Floor Tom: Part 1

Sorry for the lack of updates. Things have been pretty wild around here lately.

I finally got around to ordering my floor tom shell from Drum Foundry, and it's an 18x16 beast.

Raw shell:


Sarah taped the edges, because she has steadier hands and is way more patient when it comes to that sort of thing:


Stained wood:




Right now I'm going to go finish the tung oil finish. I'll post up some pictures once I'm done, which will be today or tomorrow.

Rack tom is complete!

It's finally done. I'll be starting on the floor tom soon.

Lugs

These are the lugs I'll be using for everything on my drum kit (excluding the snare, which will be a ruby red acrylic shell with tube lugs). You can find these lugs here. Ego hardware has generally pretty good service. These lugs were shipped really quick. I actually had assumed I'd get my Drum Maker order before them, but they arrived a day early. Ego provides powder coating of almost any color on almost any item for free. They also offer drum shells and wood hoops.

Speaking of my Drum Maker order, it arrived on time yesterday. However, I'm an idiot and forgot to order hoops and an air vent. Those should be coming shortly.

Things are slowly but surely coming together.

Running Riot

My band posted new songs a few days ago and it would be really awesome if you checked them out. They're off our upcoming EP called The Looking Glass. We'll post a couple more this Friday and two more the Friday after that. You'll probably be into it if you like bands like Thrice or A Wilhelm Scream, or if you just like guitar harmonies.

Also, my girlfriend has started making custom pendants. They look pretty awesome. Here's an example:



If that is something you might be interested in, or if you just want to see more, head over to her shop on Etsy.

Like I said, hardware for the rack tom should be arriving within the week. I'll keep you updated.

Rack Tom: Part One

My first shell came in the mail from drumfoundry.com almost a week ago. My girlfriend Sarah and I promptly covered the inside and got to staining the wood.



We taped up the bearing edges as to keep the stain on the outside of the shell. We did two coats of Minwax "Dark Walnut" stain.



After that had dried, I did four coats of tung oil over the span of three days and finally rubbed it out today for a more satin look.



The hardware should be arriving in the next week, so I'll keep you posted.

Pirst Fost

My name is Ian McDonald and I play the drums. About a year ago, because I had since realized that "free (quality) custom drums" was an unrealistic idea, I decided to build my own kit. I only just recently got the ball rolling, and I'm realizing how difficult and fun (and expensive) it's going to be.

I started this blog to provide an interesting read for some. Hopefully I won't make any huge mistakes in the building process, but if I do, I hope you can learn from them.

Enjoy.