La BackBeat Drum Shop
  • LA Backbeat About
  • Shop LA BackBeat
  • Press
  • LABB Report
  • Contact
  • LA Backbeat About
  • Shop LA BackBeat
  • Press
  • LABB Report
  • Contact
La BackBeat Drum Shop

LABB Report

This is the place for news, updates, developments, ramblings from the shop, along with some pics and video
Shop LA BackBeat

Been a while...

11/26/2016

0 Comments

 
I've been using FaceBook all to much to log daily doings around the shop and for La BackBeat. Workin' on bloggin' again.

'nother good day t'day... went out to my friend Jason's Lullaby Sound Design launch party in the morn then back to the shop to turn, trim, tip and butt. Good day yesterday as well with my old friend Martin. He's picked up everything well, even the challenging finesse  of the tipping jig.

And, by the way, I got a lot of wood.

​
Picture
0 Comments

Growing Pains...

7/19/2016

0 Comments

 
Due to the recent interest in drumsticks, I've sold out of some of the standard staples. Apologies for the inconvenience. I am currently looking to secure more raw materials. My current suppliers are all out of quality hickory and can give no timeline as to availability. Rest assured I am working to secure more material. Thank you for being patient and for all the support. Hopefully all will be back online soon.
0 Comments

Fall Update

11/4/2015

0 Comments

 
There is a fresh supply of drumstick inventory at LA Backbeat.
Current availability:
595 Acorn (5B)
J595 Acorn (lighter 5B)
FW595 (3A)
565 1/2 Barrell (16.5" 5A)
565 Barrel (5A)
565 Acorn (5A)
J565 Acorn (lighter 5A)
535X Acorn (16" 7A)
535X Barrel (16" 7A)
Blems in all sizes - these are playable sticks...they may have a little wobble, blemish, bad grain or mineral streak. These are definitely long lasting economy sticks.

Lots of hard work, passion and good days keep sticks moving around and out of the shop.

Giving drummers a fine quality, long lasting pair of drumsticks from LA Backbeat requires a good eye for grain structure, a scale to match weight and a good ear. These are just a few of the steps involved. New developments in the works and release planned for January 2016.
Picture
weight matched
Picture
practice pad on a firm surface and a good ear = closely pitched pairs
Picture
50+ pair 595 (5B) Acorn all matched up.
Finer sanding and tumbling are some of the developments that are already being placed in production. Proprietary in house sanding modifications are being made to make the drumstick smoother, as well as keep time and man hours down while not sacrificing a quality drumstick. These mods also temper the drumstick to make it more durable and long lasting. The tumbling process helps to deburr any loose wood fibers that possibly remain after sanding and continue smoothing.

New developments to be released in January 2016 include lacquer, many have been patiently waiting for this, a finish sander to make the sticks even nicer and smoother for delicate hands and a new website with integrated, secure, eCommerce and shipping.

The past several weeks have had some major breakthroughs and some minor break downs. With all the development happening, there has also been some setback. An old saw that was being used for trimming tips and butts seized a bearing and damaged the motor armature spindle. It is too expensive to fix so alternatives are being pursued. In the process of turning a large batch of 595 Acorn drumsticks, the Goodspeed FH-30 started making noise and getting hot in the tail spindle bearing. The tail spindle had to be removed, bearing housing cleaned and lubricated with spindle grease and reassembled. It is working smoother and cooler than before. While performing maintenance, the carriage was looked into and many years of old funky sawdust was removed between the carriage and way allowing a much smoother cut and return of the carriage. Carriage bushing replacement is around the corner in the new year, along with a few other fixes that were discovered recently.

The wood being supplied by the lumber mill is proving positive and there is definitely a good relationship happening. LA Backbeat is happy to have found them and they are excited to be supplying quality hickory for LA Backbeat drumsticks.
Picture
Tail spindle removed for cleaning the bearing. It's challenging to take pics with greasy fingers!
Picture
Load of 250BF Hickory. Getting better every time.
0 Comments

Hot days...

8/6/2015

0 Comments

 
Lately, I've been working in heat in the shop. The temps in the shop have been hovering just under 100 degrees everyday for the past few weeks with august just beginning. There are lots of fans moving hot air around and lots of fluids being consumed. Thoughts of cooler times fill my head.

It's also a time to stay busy and allow for gentle reflection. This week marks my fathers birthday and also my mothers passing. Based on events that have transpired this week, I wonder if my father is challenging me to use logical thinking in troubleshooting. The past month has been filled with emotional challenges from serious events hitting close to home. I've had to immerse myself in projects in and around the shop to keep my mind busy and prevent dwelling on the past and what has happened.

Ordered and received another batch of hickory from the mill in Mississippi. Looks good and looking forward to ripping squares. Made a couple small batch special order drumsticks. A good friend helped me out with a jointer on barter and I spent a few days cleaning it up to get online. Also, started on development of a stick sander. It's coming along and should come online soon. There is more that has been accomplished, I'm just a bit foggy on the remembering everything that has been going on.

Stop by or give a shout.
'til later....

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

A quick update

7/16/2015

1 Comment

 
1 Comment

New Hickory supply

5/12/2015

0 Comments

 
Direct from the mill, received a new batch of hickory from a new supplier. Started processing last week and this is some nice consistent material. It will make some good sticks. This new material is requiring a little more work to turn into squares but it is looking to be worth it. I turned 535 acorn tip today and only lost 6 out of 100+ to bananas. More ripping, chopping and ripping to happen this week. This batch of material should yield over 1500 pieces.
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Long awaited status update

5/3/2015

0 Comments

 
It's been a while since I've posted in the blog. Life has become very busy and the blog has been overlooked. I'm going to post some photos of whats been happening the past few months.
Picture
Completed this new stick bin. Getting ready for the growth of stock with the Hickory order set to arrive Tuesday. May 2, 2015

Picture
Fred Netterville Lumber Woodville MS. Good people that will be a supplier of Hickory to LA Backbeat.
Picture
Picture

Picture
Much needed Stick Racks completed - Mid April '15
Picture
Stick rack progress - Mid April '15
Picture
Stick Rack beginnings - Mid April '15
Picture
The next stage in stick racks - Mid April '15

Picture
Picture
Some beautiful, though expensive, hickory begins the process of becoming LA Backbeat drumsticks. Early April '15

Picture
Rev 1
Picture
Rev 2 - latest
Part of the sanding/finishing process gets a makeover - Early April '15

Picture
Picture
Working on the building that could possibly be the future home of LA Backbeat - Late March '15

Picture
Picture
Did a little bartering for this used Delta 15" Planer. Needed some good TLC. Welcome addition to the shop. Late March '15

Picture
Picture
Early March '15 - cleaned the lifting seams on these old Gretsch drums and reglued the seems down. Nice and tight now.
Picture
Picture

Picture
Late February '15 - this guy showed up to help with some chores. He's now the shop cat Squiggy. I shoulda named him Piggy.
Picture
Part of what came out of all the milling - Early February 2015
Picture
Milling Bois D'Arc
Picture
My friend Bobby and the Cherry tree on the mill.
Picture
Milling Cherry - insurance made me cut this tree down from the side of the shop. It was a very old cherry.
Picture
January 2015-Bois D'Arc logs arrived and staged next to Cherry.
0 Comments

Raw Material

1/12/2015

0 Comments

 
I go through this big stack....
Picture
To get this little stack....
Picture
0 Comments

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

1/11/2015

0 Comments

 
The business made it through the first year!!

In between all the family, friends and events, I spent some time over the holidays to reflect on the past year. There have been many milestones throughout the year and I am reminded of them on occasion by outside eyes. I am very grateful for everything that is in my life now... everything! Last year I learned more about a lathe I knew nothing about before I got it, saw the development of drumsticks, refurbished some tools in the shop, learned a lot about wood characteristics and how wood behaves if not treated properly, played some music, taught some lessons and worked on some property. Life is better than it has ever been. I am truly grateful for my family, friends, my beautiful, caring, and supportive partner AND ALL OF YOU THAT HAVE CONTINUED TO HELP THIS GROW! THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT!

As with any upstart, business is like a roller coaster, full of ups and downs, feasts and famines. With it all comes the happiness and gratitude that I can continue to do what I'm passionate about, applying years of skills and craftsmanship in drumming and the trades. One of the most challenging aspects of stick making, as I've stated before, is sourcing the raw material needed to make a quality stick that drummers will like and continue to use. So far, all the sticks produced have shown extreme durability. I believe I'm selecting good stock. Now, the business needs more raw material to move out of the small batch runs supplying the local market, into bigger production runs, to supply a larger market. The shop is capable of the numbers, provided the raw stock is there.

Over the past few weeks, I've taken the time to do some machine and tool rearranging to help the shop function more efficiently and gain some much needed work space. The lathe moved across the room, the trim saw relocated, the tip/butt shaping station, along with tip sanding are now all within a couple steps of one another. There are still some tweaks happening, but this will definitely cut down on expending energy needlessly. Also during this time, the big band saw has finally been rebuilt and reassembled. The plan is to resaw boards to thickness and rip books into squares, minimizing waste and material loss to kerf. I have some pics to show the progress...some you may remember from earlier posts.

Picture
Sept 14, 2013
I found this Rockwell/Delta 28-3X0 20" bandsaw in a classified ad online, along with a barrel dust collector and a 55 gal 3HP bag collector. I had no idea it was this big until my friend Martin and I took the ride to Eunice LA to look. It was a sad sight full of mud dauber nests and a HUGE wasp nest. I should have run away but I took the challenge for the deal I got on all three pieces of equipment. After a lil' gruntin' and groanin', we got some help from a forklift to get it on the trailer. It popped a ratchet strap on the bumpy rural roads, we had to stop in Rayne for a couple heavier ones. I gave myself a good bruise and scrape on the trailer and the trailer got bent from 800lbs sitting a little too far ahead of the wheels. We had to disassemble the saw to get it off the trailer.
Picture
Sept 22, 2013
Picture
May 7, 2014
Picture
Sept 22, 2013
Picture
May 7, 2014
Picture
Sept 22, 2013
Picture
Oct 6, 2013
Picture
Oct 6, 2013
During this cleanup stage, I began to discover how much work this tool needed and what was missing.
Picture
May 5, 2014
Picture
Jan 2, 2015
Picture
Jan 5, 2015
Picture
Dec 29, 2014
Picture
May 5, 2014
The saw was rewired and new/used switch, starter/heaters, and low voltage transformer were installed.
Picture
Jan 2, 2015
Picture
Jan 2, 2015
Picture
Jan 3, 2015
Picture
Jan 3, 2015
Picture
Jan 6, 2015
Picture
Jan 6, 2015
This project took nearly 15 months to finish from the date of purchase. The saw has moved around the shop in several different stages and parked for periods when time just did not permit any work being done to it. It is very close to being usable. All that is needed is a fresh blade and the blade guard to be installed, along with make a couple jigs for re-sawing and ripping. It has definitely been worth all the time invested!
Picture
Jan 6, 2015
I have to put my accounting hat on for a little while now.... 
Thanks y'all
'til Later

0 Comments

Tips

12/7/2014

0 Comments

 
Which tip would you prefer?


Oval, Elongated Barrel, Elongated Acorn, Teardrop.... These are just a few names that come to mind for these tips.
Picture
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    Frank Kincel

    Archives

    November 2016
    July 2016
    November 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.