use flux-core MIG welding which takes relatively little skill, but the drawback is the welds aren't as attractive.

Brazing is a whole other area to get into. How did the legs break? Unfortunately, stands are made of low-grade pot metal that is relatively soft and doesn't weld well.

www.terrasonus.com
 
I've primarily done the little things,

- 4 Spurs on 16" Inch Virgin Bass Drum (acts as a riser)
- Butt end of stick and metal rod, making a natural sounding cowbell beater
- Self made muffling rings
- Pre-muffled bass drum beater
- Sympathetic vibration resistant snare wires.

I do plan on having a go at some larger things eventually, but its the little things that count.
 
drozzy said:
- Sympathetic vibration resistant snare wires.

I do plan on having a go at some larger things eventually, but its the little things that count.
Click to expand...
How exactly did you do that? Sounds very interesting to me considering my (at the moment) horrible snare wires

Edit: Also, great idea for a thread DMC
 
Deathmetalconga said:
Wow, you do brazing. I'm too lazy to try gas welding, although I admire the neatness of gas welds. I use flux-core MIG welding which takes relatively little skill, but the drawback is the welds aren't as attractive.

Brazing is a whole other area to get into. How did the legs break? Unfortunately, stands are made of low-grade pot metal that is relatively soft and doesn't weld well.

www.terrasonus.com
Click to expand...

Well, I'm about as good at MIG welding as a blind amputee with Parkinsons ;)

It was the joints at the base, I can't really remember what exactly happened. I think the rod that was used as the pivot on the folding legs (which was welded into place) bent or something and the leg was stuck. I remember that it was something that was fixable, but I was too lazy and decided the stand didn't work well enough, nor did I have a real need for it.

Brazing is great, it's s much stronger. About 3 years ago in school I made a big bike out of 1 1/4 inch tubing, and there was going to be so much stress on some joins that MIG welding may not hold, so I had to learn to braze. It also looks great, because the colour difference, and it doesn't get bubbles like MIG welding can.

The engineering course I'm staring at Uni has a team that builds and races a car in a national competition which I'm going to try and sign up for this year. They fabricate just about everything themselves except some components and things that need to be made from CNC billet aluminium.

And I'm not that ugly b*stard on the bike either....

Biz
 

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Shinx - search for 'droz's drum problems'

That details how i did it, mainly, clipping out the middle 6-8 strands of your snare wires. Same response, no buzz.
 
Ozzy Biz said:
Well, I'm about as good at MIG welding as a blind amputee with Parkinsons ;)

It was the joints at the base, I can't really remember what exactly happened. I think the rod that was used as the pivot on the folding legs (which was welded into place) bent or something and the leg was stuck. I remember that it was something that was fixable, but I was too lazy and decided the stand didn't work well enough, nor did I have a real need for it.

Brazing is great, it's s much stronger. About 3 years ago in school I made a big bike out of 1 1/4 inch tubing, and there was going to be so much stress on some joins that MIG welding may not hold, so I had to learn to braze. It also looks great, because the colour difference, and it doesn't get bubbles like MIG welding can.

The engineering course I'm staring at Uni has a team that builds and races a car in a national competition which I'm going to try and sign up for this year. They fabricate just about everything themselves except some components and things that need to be made from CNC billet aluminium.

And I'm not that ugly b*stard on the bike either....

Biz
Click to expand...

Man, if you made your own bike frame with brazing, you have some serious skills. There are a few times when I would have preferred brazing, like for joining thin tubing that would be destroyed with welding, or joining two different metals. Brazing is excellent for all kinds of stuff.

I encourage you to share more of your drum hardware mods, or start getting busy with some - you obviously are at a high skill level and have access to some great tools.

www.terrasonus.com
 
drozzy said:
I've primarily done the little things,

- 4 Spurs on 16" Inch Virgin Bass Drum (acts as a riser)
- Butt end of stick and metal rod, making a natural sounding cowbell beater
- Self made muffling rings
- Pre-muffled bass drum beater
- Sympathetic vibration resistant snare wires.

I do plan on having a go at some larger things eventually, but its the little things that count.
Click to expand...

Sounds neat - how about some photos? I am always interested in seeing how other people do things.

www.terrasonus.com
 
Pretty much everything is in the thread i mentioned before, my drum sounf problem solving thread, and the four spurs drum is in my baby gigkit thread.

Haven't got pics up fo the new cowbell beater, seeing if it works at a gig soon!
 
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