drilling for new bass spurs

my original bass drum had a flimsy 'disappearing' bass spur installed. i hated it because its very difficult to work with and adjusting it to the correct height is a pain. i bought new heavy duty retractable bass spurs from lazer a few months back to use as a replacement. i had it powder coated too to match the lugs and rims.

i've read about a lot of techniques on how and where to place your bass spur. anyway, i did it my way since the prescribed method of mounting doesnt look as cool as how i wanted it to be. the first thing i did is to grab a glossy piece of paper and put it on a wooden table.



i grabbed a spur and put it on top of the paper with the mounting side on the paper. i scrubbed the spur to mark the mounting screws' position. i marked the positions with circles.



i then used a ruler to draw a line on the middle of the two mounting points. the nearest mounting point from the edge gets a cross mark. it will serve as my reference point for measuring the distance from the edge and lug. to get a really accurate measurement use a caliper meter like the one im using. i taped the paper on to the shell so it stays in place.



i made sure that the reference line runs perpendicular to the edge by using my old trusty square.



before drilling, make some pilot holes first. this is to ensure that your drill bit doesnt wander off on that wonderful finish. use a nail and hammer to make the marks. then use a smaller drill bit to make the pilot holes deeper.



now attach the 5/16" bit for the actual drilling. dont drill all the way. make a shallow hole first and then do a dry fit for the spur.



if all is well, then proceed with drilling. finally screw the spurs on to the shell



here's an inside look of the bass spur. you can also see where the old bass spur was mounted. its now plugged with stock wood.



some key points to remember:

• measure twice, act once
• white and pink are awesome
• dont block the driveway
• keep off the grass
• no smoking