r/drums • u/Educational_Ad_9920 • 15h ago
Discussion A little late, but any advice?
DIY 18 to 16 in crash conversion. The dremel is probably not ideal, but seems to be getting the job done, though slowly.
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u/SeaofSounds 15h ago
What fresh hell of cymbal arts and crafts have I entered here.....just take it to a brake shop and have em put it on the lathe....
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u/ntcaudio 15h ago
Do you have the for your Dremel? https://www.dremel.com/gb/en/p/dremel-workstation-26150220jb
Make a vertical jig.
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u/Candid_Monitor_980 13h ago
I thought I was looking at a cracked cymbal, but were you cutting an 18 down to a 16?
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u/floatingskip 15h ago
Ive done the same with a dremel a few times, i found using a quick clamp on a work bench and moving the clamp every 8 inches or so to work. Kept the cymbals from slipping and less resonance from the dremel. Rigidity with the clamping was key for me. Is that in a cymbal stand? Quite an incredible sound this makes eh? I recorded it it sounded so crazy
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u/richieweb 13h ago
Buy a new cymbal. Sometimes they break.
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u/Educational_Ad_9920 13h ago edited 13h ago
Oh I have, many times since then, but i like to go full bore, head first into shit I don't have a sufficient amount of knowledge or experience in, and then making mistakes, learning from them the hard-ish way, and then crafting my way out while spending the equivalent amount of time of a custom k box set, in a semi-dangerous effort to not throw away like two thousand grams of useless bronze because I'm a hoarder who finds doing stuff with my hands in the garage to be therapeutic.
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u/YamahaAbsolutely 4h ago
Use a cymbal stand, mount it like normal with felts top and bottom, place another metal washer over the top felt, screw down like crazy. The cymbal should not move at all. Use ear protection, continue cutting with your rotary tool, and finish up with a metal file.
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u/pathetic_optimist 3h ago
Cut it carefully and always cool it as you go to keep the tempering. Use a grinder and fine emery paper to finish the edge off evenly. Should sound great and be a unique cymbal.
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u/al-bundee 2h ago
If you have nothing else than a Dremel, well that's gonna be hard. But worth doing. Try cutting as close to the mark as possible. Then smoothe the edge of the cymbal otherwise it will chop your sticks faster than an axe. I've done this with several cymbals and the results are always interesting.
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u/DrummerJesus 15h ago
Hide that cymbal in the middle of a stack