Hi Folks,

I'm currently in the (slow) process of building a stave drum kit in red oak. The sizes will be: 24x14, 12x9, 16x16 and 15x6. Because of my love for the sound of thin shells with re-rings I made very thin shells (bass drum 5 mm thick, toms 4 mm, snare 7 mm). The shells will have integrated re-ring (like shells from Hendrix drums). Somewhere in the coming weeks I will machine those rings to a certain thickness. I want them to be as thin as possible. So my question is:

How much flexibility in a shell is tolerated? Does a shell have to be totally rigid? What is your experience in this? I've seen (vintage) straight shells that are are so thin That I cant imagine them being rigid. So I guess some flexibility is no problem. I guess a snare drum should be more rigid than the other drums? I thinck that if I'll ame for completely rigid shells I'll end up with very thick re-rings.

All input is welcome. Thanx in advance, Bart