When I purchased my Gretsch Catalina Birch kit from an individual, the bass drum head came with a crudely cut hole, that looked like something a child had done. I finally took the time to fix it, using an inexpensive tool called a Bass Drum O’s Hole Cutter, which I bought for under $10.
The tool is designed to cut a new acoustic hole, as opposed to repairing one; but with a little improvisation, it works for repairs also. Note that I also used a pair of plastic clamps, a plywood surface and tape measure (also pictured right). A straight ruler and compass could also come in handy, but aren’t necessary.
A couple of things I learned from the repair operation:
- Ignore any advise from your guitar player. ;)
- Bare down w/the Drum O’s Cutter to get a clean cut.
- Be patient with the O’s Cutter. The blade will make the necessary cut.
My bass drum head has an outer reinforcement ring, which added a slight degree of difficulty to the task of re-cutting the hole. In case it’s not obvious, I enlarged the existing hole to get the resulting cleaner looking hole.