what's a few more dayzzz

called the manila forwarders office

gave my invoice no.

package to be delivered by friday

so i waited for it for 5 months now

what's a few more days right?

@$#(*@#@#(#$#@$@#$

R.I.P 13" tom

i was about to do the final 3 coats for my 13" tom. i noticed that there was a crack building up on the shell. well suffice to say that its time to retire the tom. the pink kit will be a four-piece from now on. i think i'll build a lamp shade out of the 13" just for fun.

one thing im not happy about is that i bought an isolation mount for it but will no longer be able to use it. i have to sell it off to somebody somehow.

the blog will be updated with pics soon. my girlfriend bought a new camera, hope to borrow it next week.

fund shortage

why is it tizzy even wit tha strictest cruisin' pimpin' still goes wrong . Keep'n it gangsta dogg. i tried ta spread out mah purchases by months so that i had tizzy ta replenish funds . Freak y'all, into the beat y'all.

may - ordered hustla shells (cancelled)
june - i ordered mah saluda cymbals
july - pay fo` hatin' of crazy ass nigga shells (cancelled)
aug - pay fo` shipp'n of saluda cymbals
sept - orda lugs, hoops, iso mounts n heezees
oct - pay fo` tha shipp'n of tha above
nov - git rack
dec - git new pedals n hi-hat stands

due ta acts of god n events beyond mah control, i hizzle ta pay fo` all of them this mizzonth . Aint no killin' everybodys chillin'! dizzle its decemba, christmas n mah birthday is com'n fast n i have no more funds.

git that fool?


*translation
why is it that even with the strictest planning, everything still goes wrong. i tried to spread out my purchases by months so that i had time to replenish funds.

may - ordered keller shells (cancelled)
june - i ordered my saluda cymbals
july - pay for shipping of keller shells (cancelled)
aug - pay for shipping of saluda cymbals
sept - order lugs, hoops, iso mounts and heads
oct - pay for the shipping of the above
nov - get rack
dec - get new pedals and hi-hat stands

due to acts of god and events beyond my control, i have to pay for all of them this month! damn its december, christmas and my birthday are coming fast and i have no more funds.

get that fool?

stupid lame aint it? check out http://gizoogle.com have fun!

manila forwarders

ok, the verdict is in. cheap as hell! use them guys.

i dont know how i computed 21 dollars from LA to manila but it was wrong info. a rep from them sent me an email and its gonna cost 108.something . it is still cheaper than dhl by a long shot considering the package will be delivered in 3 to 5 days time. dhl quotes 343.something dollars for the same package in the same amount of days. fedex is at 366 and believe me, you dont want to know how much from ups.

i learned my lesson well, dont trust usps express for bigger shipments.


check them out.

manila forwarders
http://www.manilaforwarder.com

the wait begins...

or is it ending?

the saludas are in LA waiting on friday till it gets on a plane to manila.

cant wait.

soooo long.

i need more stands or that god damn rack

no money =(

i'll just shut up for now....

or maybe not

zzzzzzzzz

saturday has come and gone. i still didnt have time to start working on the pvc for the octobans.

deprived of sleep and over worked, im not sure if i can begin tomorrow but will try. i might end up sleeping the whole day thru.

50th post

my cymbals are now in salt lake city, utah. this is getting to be a pathetic exercise. i have nothing to post except to tell people where my cymbals are.

in light of recent events, im going back to my rather busy self and finish 1 website and another windows-based application. i really need to churn out the work and get me some cash to pay for this already bloated project plus my recent purchases, big purchases.

bearing edge cutting anyone? call me.

im half way through the 14" tom and nowhere near to start again with the 18" bass. as for the refinishing project, i just grabbed another pink can and two clear cans. i know i mentioned about a HVLP system but i cant afford it right now. maybe next year. i just need to have a drum kit ready when the cymbals and new pedals come in.

speaking of cymbals, damn, i dont have enough stands...

dw5002 hmmm

not my cup of tea, i was actually gunning for a tama iron cobra but it seems this one is IT. this is gotta to be the luckiest and sickest week i've had in my life.

incredible, i have been constantly on the prowl on ebay for a ludwig supraphonic snare. earlier today, i just type in 'bass drum' and selected 'Musical Instruments' for the category. i saw this used dw 5002 double pedal for 176.50 dollars. that seems intruiguing enough, sooo cheap. being the cheap person that i am, i said to myself "what the heck, i've never won a decent item on ebay so what else is gonna happen if i bid in 180". so i did bid my 180.

a minute later, i checked my gmail address to look for the confirmation email that ebay usually sends. i saw not one but two emails from ebay. there was the bid confirmation and then the other one says that i WON the darn thing! i got it for 178.50 plus 25 shipping to LA. it comes with an xl specialty protechtor case.



well im happy and hurting at the same time. i did not mean to win anything right now. i want a drum rack but now i got a great pedal. i dont really want to pass this up since im really saving a lot of money rather than getting a brand new iron cobra.

now where's that matching hi-hat stand?

12:02 blues

its in atlanta babeeeee yeah!

keep it coming...

it just keeps getting better and better. i won an 8x4 acrylic pipe from ebay today. i got the total price including shipping of $8.28 wohoooo.

aahhhh so happy happy. at last i will have an acrylic snare too and in the size that i want. i think i may have to build me a snare wire for that. it will be too expensive if i have it customized by puresound. we'll see in the coming days.

i luv u dhl!

there's no better way to start your morning than having good news via email. my cymbals are finally shipped after 1 more week of delay due to some cymbal scratches. well jamie, the head honcho of saluda, replaced 2 cymbals which were damaged with new ones. he even covered the shipping, didnt have to pay for it even if i insisted.

i got the dhl tracking number and im carefully watching it every hour. i know its stupid but what can you do, im excited. its been almost 5 months since i ordered them. i feel the anticipation building.

edit: 2:30 PM i just cant contain my excitement, checked the dhl site again and the package is on the move!

acrylic for octobans

NOT....

before i begin with the pvc octobans, i tried to dig up some acrylic tube suppliers around. i found fabri-plast industrial corporation and they are from somewhere near c. raymundo, pasig. they have a 6" clear acrylic tube that is at least 1/4" thick and 1.2 meters long. the problem is it costs 8800. it will be cheaper to buy a ready to use pair than to make some with these tubes.

i also asked if they have a 14" tube, fortunately they have none or i would have more problems since i really want an acrylic snare.

my 14" tom needs a lot more work im not even half way. its turning out quite as nice as my 10". still no problems and i hope it stays that way.

another side note, i ordered 2 router bits for making staves last sunday. my cousing is coming to the philippines and i was hoping i could get the items shipped to him before he leaves. i got an email today that my order was cancelled and they cant even deliver it by nov. 17.

i found a drum rack on national music supply from the US. its about 175 dollars including side wings and four tom holders. its ideal for my future segmented drums setup. i am calling them personally to verify my credit card info because it got cancelled too.

project on hold

i have to stop and think for a while now. i just wasted 2 sheets of veneer and dont have enough to finish the 18" shell. whether to continue on or stop right now is still undecided after all i just got a new router.

have to sort priorities first, obviously i cant make my new kit yet. im going back to refinishing of the pinkified kit. then maybe ill have time to figure out how to salvage my veneers. i cant afford to purchase sheets right now since christmas is coming and im saving for gifts/stuff to give away to god sons and daugthers.

not to mention i just bought the rest of the yamaha lugs this afternoon. i also got a pair of 6" hoops and heads to make my octobans. i didnt have time to play with the pvc pipes, i spent most of yesterday and today sleeping.

to be continued...

another screw up

this is slowly becoming a nightmare, i just destroyed another 4 layers of veneer on the 18 today. back to square one but this time im back to one by one layers. im running out of spare layers so the 10" snare wont see its light of day.

been to quiapo to get some clamps, found some but didnt buy. its cheaper to get brand new from federal hardware than buying second hand from raon. i did get a bargain on the router. no not the 1 rack space unit that interconnect networks. its a wood router for making the bearing edges. i had a black and decker on order from the states previously which i gladly cancelled. i got a generic router for 2800 pesos. im a bit short on budget for getting a router bit set, maybe i'll get it next pay day.

filler time

9 days, that's how long it took me make my new 10" tom. if the first one gave me the confidence to really invest in materials to do shells, the second one tells me that i could actually sell them. =) it looks 100 times better and rounder. its still not good for staining and natural finish due to the fact that its a so-so specie of maple.

i might try to add pizazz by using those expensive and exotic veneers on the top layer. then i can apply lacquer on it with solid colors or use wraps. the construction is commercial quality, ehem. its as rigid as my keller snare. only 5mm, its as thick as the thinnest pearl shells.

hmmm i want to make a 10x4 snare by using the excess sheets i have. i can still make a good 20-ply snare out of them. but first things first, i have to finish the 18 and 14 before christmas. i got to have a kit to play on my birthday. hopefully my cymbals will get here before december comes.

speaking of cymbals, two of them were damaged during the trip back and fourth so jamie's making me new ones as replacement. i have to send him an email later if he's ready to ship them out or already shipped it out.

first drum shell boo boo

not feeling well since this morning, last night before i went to sleep i finished the 7th ply for the 10" tom and then proceeded to glue and clamp the 18". guess what, i woke up this morning to unclamp and prepare the 18's next section for glueing and i found a folded section on the ply. damn and i was so near finishing the first two plies and this happens. i dont know why i didnt notice it before clamping but i tried to separate the plies to no avail. i may have to scrap the first two layers.

im starting over again tonight but this time it will be two on two. i'll be glueing two horizontal plies together on the floor and then prepare the next vertical+horizontal layer. these pairs will be clamped together effectively doing four layers at once. that ought to speed up the process.

morgan rose style octobans soon!

i found a 6" diameter pvc pipe laying around under the kitchen sink and it got my twisted mind grinding again. hmmm a matching pair of octobans to go with my small kit, nice. its not gonna be the stewart copeland extra long type but the more compact morgan rose sizes. im not quite sure about the lengths but based on the pic i got from pearl's forum, i think its a 6x9 and 6x10.



i havent done any research yet but its simple enough to do in two days. now got to get my hands on some new lugs, hoops, mounts and heads.

i got the free pipes when pldt did a line expansion at our area a couple of years ago and they left all the excess pipes. i didnt remember them still being in the house after all that time. now i've got new toys to play with.

state of things

im buying a small compressor and HVLP gun next saturday. i cant continue using spray cans since i have to spend a thousand bucks every pay day for them and they last me only to up to three coats for the bass drum. if you add up what the cans ill use for these:

9 clear coats for the bass drum
10 clear coats for the floor tom
2 clear coats for the 13"
0 coats for the 12"

its clear that it will cost more than 5k. i think i can get a decent HVLP system for 3k at quiapo, might as well take a shot at it.

as for the maple kit, i figured out a way to work with vertical plies and speed up the process too. i always applied one ply at a time previously, this time i laminated a vertical and horizontal ply together and then clamped it to the shell. im doing two plies at once and i dont get the messy vertical ply problems. woooohooooo

i've been busy left and right with programming jobs, i dont have much time to spend on shell building. finally, the 18" mold is ready but tough luck for me since i dont have enough clamps to begin with. i cant start the 18" till next pay day comes.

still no pics. i cant get a digicam anytime soon as i think new hardware is more important. saving up for new iron cobra double peds and hi-hat stand and a gibraltar rack.

my cymbals got deported =(

damn customs they already charge you excessively for duties and now waste months of my time. well the money thing is bearable but wasting time isnt. i got an email from jamie of saluda and he said he got the tracing feedback from usps. it says that philippine customs rejected my package and its on its way back to the US. he was expecting to receive it today. hope everything is fine inside the package.

the package got rejected for no reason as was indicated on the trace papers. this sucks. what does customs think they're doing?

think of buying a cymbal? jamie's the man to call, i've never experienced such AAA customer service. when he filed the trace on my package, he gave me assurance that if usps declares it lost, he will make me a new set and send it at once without me paying for additional cost. he wont even wait for the insurance claim. real stand up guy and very easy to deal with. i guess buying his cymbals without even seeing and hearing them in person is big factor for some but his prices are way more affordable than zildjian and sabian. i got my 7-piece dream set for the cost of a 22" K constantinople ride.

if you want to get in touch with him:

jamie lambert
ufsports@hotmail.com
http://www.saludacymbals.com

i hope i get the cymbals real soon, i havent played on a complete kit for 4 months now.

edit: its no longer a 7-piece but an 8-piece since i added a 7" bell earlier today =). changed the title too as my first one is too long.

slowly but surely

the new 10" tom is on its 4th ply, talk about slow. it should have been finished by now but im making sure that the shell is as rigid as it can be. im using 5 clamps now instead of my usual 2 and allowing more than an hour of clamping time per section. i have very consistent results from that setup than before.

the 14" and 18" molds are slowly coming along. im still not satisfied with their 'roundness' so im still going to sand and rasp them for a couple more days. i dont want to waste good material on such sloppy molds. i guess the thought of losing money and time teaches you that patience is indeed a virtue.

my hardware options are getting slimmer by the minute. it seems i may have to order a pair of 14" - 6 lug hoops and the tom mounts from the states again. now i have to pay 4 times more per item. sigh.