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Drum Building Tutorial - Apply Wrap with Contact Adhesive
Applying Wrap with Contact Cement
With this tutorial I am working with a slightly oversized piece of wrap
for the shell. If you are using precut pieces of wrap, the same
principals can be applied though. We only recommend using 3M NF30
contact cement. Do not
use solvent (flammable) based contact adhesive because it causes the
wrap to shrink.
Here is the best roller I have found for
applying glue. It is a high density foam roller found at most home
improvement or paint stores. I also like using the disposable tray
liners.
Size up the length of your wrap by marking off 1 inch for the seam at
the beginning, then marking the cut line on the end. Cut the wrap so
there is 1 inch of overlap.
Put the wrap around the drum as tight as you can and clamp the seam
area. Make sure the ends of the wrap are lined up as you wish them to
be. If you are doing a wrap with stripes, then this step is critical in
order for your stripes to line up. Then, mark the wrap and the shell at
the opposite side of the shell, which will be approximately the wrap's
middle point.
Make a double cross marking as shown below. I have marked two vertical
lines and one horizontal line that tells me the parallal alignment of
the wrap to the shell. Do the same thing at the edge on the other side,
but use only one vertical mark, or space the vertical marks
differently. This is so you can align the same edge of the wrap and
shell after you apply glue. Again, if you are doing a striped wrap this
step is critical. I suggest marking the edge alignment all the way
around the shell on both sides for guidance when joining the glued wrap
and shell.
If your wrap has a dark backing, you can substitute tape for the marker.
PREPARING THE SEAM
Shown below is the beginning
of the wrap. This is the end that will be the lower layer of the seam.
With two short marks, mark where the endof the wrap will fall and where the visible seam line will be. Then
mark about 1/8" inside that mark and tape off.
Sand the strip of wrap that will be part of the seam.
Glue it, Glue it Good
Before applying glue, sand the underside of the wrap with sandpaper
(sometimes called scuff sanding). Contact glue adheres to rough
surfaces better than glossy. There are many types of backing used on
wraps today, so use your best judgement and aim to remove the glossy
look. A finer sandpaper like 320 grit will scuff the surface without
tearing up the wrap. You must be careful not to shred the wrap with an
overly aggressive grit, because that will affect the appearance on the
decorative side the wrap. It is a good idea to sand in multiple
directions to give the glue something to hold on to.
Apply an even layer of glue to the wrap with the roller. Don't forget
to apply glue to the seam area prepared above.
Prop up the end with something to keep it from sticking to the table.
When applying glue to a raw wood shell, the first coating will probably
soak in a bit, so you will need to make two applications. Using your
drum shell worker jig helps a lot!
LET IT DRY
Here's a rookie mistake: not waiting long enough for the glue to dry
before joining the shell and wrap. Read the directions on the label,
but typically you need to wait at least 30 minutes for the glue to dry.
If the weather is humid, it will take longer. Most of the time 45
minutes will be fine, but waiting even more time will not hurt. Read
the directions! When the glue is ready, it will appear shiny and tacky
to the touch. It will feel similar to touching the sticky side of
scotch tape.
THE POINT OF NO
RETURN
Using your trusty setup marks, align one edge of the shell to the wrap,
and when that side is perfect, lower the other side and line up the
marks.
Once your shell is aligned, carefully roll the shell toward the end of
the wrap that will have the lower layer of the seam. If you marked an
alignment line all the way down the wrap, you can make very fine
adjustments as you go and have a very pleasing and predictable result.
Keep going until you reach the end.
Now roll the shell the other way, but stop 4 or 5 inches before you get
to the seam.
Take a knife of razor blade and make a light scribing cut next to the
tape as shown. If you don't do this, when you remove the tape the glue
may peel off.
Ahhh, that's nice.
Keep Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'
C'mon
Find yourself a roller at a home improvement center, paint, or hardware
store and roll on. I suggest you go both ways all the way around the
shell.
NOW FOR THAT WRETCHED SEAM
In this method we left the glue just short of the seam. Since this wrap
is PVC wrap, we're going to use PVC cement (the same stuff used for PVC
pipe) to finish the seam. I mark off the wrap around the seam and just
leave the portion I want to glue exposed.
Get yourself one of these dispensers and you'll be happy. You can lay
down and control a very fine bead of PVC cement.
The PVC cement does not work instantly - it will take many hours to
dry. It slowly melts the PVC, then as the solvents evaporate you will
be left with a fused joint akin to something that has been welded.
Now that wasn't so scary huh?
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