Can't get head off tom

RideTheCrash

RideTheCrash

Member
I have had these POS drums for about 4-5 years now, and they have their issues. Tiny splits in shells, stripped lugs. Pretty cheap. My cymbals and hardware are excellent though. Just the shells (lugs, rims too) that suck.

Anyway, I decided to try to tune them yesterday. I took off my 12" tom and can't get the batter head off for the life of me. It recently just got pretty hot where I live, but wouldn't the shell contract in heat? It's not very hot where the drums are anyway, but it was humid recently.

Are there any tips for getting the head off?
 
Are the shells wrapped or are they a laquer finish? I am assuming you were able to take off the rim. If it is a wrapped shell the egde of the wrap may have been compromised sometime when the head was put on and over time has formed a bond with the material of the head. I would try taking the bottom head off and try working around the inside of the head with the problem pushing from that direction will give you more control + leverage to try to free it from its current home. or you can try to find where the seam is in the ring on the head and try to split that using a cutoff tool. that will usually work if all else fails
 
RideTheCrash said:
wouldn't the shell contract in heat?
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Probably has no bearing on your current dilemma, but something you'll want to remember anyways.

Heat=Expands

Cold=Contracts(not like a record contract, like your wiener when it's real cold out)
 
TheBigGiantHead said:
You'll need to buy him dinner and a few drinks first.
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Hahahahaha!!!!!! That's great.


I think what you need to do, is take a small hammer and lightly tap the head around the drum to help loosen it. Tap down against the rim, tapping in the direction that you want to go with the drumhead - which is off the drum.
That should loosen it up.

Notice that I said LIGHTLY tap the head, that doesn't mean whack the hell out of it. it means barely tap the metal hoop of the drumhead (after you've taken off the rim and all tension rods.


Tim
 
RideTheCrash said:
I have had these POS drums for about 4-5 years now, and they have their issues. Tiny splits in shells, stripped lugs. Pretty cheap. My cymbals and hardware are excellent though. Just the shells (lugs, rims too) that suck.

Anyway, I decided to try to tune them yesterday. I took off my 12" tom and can't get the batter head off for the life of me. It recently just got pretty hot where I live, but wouldn't the shell contract in heat? It's not very hot where the drums are anyway, but it was humid recently.

Are there any tips for getting the head off?
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity - what brand and model do you own .....for future reference when buying drums....
 
Smash that fucker! :mad:

It's taunting you, bro! Saying "you haven't got what it takes" in it's own morbid brain.

You don't need that shit! :mad:
 
ez_willis said:
Smash that fucker! :mad:

It's taunting you, bro! Saying "you haven't got what it takes" in it's own morbid brain.

You don't need that shit! :mad:
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Yea, what he said. I've got a guitar that's up for smashing. Maybe I could smash it over your tom?
 
The drums are "Procussion", which I think is somehow connected to Westbury. Don't worry, you'll never ever see them in stores. They disappeared. The shells are wrapped and the batter head that is stuck is a coated emperor.

I'll try the hammer thing as well as taking off the bottom head. It's been really humid here lately, but today it's cool down here in this part of my house, but it's still stuck.

These drums have given me lots of problems. Mostly the floor tom. I still to this day have lugs that pop off when tightened. This is usually solved by searching through assortments of oversized screws and putting that in the stripped lug.

Next time I'll remind myself to post "drumhead" instead of "head". I knew I'd get that joke, heh.
 
I had a 14" that did the same thing. The problem you're going to have is getting a new head ON after you get that one off. I trimmed the wrapping down about 1/4" from the bearing edge and haven't had trouble since.
 
Well, I decided to take the bottom head off, but not surprisingly, it was stuck too. So I got a hammer. It wasn't small, but I didn't care. Lightly tapped around the edges until it fell off. Both heads go back on fine and nothing seems out of shape, but the bottom of the shell, where the metal of the drumhead sits, is a darker brown, it almost looks like a dried glue. And I've never seen it before.

Oh well. I truly can't wait to buy new drums someday.
 
RideTheCrash said:
Well, I decided to take the bottom head off, but not surprisingly, it was stuck too. So I got a hammer. It wasn't small, but I didn't care. Lightly tapped around the edges until it fell off. Both heads go back on fine and nothing seems out of shape, but the bottom of the shell, where the metal of the drumhead sits, is a darker brown, it almost looks like a dried glue. And I've never seen it before.
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Sap, maybe? If the wood wasn't properly cured prior to making the drum, you might see something like that. Either that or it's plywood or particle board and it actually is glue!

For whatever this is worth, if it is sap, I believe the cure is to heat it with a heat gun (which will dry the sap), then chip/scrape away at it.
 
Yeah, maybe. Judging by the "quality", I would believe anything. I don't think it's particle wood, looks more like just plywood. Should be firewood really.
 
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