How drum kits are made

A drum kit packs several drums and cymbals into one player's reach, a combination that began in the 1860s.

stations: 8
things upstream: 65
raw sources: 19
steps from the ground: 9

The short version

A drum kit combines wooden-shelled drums, plastic heads, metal hoops and cymbals made of copper alloy. Wood plies are bent into cylinders, edges are cut, heads are stretched over hoops, and lugs and rims are bolted on. Cymbals are cast, hammered and turned on a lathe. The kit is assembled and tuned.

Bend the plies into shells

Thin sheets of wood are glued and wound or pressed into cylinders. A shell is a thin wooden tube that gives each drum its voice.

Goes in
Plywood Adhesive
Cut the bearing edges

A machine cuts a precise angled edge on each rim of the shell, where the drumhead rests. Flat, true edges let the head vibrate evenly.
Stretch the drumheads

Plastic film is stretched over metal hoops. The batter head takes the stick, and a thinner head underneath answers it.

Goes in
PET plastic Aluminum
Cast the cymbal blanks

A copper alloy is melted and cast, then rolled into round plates. Cymbals are thin plates of copper alloy.

Goes in
Bronze
Hammer and lathe the cymbals

Cymbals are hammered to give them their character, then turned on a lathe to thin them out and cut fine grooves. Each plate is shaped into a bowl with a raised central bell.
Plate the hardware

Stands, hoops and lugs are made of steel and chrome-plated to resist wear.

Goes in
Steel
Fit snare wires

A snare drum has a bed of stiff metal wires held against the bottom head. When the top head is hit, the wires buzz against it.

Goes in
Steel wire
Tension and tune

Tension rods are tightened in turn round each head until the pitch is even.

End of the lineDrum kit

Worth repeating

Cymbals are the oldest idiophones in music, and some were used in the Bronze Age.
By the 1860s, percussionists had started combining multiple drums into a single kit.
William Ludwig developed an early low-mounted "sock" cymbal, which led to the modern hi-hat.