DRUMMER CAFE - Community Forum

I'm interested in building a snare myself.  I've found several beautiful shells that I can buy, but is there some type of Jig that I need to buy (or make) to line up and mark for drilling holes?  I'd like to do this myself, I'm quite sure I can handle drilling some holes, as long as they're marked correctly. 

I make a paper template and check the measurements several times.  I tape this template to the shell and then drill with a drill press. 

Ditto that.  I have a thread here somewhere where I posted photos building that drum in my avatar. 

Gotta love templates, that's for sure!

Also, it wouldn't hurt to look into buying/constructing a fence for the drill press table just to make sure your holes that you drill are as straight as possible (sometimes, "eyeballing it" while drilling or sawing may not be as accurate as you think...I've learned that the hard way many times). This fence will function pretty much like the rip fences you'll find on table saws and other power tools where accuracy is of utmost importance. Hope this helps, man! :)

try drumfoundry.com. , I think they sell a jig but DON't use a hand drill , the slightest tilting of the drill will throw the lug off, especially if your going to use diecast hoops, theres no room for error, TRUST ME

Hey, Cool, they sure do have one!  I guess the next question is, do I trust myself to actually drill it, or just pay the money for the local shop to do it for me? 

Oh, decisions, decisions...

Well, when using a drillpress one could still not have the drum rotated exactly correct...how do you achieve this?  Don't take this as a stupid quetsion, please, I just want to understand 100% before I commit real money to this.  And I'd really like to do it.

Don't take this as a stupid question, either, but what do you mean by "rotated exactly correct"? If it means you're concerned about the part of the shell that you are drilling through being level with the direction that the drill bit is going in (in order to drill a perfectly straight and plumb hole), you've got nothing to worry about...drill presses have tables below the drill chuck (the part that holds the drill bit) that are pretty much EXACTLY level, so all you need to do is adjust the height of the table (I don't know if ALL drill presses have height adjustment for their tables, so make sure to use one that either has that or has enough room to both accommodate the shell's diameter and drill all the way through the shell) so that there's enough room to put the shell under the drill bit and then drill away.

OH, and I almost forgot something! If you want to make sure you drill EXACTLY in the right place (as heavyhitter said, there's pretty much NO room for error when drilling for drum hardware), try to use a brad point drill bit so that the shell won't move out of position when the drill bit hits the shell and starts to drill through. This happens to me A LOT when I use a regular drill bit to drill into wood (where I need to be highly accurate or else the project gets messed up), but it could be just because I use a cordless handheld drill instead of a drill press. Still, you might want to go and check out a brad point drill bit just to be ABSOLUTELY SURE you get the holes drilled as precisely as possible. This type of drill bit has a small spike at the end that centers the bit before it even begins to drill the hole.

I'm pretty sure I've used one at least once or twice, and I remember it being a lot more accurate. Don't take my word for it, though...you'll probably want to try one out for yourself! ;)

Good luck, and here's a picture of a brad point drill bit just in case you've never seen one (so you can know what to look for should you want to buy one):

(http://www.traditionalwoodworker.com/images/436-7160.jpg)

I know about the table on the drill press, I use them from time to time, but I guess my concern more specifically, is drilling in the right spot without literally drawing a line on the drum.  I suppose I could use tape though...

OH, I thought you were just gonna draw holes where they needed to be drilled. Sorry about that misunderstanding. With a full line, I think a strip of that blue painter's tape would work very well as a guide. Make sure to keep it perfectly straight, though.

I still think it wouldn't hurt to look into a brad point drill bit, though. That's just a suggestion, though, and I hope you don't feel like I'm pressuring you into getting one. Sorry if that's how I'm coming off.  ;)

But the painter's tape would probably be your best bet if you want to use tape because it seems to come off easier than other tapes, IMO.

Not at all...that's a good idea, I'll do that.  But, is there really much slop with a press?  I suppose there could be some, but I guess I haven't drilled anything this critical.  Better safe than sorry at any rate!

Cut a strip of paper and make a template!  You then tape this to the shell.  You can mark all over the paper and triple check your measurements before drilling the drum.