Wooden Percussion Blocks

Hi everyone, In this instructable I will try and explain the way I made three wood percussion blocks to expand my drum set. It was an easy project but it requires a lot of testing to do it right!

So lets get started:

You will need:

• Wood (White oak and iroko)
• Band saw or jig saw
• Chop saw (optional)
• Planer or hand plane
• Router
• Round-over router bit
• 6 mm Straight router bit
• Drill
• Drill bit with countersink
• 6 mm drill bit
• Tom mount
• Wood glue
• (x8) 25 mm screws
• (x6) 45 mm long bolts and nuts
• Screwdriver or wrench for the bolts
• Clamps
• 80, 120, 240, 400 grit sandpaper

Check out my video here:

First of all print out the templates I provide and use them to cut the top and bottom pieces for each block. If you can not print them 1:1 the dimensions are (x2) 25 x 13 x 0.8 cm for the big block, (x2) 18 x 10 x 0.8 cm for the middle one and (x2) 15 x 7 x 0.8 cm for the smallest block. All have to be cut at an angle of 18°.

You will also need a few pieces of oak for the back and sides. Cut some strips of oak 1.5 cm thick and 5.0 cm tall. Those will be used for the big and for the middle block. For the small one I used 1.5 cm thick and 3.5 cm tall strips of oak.

On your chop saw or carefully with a hand saw cut the pieces as shown on the pictures and assemble the blocks.

The front pieces for the big block are 9 cm long and for the middle one are 3.5 cm long. The smallest one does not have any front pieces. Use some wood glue and clamps to apply some pressure and let the glue dry overnight.

Once you have all three blocks glued and dry its time to give them a good sanding. Use 80 grit sandpaper first and then move to 120, 240 and 400 grit.

Finally cut 6 mm wide slots on the sides of each block. For the big one should be 7 cm long, for the middle one 5 cm and for the smallest 3.5 cm. Use your 6 mm router bit and a router guide to make the slots and then round them over with a round over bit. Round over all the straight edges to make them smooth.

I have also added a strip of iroko 1.0 x 2.0 cm on each block and secured it with screws just to protect the blocks from my drum sticks.

Use a clear water based polyurethane to finish my blocks. Apply two or three coats and sand between them with 400 grit sandpaper.

For the rack I used a 65 x 7 x 1 cm piece of iroko. I drilled three holes to attach the tom mount and then screwed the blocks on this piece of wood using two bolts for each block.

The blocks are ready!

Have fun playing on your drums!