Ever since my trashcan bass drum project I’ve been trying to find the minimum requirements for making a drum. After a few sessions of use, the trashcan “bearing edge” started getting a little warped so I went back on the hunt for a new improvised shell. I asked myself, “Where can I find a round, sturdy object that fit drum heads?” It only took me a few days to realize that a DRUM SHELL would be a great option here, but only after cutting it down of course!

After selecting a few drums to become single-headed “pancake” drums, I used a jigsaw to cut a 5″ wide ring from an 18″ bass drum, a 3.5″ ring from a 13″ tom drum and a 3.5″ ring from an 11″ tom drum. After subjecting the drums to such brutal treatment, I thought they deserved a few coats of Danish oil gingerly applied.  Here are the results of the 18″ and 13″:

With three new pancake drums in hand, I assembled them into an expanded busking kit. Here we are with my 10″ splash hats, 14″ crash, 16″ dark crash, 4″x10″ tiny snare plus the pancake 11″, 13″ toms and 18″ bass drum. Just look at how well this guy packs up!