Wasn’t sure if this is more appropriate for the Gear section or the Lounge, but here goes. I’ve been playing out a couple days a week and generally go back and forth between bass, acoustic guitar and electric guitar. Not to be confused with an actual gigging musician, lol, I play a lot of Recovery meetings at churches. Given that it generally has pretty limited attendance, though sometimes 60-100 people, we generally get relegated to some small room in the building which may or may not have gear like drums or a basic sound system. That left me wanting more than a cajon and less than a full trap set. After some internetting I made a plan. Through trade and a little cash I ended up with this pile. The purpose of the full drum set was to provide any and all hardware pieces so I wasn’t constantly chasing parts I didn’t have. Pile below:
The bass drums spurs and Tom mounts were taken to be reused. The cymbals and such were commandeered and we’re left with a 16” Ludwig floor Tom (shell damage intentionally not pictured but made this a good candidate for modding)
Not being a drummer of any argument myself, my research differentiates that the horizontal Tom mount as the kick drum as I intend makes this a jungle kit. In a vertical orientation they call it a cocktail kit. May just be semantics but I’m just sharing the journey.
Next was mocking up the Tom height to get the beater to land in the right place and figure out where to place the scavenged hardware.
Next comes the pedal adapter and riser for the beater side. I maaaaaay have overthought the process but given my limited work space and tools we have are heavy on hardware store solutions around here. TaDaaaaa!
That leaves us with this. Now the pedal mount has three dimensions of adjustability. By using one of the extra Tom mounts underneath, this is where the shell damage is, I used the hardwood dowel for strength, weight and the obvious fact that it fit into the Tom mount. The Tom mount was out there, that is not an original location. Now it has some vertical adjustment as the Tom can move up and down over the dowel. The foot pedal can move inboard and outboard out the bracket and sometimes it would be nice if the pedal would move just a couple degrees for the sitting position.
The Tom mount we used on top was a slightly sturdier version than what I had scavenged off the donor drum set. That was intentional given that it’s actually going to be supporting all the other cymbals.
I have mad respect for people who can just “make” stuff. I can write software all day long, up one side and down the other, but I couldn’t “make” my way out of a paper bag.
Want a set of Donner drumsticks to go with your kit?
As of last night’s pedal mount progress that leaves us with this current contraption. More chrome to clean and some mods to do but hopefully the drummer can play the full kit this Thursday. All the nuts on the mounts I made will be replaced with nylock nuts to keep things from vibrating apart. Was good enough for my skateboard for all those years. Hoping to mount all that I have cymbals and other tone accessory wise today for a full pic. Throne will actually be a cajon for versatility.
When I first glanced at the photos I almost started to cry because I thought you were drilling into a vintage Gretsch set. Then I realized you were working with a damaged Ludwig tom, so…go for it!
Sounds like you have specific goals and a specific strategy plus the skills to make it all happen. Interesting project. I don’t think I could play without at least one small tom…it would feel like playing a three-string bass missing the G. But you know what you’re trying to achieve and I wish you luck. Please keep updating us on this project.
One of the other little parts of this project was one of the parts for the drum spurs. Not having used all these pieces before disassembly/creative reassembly I didn’t notice that one of the spurs was missing an adjuster to snug the leg in the mount and to keep it from rattling.
I actually can’t believe it worked. Yes. That’s hot glue. Hahahaha. Was going to try plumbers epoxy if this didn’t work ala This Spirited Man. Van is awesome.
More refinement to come. And a real drummer has to sit at this thing and give it the beans to make sure nothing collapses. Elsewise I’m pretty pleased with the outcome despite the lack of matching hardware. Maybe on the next one. Now, where did that ugly stick go…
Slightly better cymbals and a EMAD head acquired for the kit. My buddy will play it out tomorrow and I can clean the cymbals and fine tune a few things after we see how it all goes tomorrow.
