Drum Riser on the Cheap

[longgun]

Ok folks, you asked for a list of materials so I typed one up. I also took the time to write up directions for building it. Hope this helps clarify any questions you might have about its' construction.

Materials List

2 5/8” 4x8 sheets Plywood (I used Aspen 5ply Underlayment)
2 2x6 8’ SPF Lumber
2 48” Piano:Hinges
16 Pails w/Lids I bought new ones, used and cleaned ones will work just as well
64 #8 x ¾” Pan Head screws (sold in boxes of 100)
64 1/8” x 1” Fender washers (sold in boxes of 100)
1# 1 5/8” Drywall screws
2 Quarts of Indoor/Outdoor carpet adhesive
2 6’ x 8’ Indoor/outdoor carpet pieces
2 lockable hasps (or equivalent)
9 yards of black fabric for making skirt
9lf sew-on flexible Velcro (from fabric store)
1 1/8” v-notched adhesive spreader (plastic, disposable)
1 box of ½” Arrow Brand staples (buy for your brand of stapler)



Instructions: (If male, these are optional.)

Step 1: Lay plywood out on floor and set up kit on top. Do you really need an 8’ x 8’ riser? Chances are you don’t, so make a diagram of what you will need the finished size to be and set it aside. DO NOT CUT CORNERS OFF YET.

Step 2: Crosscut the two sheets so that you end up with 4 pieces of plywood that are 4’ x 4’ in size. Mark all factory edges with a marker or pencil. Set up your pails, and place all the plywood on top taking care to put all factory edges against each other. When this is done all the previously cut edges will be to the sides of your riser. Doing this step now will ensure your riser goes together seamlessly and looks awesome later (and makes it easier to line things up). Now you can mark off what needs to be removed and cut it off with your circular saw. (Don’t forget to move the buckets around so you don’t saw into them.) Doh!

Step 3: Crosscut the 2x6’s so that you have four pieces that are 4’ long. Rip them down on a table saw to 1 1/8” wide pieces. You will end up with a total of 16 pieces that measure 1 ½” x 1 1/8” x 48”. Flip over the plywood pieces and fit them around the perimeter of each piece. Use the drywall screws to affix the plywood to the lumber strips. DO NOT ALLOW ANY PART OF THE LUMBER TO STICK OUT PAST THE FACTORY EDGES OF THE PLYWOOD. This step will again make life easier later on.

*BEER BREAK* POWERS SAWS ARE UNPLUGGED AND PUT AWAY*BEER BREAK* NO MORE DANGER*BEER BREAK* (If underage, get your Dad a beer)*

Step 4: Attach the lids inside the area made by applying the lumber reinforcements. Use a screw with a fender washer to attach them. Butt two of the sections together and connect them using a piano hinge. *Side Note* (The little screws that come with those hinges are really little (#4x1/2”). If you can find some #4 x 1 ½” screws use them in every other hole. They will add a lot of strength to the joint. That’s what I did.) Now snap the buckets onto the lids and flip the whole works over. Do the same for the other two pieces. This will give you the two folding sections. Get up on it and enjoy the solid feeling. (You will hear all the buckets solidly seating into their lids.)

Step 5: Lay your carpet piece on top to be sure they are long enough to wrap over the edge. (If you kept your riser 8’ wide, the carpet won’t be long enough to cover so you will end up with a seam on the surface.) Remove carpet. Apply adhesive with your 1/8” v-notched spreader to the entire surface of the plywood, but don’t glue the sides. Be thorough and neat. This stuff takes a full day to cure, so you have plenty of time to do the job right. Lay the carpet on top and press it down into the glue. Do this to both sections. DO NOT CUT THE CARPET EDGES OR THE JOINT ABOVE THE PIANO HINGES YET. It’s time to walk away from the project for the night and allow the glue to dry. Finish tomorrow. (Pretty sure this is once again time for a cold adult beverage. It was for me.)

Step 6: (Day 2) Using a sharp razor blade, cut the carpet above the piano hinge. This is easier if you slightly elevate one side by putting a scrap of plywood under the pails closest to the hinge. It will help open the gap just enough to get a blade in there.) Flip the section over (buckets up) and wrap the carpet around the sides and bottom, stapling it down as you go. I’m not an upholstery guy, and yet I managed to do a pretty neat job by just taking my time. Trim off all excess carpet. Do this for the other section as well. When both sections are done, turn them over (buckets down) and slide the two together. Apply your hasps at the joint to keep them together so they don’t slide apart.

Step 7: If you used black pails, you could skip this part if you want to. Obviously, I used the blaze orange “Homer Pails” from Home Depot, so I needed a skirt to cover them up. I sewed my own skirt because I needed an excuse to go out and buy a sewing machine (I hate sewing Cub Scout patches on by hand). If you have a Mom/Grandma/Unsuspecting girlfriend/significant other that would be willing to do the job, RUN, DON’T WALK to them and allow them to show you their skills. I sewed the Velcro on so that 12” of it was at each corner and 6” at the ends. That stuff was fairly expensive, so I didn’t use it for the whole perimeter. It clings to the carpet great! Even though the riser sits exactly 15” off the ground, I made the skirt 16” tall. I figured I could always hold it up higher on the riser if needed, but at least I’d be covered in the event of uneven ground (grassy field/dip in pavement).

Step 8: Put drum set on and enjoy the view! (While taking a BEER BREAK of course.)

Total set up time is about 5 minutes. Tearing it down takes about 10 minutes. You need to work your fingers around the lids to get them to “unsnap”.

...Thanks for taking the time to do a write-up......definitely makes it easier for us.

[ntn2it]

Question - I noticed that you nipped the corners at an angle - does this allow for all of your stands and floor toms ok or would it be better to just make it square with right angles?

Yeah, everything fits fine. I actually have enough room on here for my drum shield as well. Some venues require it to help control the sound. There is even room on here for the bass players cigs, the lead guitarist's Pepsi, and the singer's purse. I am playing two gigs this weekend. One of these has room for the riser, the other one doesn't. Like you said, sometimes you use it and sometimes you don't. It sure is nice knowing that we can if we want to though. I cut the back corners off first at a 45 degree angle to allow its use at those dreaded "drummer in the corner gigs". Then once I knew exactly how everything else fit, I went back and cut the front corners off so my bassist, guitarist and singer get a little extra room onstage.

My reasons for building this were threefold:
I think it adds a look of "professionalism" to our stage show.

While I don't mind the view of my singer's rear end, I would like to be able to see past her and be able to connect with the people on the dance floor.

I got tired of seeing only the top of my head in pictures. (I know, how vain right? But honestly I work hard for my band and I'd like to be seen working hard. This platform gives me the height needed to make it into the pictures.)

I'll take pictures of it this weekend and post those next week so you can all see it in "action". :0)

[trickg]

Ah - I hadn't even considered the dreaded "drummer in the corner" scenario, but that makes perfect sense now that you mention it.

I have mixed feelings about using a riser, but mainly from the point of view that it makes it marginally more awkward to set up a kit - it's always going to be easier when all you have to do is find your spot on the floor, otherwise I think that the benefits of being up a little higher greatly outweigh anything else. Even from a sound perspective, I'd think that getting cymbals up above the mics on the main stage cuts down on cymbals bleeding through.

I think it's awesome, and more than likely at some point in the future I'll be using your design to build my own drum riser.

[ntn2it]

That is sweet, man. And is it pretty solid? Does it move around at all? Did you think it up, or did you see it somewhere else? Great idea.

It will slide just fine on a tiled floor. In concrete or dirt, not at all. Once you are up on it and playing it doesn't move at all. It doesn't bounce even. Rock solid.

I saw a variation of it years ago on the web, but the links are long gone. It was slightly different in that they didn't mount the lids the way I did. They also had it hinged so that the carpet was toward the inside when the halves were folded. My reason for going "carpet out" was so that our sub cabinets would sit up against them in our trailer without getting scratched up on bare wood. If it gets dirty this way, well.....so be it.

[Riouel]

That's pretty awesome. I'm looking to build one or two risers for my drums, since I'm paranoid about water coming in the basement and ruining them. Wouldn't be nearly that tall, at most about 8"...but the idea is very close to what I had in mind.

Nice to see it visualized.

raise all the basement with the new set you have

nice job ntn2it

[PerryGoRound]

Dude, that's one of the best DIY's I've seen here, yet.

[Ricardo]

My reasons for building this were threefold:
I think it adds a look of "professionalism" to our stage show.

While I don't mind the view of my singer's rear end, I would like to be able to see past her and be able to connect with the people on the dance floor.

I got tired of seeing only the top of my head in pictures. (I know, how vain right? But honestly I work hard for my band and I'd like to be seen working hard.

I totally agree with all three of these points -- it's not "vain" at all.
VAIN is the guitarist and his Marshall stack volume maxed !!!
Professionalism added............yes !

P.S. Can you post a pic of your singer's rear end ?

[MartyM]

American igenuity at its finest! wonderful just wonderful

[signia fan]

And if your basement floods, it will float your kit!!!

[ntn2it]

Here it is in action! It works great!

[pastor_bob]

Great shot of the band ntn2it. I hate to say it, but as good as that riser is at rising you up, you'll need to lower that splash a little to get the full effect. LOL

[ntn2it]

Pastor Bob, you are absolutely correct. My wife took that shot and when I downloaded it this morning I realized the same thing. Tonight's gig the splash must be lowered!
Trial and error my friend. Trial and error.

[marko138]

Looks like it works great!

[slinky]

are you taking orders?

[Bish]

are you taking orders?

I might get a little squeamish at shipping charges...

[markdrum]

Great looking riser! I was just wondering about adding some round brackets for people who have either Pearl of Gibralter racks. Oh yeah, how about the other picture that was mentioned8^).

[late8]

Looks great on stage!!

[ntn2it]

Thanks for all the great feedback on my thread guys. I appreciate it. I see that we have a bunch of new folks on the site now, so I thought I'd bump it up again so they can have a gander at the genius that is me. LOL Muwahaaahaaaa!!!!

[Strider]

Thanks for all the great feedback on my thread guys. I appreciate it. I see that we have a bunch of new folks on the site now, so I thought I'd bump it up again so they can have a gander at the genius that is me. LOL Muwahaaahaaaa!!!!

Great job, m8!

IMHO, this should be a Sticky. Please, Mods?

Cheers!

Strider

[TamadudeNJ]

Fantastic job on this man!!

[pastor_bob]

IMHO, this should be a Sticky. Please, Mods?

Strider, I thought it was a great suggestion, and since I agree with you, I went right ahead and got it done.

[ntn2it]

Strider, I thought it was a great suggestion, and since I agree with you, I went right ahead and got it done.

Great googelymoogely! My first sticky! Thanks guys for the huge vote of confidence. I am happy to report that this riser has given me absolutely no troubles at all. It remains rock solid, and a breeze to set up, tear down, and transport. It is everything I thought it would be! Matter of fact, I will be using it again tonight at a street dance gig we are playing.

Thanks again,

ntn2it

[Rotarded]

$200 @ Lowes

(10)3.5 gallon buckets and lids (debating on putting lights in them),1 sheet of 3/4" plywood,(5) 2x2s, (6) Squeeze Clamps, Hinges, Carpet, Screws, Etc.......and 8 hours of cutting and assembly.

It folds up into 3 sections, and is 24"'x 32"x 16" when stacked in my trunk. I can fit the riser, the 10 buckets, and all my rack hardware in the trunk of my car.

SOLID AS A ROCK! No bounce, no shake!

[ntn2it]

Very nice job Rotarded. I like the concept of making smaller pieces like that so that it fits into your vehicle. I drive a full size pick up and we have a band trailer as well, so for me the 2 larger pieces worked out well. Enjoy! Thanks for posting pics of your set up.

[TamadudeNJ]

Very very cool! I may just need to build one of these soon