Are your drumsticks chewed up? Broken? Just a bad pair? You probably have some old ones lying around.

Don’t throw them out just yet.

In this episode of DIY Drum Experiments, David Raouf shows you some practical ideas for recycling your old drumsticks – and even with the cardboard sleeve they come in!

Disclaimer: Some of these ideas require power tools. Be smart. Don’t attempt one of these hacks if you don’t know what you’re doing!

1. Hoop protector

Materials needed: Drumstick sleeve
Tools needed: None
Skill level: Beginner

Most older or cheaper pedals have ‘teeth’ on their clamps, and while most bass drums come with a rubber hoop protector, maybe yours doesn’t. No problem: take a cardboard drumstick sleeve, fold it around the hoop, attach your pedal, and that’s it. This makeshift protector can also save your hoop from scratching and denting if you’re using a cheap cowbell mount.

2. Slave pedal stopper

Materials needed: Drumstick, spray paint (optional)
Tools needed: Saw (optional)
Skill level: Beginner

Anyone who plays double bass pedals knows that the slave pedal tends to slide forward, even with spurs. Slide a drumstick on the inside of the hi-hat stand and under the clamp of the slave pedal for a makeshift pedal stopper.

If you have a hi-hat stand with a solid plate that prevents you from pushing the stick all the way under it, you can put the foot of a cymbal stand in front of the other side of the drumstick.

For a stealth look, cut the stick in half and paint it black.

3. Wooden beater

Materials needed: Drumstick, 1/4″ steel rod, epoxy
Tools needed: Saw, hacksaw, sandpaper, drill
Skill level: Intermediate

Cut off the butt end of a stick (so you’re left with the bottom 5″), then cut a steel rod to 7″. The end of the rod will be a bit rough, so put it in a drill and sand the end to smooth it out. Drill a 5/16″ hole in the center of the stick (you can do it by hand but a drill press makes it much easier).

Mix up some epoxy and glue the rod into the drumstick piece. Once the glue dries, you can use it in place of your regular bass drum beater or with an auxiliary pedal.

4. Floor tom legs

Materials needed: Drumsticks
Tools needed: None
Skill level: Beginner

This one’s more of a hack than a way to upcycle – but if you can’t find your floor tom legs, just put drumsticks where the legs would normally go and voila, you’re ready to roll.

5. Stick ornament and keychain

Materials needed: Drumstick, eye hook, ribbon, key ring
Tools needed: Saw, sandpaper, drill
Skill level: Intermediate

Show off your drumming spirit during the holidays by cutting off the tip of a stick with a saw, smoothing the end with sandpaper, drilling a small pilot hole, attaching an eye hook, and cutting some ribbon and tying it to the hook. You now have a drumstick Christmas tree ornament!

Want to make a drumstick keychain instead? Use a key ring instead of ribbon.

6. Bottle opener

Materials needed: Drumstick, bottle opener end
Tools needed: Saw, drill
Skill level: Intermediate

Order a bottle opener end. Cut the butt end of a drumstick so it’s 5 3/4″ long, drill a hole in the center, and screw in the bottle opener attachment. Enjoy!

Old drumsticks can be used for other things, too. You can put them in the garden as stakes for plants or cut them in half lengthwise to make coasters. Some people have even made creative furniture out of drumsticks. David has used broken pieces to glue back together into a solid block, which he then shaped and sanded into a wooden bass drum beater.

Don’t be afraid to try something different! You were going to throw them out anyway, so why not try to get a little more life out of them?

Click here for another 25+ DIY drum hacks!

Have you ever showed up to a gig and realized you needed to fix or replace something last minute? How can you make do with what you have? Master of drum-related problem solving, David Raouf, probably has a solution.

You may know David as rdavidr on YouTube. His popular channel features drum hacks, alterations and restorations, cool drum gadgets, and anything else he can get his hands on. A bona fide drumming handyman!

David came to Drumeo to film courses on tuning and drum maintenance/repair, as well as his brand new show for Drumeo Edge members (called ‘DIY Drum Experiments’). As if that wasn’t enough, he also shared 25 hacks any drummer can do, which you’ll learn in this video!

Whether he’s modifying sounds with broken cymbals or using graffiti remover to dissolve logos on drum heads, David has a tip for almost anything.

Lesson Index:
0:00 – SONG: “Mono/Poly” by Alex Ball Music
4:00 – Introduction
6:45 – 1) Cutting a bass drum porthole
7:40 – 2) Removing logos
8:28 – 3) Drumstick pliers
8:52 – 4) Matching sticks
9:23 – 5) Firmer brushes
9:53 – 6) More cymbal felts
10:14 – 7) Drum key drill bit
11:07 – 8) Custom hi-hat stand
13:01 – 9) Hard to soft beater
13:32 – 10) Cheaper locking tuners
14:34 – 11) Perfect cross-stick every time
15:18 – 12) Easy snare muffle
15:54 – 13) Getting a triggered kick sound
16:20 – 14) Protect your bass drum hoop
16:54 – 15) No cable rattle
17:39 – 16) Stop bass drum from sliding without rug
18:12 – 17) Increased tom resonance
18:55 – 18) Easy access sticks
19:24 – 19) DIY stick holder
19:56 – 20) Quick setup drum rug
20:16 – 21) Reuse old cymbals
20:53 – 22) Easy cymbal sizzle
21:30 – 23) DIY cymbal sleeve
22:25 – 24) Hi-hat stand protector
23:25 – 25) Securing a small practice pad
25:34 – Demonstration and explanation
28:40 – How to increase tom resonance with a practice pad
30:10 – DIY drum experiments (new Drumeo show!)
34:38 – “Futures” by TJ Hartmann

About David:
David Raouf is the creator of the YouTube channel ‘rdavidr’. His channel marries his love of percussion with his skills as a tradesman, by building, creating, and repurposing second hand percussion instruments. When he’s not posting videos featuring unique drum hacks, he’s recording bands and artists from his home studio or making hip-hop beats, play-along tracks, and sample libraries.

Follow David:
YouTube
Instagram

Have you ever seen a grown man play an abacus like a shaker? Neither had we…but we’re glad we’ve seen it now.

David Raouf (aka rdavidr on YouTube) wants to challenge you to create some unusual and awesome sounds using only items you found at a thrift store.

You can buy whatever you want at a music store, but at the end of the day, a shaker is a shaker and a tambourine is a tambourine. At a thrift store, you can find knick knacks or unconventional ‘non instruments’ to become percussive sound sources. Whether you mount something to a stand as its own piece or you add it to a cymbal or tom to give it some new flair, you never know what kind of new sounds might inspire your playing.

David recommends looking for random metal objects (like dog bowls, pot lids, or even a door handle) or wood pieces (like cutting boards, an abacus, or a random wooden alligator), but you can choose whatever you want. If it doesn’t already have a hole in it, make sure you have a drill with a 1 inch bit handy.

For more awesome DIY drum experiments, hacks and projects, check out David’s YouTube channel!