Fantastic idea for you and this thread.
My guitarist scored a major win on Craigslist with a guy who kinda botched up an expensive DIY guitar kit with exotic woods. Got it for a song. He just put the finishing touches on it. It looks fantastic.
The DIY route sounds awesome.
Definitely keep us informed when you go down the road.
The E-Drum forum I read has a ton of stuff about DIY kits. Right now I don't have the time. I'm still using a lot of time to practice. But if time should open up, I would love to try my hand at a kit.