Forum > DIY / Building & Repair
Making your own drum sticks
xdrummer2000:
I got a wood lathe recently and I decided I should make my own sticks. A pair of sticks usually costs about $7 or so, but two pieces of wood that could be turned into sticks on a lathe just cost a dollar or two at most (and I'm sure only endangered or hard-to-find exotic woods would cost that much for two stick-sized turning blanks).
I'm hoping to try these woods out for making sticks:
Purpleheart
Ebony
Cocobolo
Lignum Vitae (possibly--this type of wood is the hardest in the world, so I don't know if I'd want to risk breaking a bunch of heads and cymbals)
How many of you guys make your own sticks or have done so before?
Dave Heim:
Good luck - sounds like a fun project!
I suppose if I had the equipment, I could see me giving it a shot just to say I did it. But from a practical perspective I just don't have the time, the need, the desire, or the skill to deal with it. So I prefer to just buy my sticks.
It's a little like Norm Abrams' "New Yankee Workshop" show on PBS. The guy uses $250,000 worth of woodworking equipment to make things you can buy already made - in most cases for just a few hundred dollars. :)
xdrummer2000:
--- Quote from: Dave Heim on July 29, 2008, 08:14 PM ---Good luck - sounds like a fun project!
I suppose if I had the equipment, I could see me giving it a shot just to say I did it. But from a practical perspective I just don't have the time, the need, the desire, or the skill to deal with it. So I prefer to just buy my sticks.
It's a little like Norm Abrams' "New Yankee Workshop" show on PBS. The guy uses $250,000 worth of woodworking equipment to make things you can buy already made - in most cases for just a few hundred dollars. :)
--- End quote ---
I love that show. I watch it every week on Fridays and Saturdays on DIY Network. And yeah...his equipment must be dozens of thousands of dollars (particularly that wide belt sander he has...those things go for over $20,000 most of the time!). :o
heavyhitter:
i agree with dave, for what they cost , save some money and buy a whole brick of sticks like i do, plus your a drummer, why take a chance with your hands around those machines.
xdrummer2000:
--- Quote from: heavyhitter on August 04, 2008, 09:19 PM ---why take a chance with your hands around those machines.
--- End quote ---
I have tons of passion for woodworking, so I'm willing to take the chance. As long as you know what you're doing, it's fine. Still, I always keep my hands as far away from spinning blades and bits as I can, though.
And BTW, making sticks was just an idea of mine. It's not like I'm going to boycott buying Vic Firths or Vaters and start making ALL of my sticks myself. Heck, some of the sticks I make in the future may just become decorations if they're made out of a really expensive wood. :)
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