Need ideas for custom platform drum

[Bag-A-Holic]

Just recieved email below, from the company I ordered my Primefighter 400 platform from. This was originally going to be used to mount a custom 24x24x6 Endgrain Boos Butcher Block to. Custom being, I was going to secure a 1/4 steel plate to top of the butcher block to reinforce the Endgrain, and also hopefully create a "sweet spot" AKA center of precussion, all over the board. This would of been a total of 135 lbs, 95lbs for butcher Block and 40lbs for the steel plate. I think the problem is, that I might, but not necessarily, need a counter weight of ~100lbs too, bringing the total bearing weight to 235lbs.

The Butcher Block order became non refundable after 24 hrs.

Hmmm it is a Endgrain Butcher Block, so it has a bunch of boxes on it, maybe a custom chess or checker board then!

"Anthony,

Thank you for your payment but we cannot guarantee that much weight when we haven't tested it ourselves. All the modifications would also void any warranty. We don't feel that this is in our best interest and will be refunding your payments. Sorry for the inconvenience."

***UPDATE**, I have since spoke to company, and upon change of original plans, the order will now proceed. So, I will either set up the PF 400 with the stock 2 1/4 inch rebound board(or board of similar weight) and the stock counter weight, or put the custom Boos Butcher Block on, but WITHOUT any counter weight.(thus keeping the weight load, within an already tested and safe amount.

Also the steel reinforcement plate just arrived (see below).

[MsDeville]

I'm looking to build a custom drum to replace my factory 2" drum on my CA-53 Valor speed bag platform. I want it to look really cool and have great rebound qualities. It's got to be thick...around 5 inches...and about 28" diameter. . .

That's the crux of it. Having an effective platform while keeping it "cool looking." Sort of like wanting the Perfect Girlfriend. A perfect Dream Girl would let you bag all night, watch sporting events all week long, and let you burp/fart in her presence , AND she's beautiful too! How often does THAT happen!!!

My dream has always been to have one of those thick, hunky butcherblock drums, but, do I really NEED it? I have a compact platform that performs better than some of the most expensive ones out there, imo. ...just sayin'…

If you plan to do any old school style bagging, you might want a slightly larger diameter drum.

This reminded me of the fact that my Deville X-15 frame can accommodate a drum as large as 36" in diameter. I know. Doesn't sound possible. But, if you look closely at a photo of it, you can see that there is 6" between the wall and my 24" drum. You can get a 30" round tabletop from Lowe's for under $30, sand, stain and coat it with some polyurethane, and attach it to this platform.

Ok I finally found the video clip showing the what appears to be Butcher Block platforms. I took a snap shot too. These look solid but cant really tell waht they are made of, because of how dark they are. or even the thickness, I'm gauging around 5-6 inches? Any ideas?

Man... this sure seems like overkill to me. My 1917 Spaulding platform is the original 2" of Mahogany and solid as a rock. After a certain thickness, I tend to think it's more about the support and bracing than it is about the thickness. I don't have any extra weight on the top either.

Ant...since you brought up the idea of using end grain for a platform you gave me an idea! I just came from a high end Navy recreation facility that serves about 10,000 people on base. It has three indoor full size basketball courts, indoor swimming, weight lifting, and many treadmills and ellipticals. My point, money is no object when it comes to military fitness. This place has a floor throughout that I've never seen before. It is made of thousands of end-grain pieces of wood covered in a thick clear coating. The wood appears to be pine or fir, not maple. It is glued directly onto concrete floor. It holds up extremely well and does not show any dents.
I looked up the compressive strength of pine and the compressive strength is about 15 times higher on the edge grain (butcher block style) as opposed to parallel to grain. I think the bag rebound might be very high on an edge grain platform, and the wood is much cheaper and lighter too. So I think I might fabricate an edge grain pine/fir platform. I would top it off with a piece of 3/4 plywood to prevent breakage...Probably make it about 5" thick by 28" diameter...I would use high quality premeium 2x6 construction studs.

The 1" thick, 24" solid wood rounds that we put on our X-15 platform is cut from a Douglas Fir glue-lam beam. We went to a mill in our area and had them custom cut inch-thick slabs and hauled them home and cut them into rounds. BTW, if you have a table saw, it is very easy to make your own round. Even I could do it!!

But, I must say that my 36" all-steel drum is, imo, my favorite and my BEST platform to punch on. It is 5/16" thick. You don't lose the striking power of the bag against the all-steel surface. You do lose it on wood. BUT, even so, you still have to mount it properly.

i agree with zaza. you guys are over thinking it, the drum only needs to be 2" or 3" hell i've hit on the stock drums and they were only 3/4"...where my vibration is coming from on my setup and other setups is the bracing (framing of the platform) and the wall that it's mounted to, if you have a solid wall and your framing of your platform is solid them you'll have minimal to no vibration. look at dee and raul's platforms that they make, the framing is made in an octagon and i don't have to hit on it to know it's solid, it just has to be mounted to a solid wall ;-)...ralph

Thanks, Ralph. I can't agree with you more.

"But the idea of simply recessing a swivel up into the board would also shorten the rebound arc and probably add speed. Anyone with a really thick board and the tools to counter sink the center swivel area might give this a try. (on a spare board)." from a post by AK april 2007--could not find any follow up as yet--there was quite a bit of discussion on the how to do--dd

...but...but...but...that's cheating i say. LoL ;-)...ralph

Ralph, I'll bet you're an animal when it comes to your workouts. And it sounds like you don't need no stinkin' shortcuts, like making it 'easier' to punch. Raul really likes his flush-mount swivel when he's doing his 45-minute workout of just elbow punches over and over. It's a little easier on his shoulders with the shorter arc swing of the big Cleto he uses. He exerts less energy when striking the bag. Does this make sense?

Speed bag platform retrofit with Deville Ballhook.

Thanks for posting this video clip. Alan. I have another clip that shows how to rout out a shallow hole in the drum in order to set the flush-mount swivel in it. Our swivels are a tad smaller than all of the traditional swivels (as you will see in the video). So for an Everlast swivel, or a Powermill swivel, you just need to buy the right size router blade, or whatever it's called. It's a round cutting tool (see the video).

This video shows the D-21 Flush-mount swivel in action. Raul took a 36" wood round and attached it to our existing all-steel, free-standing platform located outside the garage:

Deville D-21 Swivel & Drum Design

How to Swap out a Deville D-21 Flush-Mount Swivel on a Drum

Whew. Sorry this is so long, but I hope it helps add to the conversation.

[Speedbag]

That's the crux of it. Having an effective platform while keeping it "cool looking." Sort of like wanting the Perfect Girlfriend. A perfect Dream Girl would let you bag all night, watch sporting events all week long, and let you burp/fart in her presence , AND she's beautiful too! How often does THAT happen!!!

Only once in my life.

and I married her

Bonus: She is an algebra teacher, which is good because one of these days I'm going to need that (because I still can't add fractions. )

[MsDeville]

Only once in my life.

and I married her

Bonus: She is an algebra teacher, which is good because one of these days I'm going to need that (because I still can't add fractions. )

That's a great bonus: She's beautiful AND she's a brainiac math teacher!
You are a lucky man indeed, Mr. Kahn.

[kenk]

Started construction of new drum

Well...I've decided what my final design will be for my new drum...and started it yesterday...It is being made using prime grade fir studs, cut into 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 4 1/4" butcher block style...The board is being made as an end grain butcher block surface...the blocks are mounted to a 3/4" maple plywood board..total thickness with plywood=5"...diameter about 27"... didn't cut it yet...the blocks are glued and screwed using gorilla poly glue...this is time consuming and messy...as I type this with dried glue is all over my hands!...hard to get off...I really think final product will look cool and have great rebound...some prelim pictures included....
Cost wood ...$35....screws....$30....glue $30

[Bag-A-Holic]

Well...I've decided what my final design will be for my new drum...and started it yesterday...It is being made using prime grade fir studs, cut into 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 4 1/4" butcher block style...The board is being made as an end grain butcher block surface...the blocks are mounted to a 3/4" maple plywood board..total thickness with plywood=5"...diameter about 27"... didn't cut it yet...the blocks are glued and screwed using gorilla poly glue...this is time consuming and messy...as I type this with dried glue is all over my hands!...hard to get off...I really think final product will look cool and have great rebound...some prelim pictures included....
Cost wood ...$35....screws....$30....glue $30

Hey Ken looks great!!! Looks like you set up shop right in the living room. I'm sure you using the glue all over(between blocks as well as to plywood), but where are the screws being used? Are they being used just to screw the plywood to each individual piece, or are the blocks each screwed to each other as well? How will you make it round shaped? Also what finish, if any, will you put on its face, where the speedbag will hit? Will you be using a steel plate on top too, or just the plywood? Amazon has the steel plates 1/8 and 1/4 inch, but not sure if they have them pre-cut round though.

Also if possible, can you weigh and post the actual weight of the drum, after you are finished, but before installing it.

[AugustChief]

Did you use clamps to hold everything in place? You may want to use a planer to smooth and level the surface, nominal vs actual measurements always affect the outcome. I'm was thinking about building my own work bench top with sufficient length/width to cut three drums 30" wide and 4" thick.

This is a somewhat difficult part of getting into woodworking Paul Sellers addresses in this video. In this, part 1, Paul Sellers shows how to laminate (glue up) several smaller boards to make up the top of the bench. This is done in his garden and not a in a fancy shop with loads of equipment.

Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru2ZiNs_Wek

[kenk]

Anthony...The entire drum is being built on, and glued to a 3/4" piece of maple plywood. I'm not using a steel plate due to cost issues...I think the plywood will work well though...For extra strength, I screw each piece to the plywood, and then secure each piece together with another screw. That should prevent any possible cracking issues from happening...but it is really time consuming!...I would like to use a band-saw to cut the final diameter of the drum, but I don't have access to one...I will probably use a router and a radius cutting jig to cut the top and bottom....then use a belt sander to finish...

I expect to use oil based polyurethane to finish drum, because it is durable and I like the amber color that you get from an oil based clear coat....but haven't finalized that yet...not sure what you mean about contact point for bag?....since the drum will probably be 27", bag should hit well within edge of drum...I spent 4 hours gluing the blocks yesterday, and barely got half finished...expect another 6hrs of gluing today....I will try to take some progress shots as I'm completing...

[kenk]

Here are some more progress photos...3/4 complete...
I had to use clamps to hold each piece together before screwing, or else the blocks would move as I screwed them secure...
If I had access to a planer, pipe clamps, good table saw, etc, I would make this drum differently...

[kenk]

finished gluing blocks

OK, finally finished gluing blocks together....next step is to cut out 27" dia drum...will keep posted...

[AugustChief]

Noticed you used Gorilla Glue, here's a tutorial on removing it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D076rtJc8Iw

Why are you using screws? The glue joint will be stronger than the wood itself and disperse any stress throughout instead of it being at, on or around the screw(s). In fact you could most likely eliminate the screws if you glued and clamped the pieces together. Or remove the screws after the glue is set.

Screws are not very good fasteners. They fasten the wood together only where the screw is and nowhere else. That means most of the wood will just sit next to each other doing absolutely nothing. Screws are notorious for backing out, stripping, etc.

Modern glues can cause bonds that are much, much stronger than the wood itself. If you shear two glued boards apart, chances are it's the wood that will give, not the glue joint.

You can get almost the same strength bond just using clamps and no screws.

I'm sure you learned a lot on this DIY project, and your steadfast dedication is impressive, I hope everything unfolds according to your vision.

R/

[Speedbag]

Here are some more progress photos...3/4 complete...
I had to use clamps to hold each piece together before screwing, or else the blocks would move as I screwed them secure...
If I had access to a planer, pipe clamps, good table saw, etc, I would make this drum differently...

That may be the most work intensive individualized board I've ever seen....

Gonna be a beauty I bet!

[paranday]

That may be the most work intensive individualized board I've ever seen....

I like the choice of fir end grain. Will be interesting to learn how it performs.

[kenk]

I used screws for several reasons: to provide additional tension and shear resistance of the entire drum...the screws are high quality deck screws and have a groove cut into them to help with self threading the wood (they did not split the wood-because of self threading feature and softness of wood)...to connect entire butcher-block to a flat and stable mounting surface (plywood)...also, since gorilla expands while drying, needed them to hold pieces together while drying...
I've built several high end furniture projects overs the years when I had access to a commercial grade wood shop (enrolled in cabinet making class at vo-tec high school night school)...This would have helped to cut down on time a grunt work....but I think am optimistic that the project will be successful.

I just found out that I may have access to a commercial surface planer and band saw. I've never planed end grain butcher block before, so not too sure if I will have success and no splitting to end grain....each block is precisely cut and within 1/16" of height so I could probably get a nice surface with a belt sander, but not as flat as with a planer...will keep posted..

[AugustChief]

You can use a table saw to cut the circular diameter you seek.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0tgNmLvq7Y