Bench Notes

Field notes, stick technique and shop stories from the StickFire workshop in Evanston, Illinois.

Demystifying the most common stick sizes — what the numbers actually mean and how to pick a starting point that won't fight you.

A short field guide to cleaning, oiling and storing wooden drumsticks — most of which takes thirty seconds a week.

Why a few seconds in a flame changes how a stick feels, sounds and lasts — and what we learned in two years of testing.

A pair of sticks that don't match in weight or pitch will fight your own technique without you ever knowing why.

A handful of the things we wish someone had told us in the first year behind a kit.