DIY Tuneable Practice Drum Pad

 Well, I'm a percussionist and I spent the last 3 and a half years since I started without a practice pad (surprisingly). Yes, practice pads are pretty cheap (you could get one for $15 from Remo), but I much prefer making my own. I also had all of the parts available already. It took about a day to make this and write up the instructable.

So for this instructable, you will need the following:

THREE 1'x1'x3/8" (one square foot by 3/8 inch) pieces of particle board
SIX screws, nuts, and washers
TWO c-clamps
ONE drill
ONE Dremel with vertical cutting bit and drill press stand
ONE jigsaw
ONE sanding block with sand paper
ONE brush
ONE can of polyurethane or equivalent wood sealant
ONE drum head
ONE bottle of wood glue

some sort of padding (I used an old undershirt)
and the following basic items: pencil/pen, compass, protractor, ruler, safety glasses, face mask

Jigsaws cause wood chips to fly everywhere. It's a good idea to wear safety glasses. Also, please wear a mask when sanding. Wood dust in the lungs isn't as bad as fiberglass, but let's keep anything that's not normally part of the air out of our lungs shall we?

Step 1: Taking Measurements

 Measuring things out is always important. Make sure the pieces of particle board are large enough so that you can cut out circles that have radii 1/2" larger than that of the entire drum head. You're going to need that to put screw through later.

Comments

[kaspercussie]

If you wouldn't use dampening and open up the bottom you could actually make really cool flat toms with this same method. The LP giovanni hidalgo compact congas are made by the same principle I think. Good job!

[Spectrace]

thats neat. almost like the plastic ones you can buy for about $20-25. I have a two sided rubber practice pad, which i believe was $40 or $50 when i got it. I've been playing drums for about 8-9 years. And those look like the same drumsticks i started with. (Vic Firth SG1 i think they were?)

[rotf101]

 Vic Firth SD1 generals. Probably the same just a different name.

[Spectrace]

yeah thats it, i couldn't pinpoint the name. those are the same ones i started with. They've long since been retired since i got several pairs of Regal Tip sticks on sale when the family-owned music store near me closed.  Mine are so chopped up.

[tbone121]

so your saying youve been druming for 9 years but have only had two pairs of stick, i prob have over 200 pairs and this is my 7th year druming, i have such alarge variety

[Spectrace]

when did i say i only had 2 pairs of sticks. i have more than 2 pairs, but several are unused. I haven't been playing as much since going to college

[chapa-de-frente]

yes, very good, i must do this as well (this site is so awesome)

[macmaniac]

How loud is this?

[rotf101]

It's as loud as any other plastic-head kind of practice pad. If you really want something quiet, go for a HQ practice pad. Those are really quiet.

[Pants3000]

Thinking...if instead of particle board you used actual spare drum rims, it could possibly be a step towards building your own roto toms...

[drummonkey92]

or make something simmilar to Pearl's travel conga

[mainremission]

if you made a whole kit like that and put it on a frame, would it be practical? I know it would be easier to get a real kit, but I'm just wondering.

[rotf101]

 Sure you could make a whole kit like this, but making the frame for "drum rack" would be a whole other challenge of its own.

It's "do-able," but it will take a lot of time and patience. You will save a considerable amount of money though, seeing as the cheapest practice drum kit is about $200.