Project: Building a New Snare

[Jarick]

Can you tell I'm bored?

 

I found more detailed blogging about my last snare...

 

August 23, 2005

 

As soon as the shell arrived, I inspected it, and it looked great. I wiped it down with a wet rag to raise the grain (prevents the little wood grains from rising after staining), and sanded it down at 220 grit after it dried (about 15 minutes).

 

August 23, 2005

 

After the drum was sanded and wiped down with a dry t-shirt cloth to remove more dust, I applied the dye. The dye I used is from Woodworker.com. It is J.E. Moser's water-soluble Golden Orange Yellow dye. It's a yellow that seems to change color in the light from orange to yellow and almost to red. It's a really multi-dimensional color. I mixed up about 1.5 teaspoons of the dye to 6 ounces of water per the instructions on the jar. I wiped the stain on by taking a small piece of cotton t-shirt rag and wiping the stain on with the grain.

 

August 24, 2005

 

Tonight, I applied the fade. I have a dirt cheap airbrush kit from Harbor Freight and a Coleman air compressor which I used to spray the fade color. The color I chose was J.E. Moser's Brilliant Crimson Red from Woodworker.com. I mixed up 1.5 teaspoons of red dye with 6 ounces of water, just like i did with the yellow color in the previous post.

 

Here's the best way I can described spraying the fade:

 

First, I practiced on some little blocks of maple, to get a feel for how to use an airbrush. It is a dual-action model, which means that you push down on the lever in order to push air through the nozzle, while you pull back on the lever in order to pull the needle back and allow more of the air/dye mixture to shoot through the gun, giving a larger cloud of dye and more dye. Most dual-action airbrushes have a screw that will set the lever back as far as you want, so I would just keep it at one point to keep the airbrush even. I brought the airbrush closer to the drum to spray more color and pulled it away to spray less.

 

The hardest part of the fade is trying to keep the fade even. The best way to do this is probably just practice and patience. Spraying evenly as much as possible with as large a cloud as possible seems to be the best way. When I had the cloud very small, there were too many obvious streaks, whereas larger clouds seemed to make the fade more even, as well as quicker to apply.

 

Unfortunately, because I was spraying so wide, the airbrush kept getting clogged at the end and spattered paint all over the drum. I had to sand the entire thing down to bare wood and start over again. In order to avoid this, I had to spray a bit of fade and blow the remnants of dye off from the end of the needle. This was a pain and time consuming, but it got the job done.

 

August 25, 2005

 

Nothing too special today. I applied 2 coats of Minwax sanding sealer over the entire drum using a cotton rag.

 

August 26, 2005

 

I put on the decal today - the one from Fender Custom Vinyl. I wanted something simple, but eyecatching, that would really instill my brand. I chose a round decal, akin to the "DW" badge, with my initials cut out from the inside. I've always liked negative space, and I think this badge works well by providing a contrast between the stain color and the black vinyl.

 

Secondly, I sprayed about 4 coats of lacquer. I used Deft gloss lacquer, available at most hardware stores for about 5 bucks a can. I used nearly 2/3 of a can, spraying about a half foot away in slow, even strokes. Unfortunately, I'm a rookie at this and got a couple runs in the finish, but nothing too bad that shouldn't sand out. On that note, I'm letting it sit for about 24 hours to harden before I sand it and start spraying some more. I'll probably finish off this can, and maybe start another one in order to get a deep gloss.

 

You can't see it because the pictures were taken by camera flash and not outside or in a pro studio, but the lacquer depth is really starting to allow the light to refract from the surface and give the wood a nice "glow." The golden color really comes alive under lights, and I'm way more impressed than I thought I'd be. Also, the laquer over the decal makes it appear 3D, almost like it's melted onto the surface. I was afraid it would look strange because of the thickness, but now I really like it. It will probably end up close to even with the thickness of the lacquer around it, but hey.

 

August 27, 2005

 

Started off the day wetsanding the drum at 400 grit to remove some of the runs from my thick coats of lacquer today (well, after the hour-long argument with my ex-GF). Luckily, I didn't sand through the finish, but I sanded off most of the lacquer. I guess it's a good thing, because I probably should have put a third coat of sanding sealer on the snare. After this, I dried off the drum, and started sparying lacquer. I think I put a full two cans worth on this thing today, after the can I put on yesterday. As a side note, when I do my full kit, I'm going to buy a paint sprayer. This is way too much money I'm dumping into cans of lacquer, and I know I can get a better long-term use out of the sprayer, even if I only break even for this project.

 

The drum looks better and better with each day. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this is by far the most beautiful shell I have ever seen (in person). This thing is WAY better than I ever imagined it would be, which makes me really excited to do the rest of my kit. I can't wait to get my hoops and lugs on this thing and see what it sounds like.

 

August 28, 2005

 

Well, today I taught myself how to sand and finish lacquer. It turned out just plain SICK. This thing is smooth as glass and reflects all kinds of light. There's still a bit of swirl in the finish, I don't know if that's because there's a gap in between the gap of my rubbing compound (3M) and swirl remover/polish (Meguiars). If need be, I'll resand to 600 grit and go back up.

 

I also figured out the best way (for me to wetsand):

 

First of all, get the large 3M (I think they are 12"x12") papers at your auto parts store (they are the same price as the little strips). Cut them into thirds (I used the little strip as a reference). Then cut those into halves. Get a bucket of water with just a drop of dish soap in there for lubrication. Dip the 1/6th sheet into the bucket and rub the shell with your hand. That's right, no sponge. I used the sponge, hated it, sanded about 10 to 15 times and it wouldn't level the damn shell. Second I just set it on there with my hand, it gripped perfectly due to the water acting as some kind of adhesive, it didn't unravel or get caught up or creased, and it sanded much faster.

 

So here's how I would do it if I started over again:

 

1. Wipe down raw shell with damp cloth

2. Sand at 220, then 320 grit

3. Apply dye with t-shirt rag, let dry (at least a few hours to overnight)

4. LIGHTLY sand at 320 grit, I mean just touching to remove any more fibers

5. Spray fade, let dry (at least a few hours to overnight)

6. Repeat step 4

7. Apply sanding sealer with t-shirt rag, let dry (at least a few hours to overnight)

8. Sand at 400 grit

9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 with 600 grit

10. Spray lacquer in thin coats around the drum 3 times, let dry for 30 to 45 minutes

11. Repeat step 10 2 - 3 times, let dry overnight

12. Wetsand at 400 grit until "shiny spots" are completely gone

13. Wetsand at 600 grit

14. Repeat step 13 with 1000 grit, then 1500 grit, then 2000 grit

15. Apply rubbing compound with t-shirt rag, go around the drum

16. Wipe off excess rubbing compound with dry t-shirt rag

17. Polish with polishing cloth

18. Repeat steps 15 through 17 with polishing compound

19. Let cure for 1 - 4 weeks

20. Repeat steps 15 through 17 with wax

[cheeseadiddle]

 

Not a major builder by any stretch and he went very far out of his way to make up for it so I'd rather not say.

 

 

That's good service. Give him credit.

[devinw]

Hey Jarick, where did you buy those All Star single-point turret lugs??

[Jarick]

I bought them directly through Robert at All Star (we were collaborating on a new lug design) but I'm getting another dozen to complete my forthcoming kit through his sales associate, Bob. Check out AllStarDrum.com for more info. Great service and quality.

[devinw]

So you're saying I couldn't buy those if I wanted to?

[Jarick]

The standard size is 5/8" or 3/4" or something, and I wanted them 7/8". They might be able to make them with larger diameters if you ask, otherwise if it's just the design, it should be something standard.

[devinw]

Weird. I didn't see anything on that website that looks anything like your lugs..

[Jarick]

 

Step lugs. Are you thinking of the very top ones? Those are Adonis, discontinued, although Ego makes a version similar:

 

[devinw]

Yeah like the 2nd pic. Who sells those?

 

Edit: nm. i found em. Thanks!

[cheeseadiddle]

I've built a couple snares with lugs like pictured above. I stopped using them because the tension a snare usually gets pulls them. I went to using tubes or your classic snare length lug.

[Jarick]

Yes, on a snare drum, i recommend double ended or tube type lugs. I haven't had any issues with the single point lugs though.

 

I put on another coat of Maloof yesterday and sanded at 600 grit. It's a lot smoother now, and it looked beautiful while applying, but after wiping off looked the same as before so no picture.

[Jarick]

Did another coat today. Really tried to slop as much as I could on the snare to fill the grain. Wetsanded at 800 grit. Looks better, still not as smooth as I'd like it to be, and I'm not sure the wetsanding is doing much for me. Also did the inside with a coat of oil/poly (no wetsanding as it was already smooth) and the edges. Wiped all the oil off, waited a while, then wiped again. Looking better, although it's not tinted as much as I'd like.

 

 

 

Tomorrow I start the oil/wax on the outside with 1000 grit, then 1500 grit on Sunday. Going to wait a couple days, then start marking up for drilling. By the end of the week, will oil with lemon oil and 0000 steel wool, assemble, and should hopefully be playable!

[Jarick]

I stripped the hardware off the old shell to cut down the lugs for the new one. With all the talk about pitches of shells, I measured the 8-ply 7x14 Keller and 10-ply 6x14 Keller. Definitely not scientific, but I thumped the shells and went to the piano. The 8-ply is a C# and the 10-ply is an F#, a full fourth above the 8-ply. That would explain why the 8-ply wanted to be tuned so low...it's a much lower pitch. This also makes me very excited to replace the 8-ply toms with 6-ply toms for lower pitched drums.

 

I also put the first coat of oil/wax on the drum, wetsand at 1000 grit, then wiped it off. It looks a lot better wet, which is making me think about using gloss tung oil instead of Maloof.

[Jarick]

I put another coat of oil/wax on and really rubbed it into the finish. Trying to get more sheen.

 

[Jarick]

Should I continue this? Seems like there's not a lot of interest.

 

Rubbed another coat of oil/wax, this time with 0000 steel wool. I think I'll end up switching back to the oil/poly for a couple coats, then another couple coats of oil/wax. Want to build up a thicker finish.

 

 

[Jarick]

Another coat of oil/wax...looking better. I like the 0000 wool and might just use this next time around.

 

[Jarick]

Update:

 

I really wasn't thrilled with the open grain and semi-gloss of the snare, and the oil wasn't building up very well, so I put it aside for a while.

 

I decided to start applying high gloss poly over the Maloof oil (it cures well enough after about a week). Regular Minwax gloss stuff from a can. Applied a few thick coats with foam brushes, sanded it down with 400 grit, and most of the grain was filled. Did a couple more thick coats, going to sand it down again with 320 grit, then if it looks good, wetsand up to 1200 or 1500 and buff it out.

 

I also got my lug tubes in so I can re-use those lugs. If it turns out good, I'll probably do a full kit. If not, I'll start saving for a Mapex Saturn.

 

FYI, here's a couple tips:

 

When brushing polyurethane, you risk having little bubbles in the finish. This is due to air getting trapped under the liquid. To avoid this, soak your brush or cloth in poly for 10 seconds, then let the excess poly drip off. Also, go slowly, as if you're spreading a layer on the shell rather than painting a thin layer. You will have brush strokes, but you can sand those out.

 

T-shirt rags can be used instead of foam brushes to apply the brush-on poly. The coats aren't quite as thick, but it seems easier to avoid brush strokes and air bubbles, and it's certainly cheaper.

 

If you're going for a high gloss finish, I strongly recommend using sanding sealer. It's poly reduced with thinner, so it dries quicker, and it builds up quicker, and it's much easier to sand. I didn't use it on this project as I expected to use oil, but in the future I'll probably do 2-3 coats of sanding sealer before a top coat.

 

My plan is to do the following:

 

1. Raise grain and sand lightly at 320 grit

2. Apply dye (two coats with drying time between)

3. 2-3 coats of sanding sealer, level sand at 320 grit

4. 2-3 coats of poly/lacquer, level sand at 400 grit

5. 2-3 coats of poly/lacquer, wetsand with 400/600, 800, 1000, 1500

6. Buff with rubbing compound and polishing compound

7. Wait a week, then wax