Making Brass Practice Sticks (Video & Pic’s)

[Nick]

Inspired by the  http://www.drummercafe.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,2/topic,23747.msg269548#msg269548]Power Wrist Builders Drumsticks  thread I wondered if it would be possible to make some brass drum sticks at home on a metal lathe the exact same dimensions as my regular sticks.

I bought a 14mm x 1m length of brass bar from eBay (£18.00 [$36.00])

I then handed the rod to my friend who is much, much, much better with a lathe than me (he has been a tool maker for 20 years +) and I have only ever switched one on twice...

He cut the rod in the center

Measured my normal sticks

Cut the shoulder & tip on the lathe

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xACPniO1wjs

Cut & filed the but

Polished the stick

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wjTTVErQVvg

Done...

He did all this in a couple of hours one evening, I am very chuffed with them... there is something very pleasing about custom made just for you...

And the really cool thing is they are exactly the same weight (441g each) as well...

Cheers

:)

N

[Bart Elliott]

Very, very cool Nick.

What's the balance like? How does it feel in your hand?

[Nick]

Thanks Bart,

Bizarrely, the balance point is exactly the same on the brass sticks as it is on my carbon fibre sticks, probably because the dimensions are exactly the same...

They feel just the same to be honest, only much heavier...

Cheers

:)

N

[felix]

WoW :o  You have a great friend in that dude.  Those things are nice man.

Ok, what is "chuffed" and how do I get that way?   ;D

[Nick]

Ok, what is "chuffed" and how do I get that way?   ;D

LOL... Ahh Forgot myself a bit there...

http://english2american.com/dictionary/c.html]http://english2american.com/dictionary/c.html

... Sorry got a little distracted by some of the other words on there...  ;D  good webpage... god bless google..

;D

N

[eardrum]

Beautiful.  Looks like something I could mount and put on my wall. Could be the perfect novelty gift for the drummer spouse, relative, friend.

[metalshredder]

I know that brass is kinda heavy...and you mentioned that...so, how heavy?  Distractingly heavy?

I've been trying to do this myself for years now...just can't find a machinist who will do it for me...but with aluminum.  Should be light enough to work fine, I think.

[Nick]

I know that brass is kinda heavy...and you mentioned that...so, how heavy?  Distractingly heavy?

I've been trying to do this myself for years now...just can't find a machinist who will do it for me...but with aluminum.  Should be light enough to work fine, I think.

They are 441g each, but the weight is rather the point, they have to be heavy to work as a practice stick, they are designed to work your muscles harder... They should NEVER be used on a real drum, just practice pads...

I am not sure there would be any point in aluminium sticks for practice, they would be way too light & would probably damage a real drum/cymbal as well...

Also they would undoubtedly bend...

N

[metalshredder]

Are you unfamiliar with the aluminum sticks that are already in production?  Ahead is the brand, and they are endorsed by many professional artists.  They're hollow, and do not bend. 

My idea had always been to make a solid aluminum stick.  Have you tried to bend a solid piece of aluminum lately?  It's stronger than you think.  Won't hurt a drum head either.  As long as you make a rounded tip to the stick, which you did...won't make a difference what that tip is made of.

Cymbal scratches are all I'd worry about.

[Nick]

Yes I am extremely aware of them, and they are IMO diabolically bad, I have seen more drummers with cracked cymbals as direct result of those things in the studio than is even funny...  They are now banned on all my sessions, I will not allow them in the studio... downtime while the band go shopping for cymbals is not a constructive use of studio time IMO...

They also need to have the polyurethane sheath to stop utter devastation to your drum set, which your home made ones would not have...

I am not against modern drum stick materials, I use carbon fiber sticks myself & have for years... But those Ahead things are nasty, and I don't care who endorsees them, I sure as heck never will....

N

[metalshredder]

My homemade ones certainly would have the plastic sheath.

All you have to do is dimension the Ahead sticks without the sheath, and then use their parts for covers and tips. Then you've got a solid stick that wont bend, break, or destroy your kit. 

Problem solved.  Just gotta find somebody to make them...

[Dave Heim]

. . . Then you've got a solid stick that wont bend, break, or destroy your kit. . .

Sticks don't destroy drum sets.  Drummers do!   ;D

[Nick]

You've got a solid stick that wont bend, break, or destroy your kit.

There is one that has been out for years...

I still have the 7 pairs of carbon fibre sticks that I bought me to last my usual fortnight about 5-6 years ago...

N

[metalshredder]

Sticks don't destroy drum sets.  Drummers do!   ;D

My point exactly!

There is one that has been out for years...

I still have the 7 pairs of carbon fibre sticks that I bought me to last my usual fortnight about 5-6 years ago...

N

A stick as I described has been out?  Details?

Also, where does one find the Carbon Fiber sticks?

[Nick]

where does one find the Carbon Fiber sticks?

http://www.carbostick.com

;)

N

[Joe]

Sticks don't destroy drum sets.  Drummers do!   ;D

If we make aluminum drumsticks illegal, only bassists would use them...or have them...or...

I got nothin'

[memfodrumma]

Billy Cobham used to a story at his clinics in the 80's about a high school friend who made a pair of metal drumsticks to practice with. They ended up crippling the kid's hand for life. Be careful, no pain, no gain is for weightlifters, not drummers. Even the slightest bit of stress/tension in your limbs and the rule is to stop, relax, start over.

[NY Frank]

Nick - your friend really knows his way around that lathe.  Very impressive.