Circuit-33 (The Band)Not to be confused with circuits of any other variety

As mentioned before, the actual laminating is such an irreversible and permanent application that each step had to be carefully planned out in advance.  Fortunately for me, I was working with Erik, an expert in the field of laminating.

We carefully cut the laminate into pieces wide enough for each drum shell and long enough to wrap around each one with just enough to overlap.  Then they were laid out and spray adhesive was applied.

The first time we laminated drum shells, there was a slight misalignment at the seam where the laminate wrapped around and butted up against the starting point.  Despite the best of care taken to exactly align the starting angle, it will never be perfect.  This misalignment  is not visual with the drum heads on anyway, so it was not a big deal.  But it would be a real problem if the laminate wandered so much that it obstructed the shell area where the drum head  contacted the shell.  And the larger the diameter shell, (a bass drum for instance), the more critical this wandering problem would be magnified.  To ensure that this problem would not ruin the project, we devised a way to allow the laminate edge to be trimmed and excess removed, even after the laminate had been applied.

The photos below show a half-inch margin of duct tape being applied to mask the spray adhesive so that excess could be trimmed and removed after the fact.  Note: This was only done to the sides of drum shells where heads would be used.  (I have sometimes heard of single-headed drums being called “Melodic” drums, or “Concert Toms”, I believe.)

Alignment lines were made to mark where on the drum the laminate seam would be and to aid in starting it at a 90 degree angle.  When the seam is located inline with the attached drum hardware it helps in preventing the laminate from pulling loose.

Now came the time to spray the shells with adhesive.

Then the masking (duct tape) was removed.

Using the alignment marks, the laminate was carefully lined up at the starting point.

Then it was carefully rolled by hand using much pressure to ensure adhesion.

Another concern that had to be addressed was accurately cutting the seam-edge of the laminate.  In order to get a good measurement without completely gluing the entire sheet to the shell, a piece of poly sheeting was used to cover the final area of  adhesive, allowing the drum to be rolled, and trimming marks to be scribed.

This cut is somewhat critical:  Unlike the typical original drum fabric that most manufacturers use that wraps around the shell and overlaps, this must be is a butt-joint, and this seam will show!  The better the job, the better it will look.

Erik used a cutting tool he had that was not actually made for laminate, but it worked quite well.

To further touch up the seam, we used a fine file on the cut line.  Once the laminate wrapped around the shell and fit together well, the poly sheeting was removed, and a slight mist of spray adhesive was added.  Then the last of the rolling was completed, leaving a tight seam.

The side of the drum shell not needing a head, (for those drums with a head on only one side), we used a router to trim the laminate to the shell.

For the drum head side of the shells, we used the router as above, but then used a table saw with the fence set to allow only 1/2″ of laminate to be trimmed off the edge of the shell.  (Of course the blade was set to barely cut through the thickness of the laminate as the shell was turned.)

Because the shell edge had been masked when the adhesive was applied, the trimmed pieces were easily removed.

After all the laminating was complete, the edges were cleaned of any adhesive residue.  Then the hardware holes were carefully drilled from the inside out, using my angle drill motor, using the original shell holes as a template.  Then the hardware was re-installed, and the drum kit was reassembled.  The operation was a success!!!