by Elegantdrum » Sat Aug 15, 2015 12:40 am
Very cool, I wish you luck! this would put a smile on Bill Bruford's face.
You're right in that the mounting of the drums on a rack system is the cost/benefit crux of the project.
I'm a sheet metal designer by day and have some structural experience. Here are a few Idea's off the top of my head.
I would think about the stand this way:
1. Individual mounting will allow better positioning and less cross talk.........i.e. the "slickness" of the final result. Are you willing to sacrifice this for cost?
2. Just off the top of my head I see a few choices for materials: Steel (pipe, sheet, tube), aluminum, Wood, PVC pipe. Unless your a welder, I would not go with metal for the main cross bar/beam unless you can weld whatever metal your using.
3. With all three materials, I would look at how I could still use some kind of standard elbow, yet make the main cross beam curved. If the main cross beam is the right curve, smaller leverage arms to each drum will help with point #1.
4. Here is an idea for a curved cross beam, but I don't think it works with PVC elbows because the elbows would not slide easily enough on the curve: Say you start with a PVC pipe. get a cable and connect at both ends. tension the cable until you have the curve you want. then fill with concrete (Expansion from cure problem solved with foam and holes). Once dry, you have a cheap curved beam that's solid and strong. 2 or 4 Cables should be running through the tube close, but not at, the edges. The cables act like re-bar for a concrete building. If the mixture inside is right, you may even be able to add tension to the cable after cure and arrive at pre-stressed concrete.
5. For the individual attachments, you could inset/insert some coupling (PVC or Metal female threads) at each attachment point, that ends up cemented in place. Then use a piece of metal strip with a hole at both ends to connect to each drum. each drum would have a single nut inside. bend up metal bars for each drum position. A hack saw or motorized equivalent can cut metal bar from stock and drill some holes. grinding the corners would also be needed. then paint to prevent rust.
I hope this spurs a better result. Again....good looks. that looks really cool.
I'm kinda the other direction for an E-kit. I'm going for the feel of a real kit, rather than pitches, rolls, and lots of sounds.