I can’t wait to tune it! Will be tedious as you say, and probably a little frustrating. But worth it in the end. Here’s a shot of the top, in padauk. Joinery is tomorrow’s project. I delayed a little, while deciding how I want it to look. I’m going to weave some padauk into the front face, to accent the quilted maple pattern. More pics to come after the thanksgiving weekend.
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Any wood whisperers out there? After cutting the top keys out of a single piece of wood, the released tension in the wood dropped one key below the others by about 1/16”. Any ideas how to raise it up? I think it’s going to stay as is, and be a characteristic of the piece, unless I can figure something out. Thanks in advance.
Don’t you worry about leveling the keys until you tune it. You will have remove wood from the bottom of the keys which is likely to make them move some more. I’m no expert with wood, but I would think that there should be a way to moisten the wood with water or steam and then clamp the top between to flat pieces of thick wood and then let it dry.
I bet you’re right about the tuning moving more keys. I’ll wait a while before attempting to straighten them. I’ve seen some videos on YouTube about using moisture and weights and clamps. I just hope it won’t un-tune the keys, after what is likely to be a long tuning process!
Well, it’s been almost a month. I’ve had some setbacks.
First, I needed help creating the cutting path for the top of my drum. I came here, and some really great people helped me out. Shout outs to @NeilFerreri1, @RussellCrawford and @PhilipErshler! The first top I cut out came out great.
Then I started milling the rest of the box. I designed the joinery in my head. Should have drawn it out. I HATE seeing end grain, so I designed the box with mitered corners. Only problem was, I designed the top too narrow. So, I tried to add strips to the top, figured I could miter the strips, and set the top in that way. While tightening the clamps along the edges of my strips, the top shattered. There was so much tension in that top, that it didn’t just crack, it flew like clock springs all the way across the room and made a dent in the sheetrock! Thank goodness it didn’t hit me!
So, I immediately set out to carve top number 2. The remaining Paduak stock I had was too narrow, so I decided to miter the 4 corners, and set the top in a rabbet. Only problem was, I already cut the miter to set the top in the four sides. Once I cut off the miter, the sides were 1 1/2" shorter from top to bottom, and there was not enough room to resonate. Back to the drawing board.
I re-milled new maple pieces for the four sides, and tried the through inlay technique I mentioned in an earlier post. I cut miters on the four corners, and a rabbeted ledge for the top. Finally some good progress. I set and glued the four sides, then the next day, I set and glued the top in place.
Tuning time. Sheesh! What a PITA!!! I set myself up for failure, by setting the key pattern for aesthetics, and trying to tune to the notes I wanted. This was a mistake, and the next time around, I’ll rearrange the key pattern for easier tuning. I spent 3 days on tuning, and it’s still not right. It’s close, but I’m running out of time. I have to apply the finish, and Christmas is right around the corner.
I applied Watco Danish Oil Natural Color to the project. First coat is a flood coat. Looks great, so far so good. Then I get a phone call from a client in my business, and after a half hour, I get back to the project. Should have only been 15 minutes before wiping off excess oil. Now I can’t get it all off. It’s started to set. Crap! I clean it up, and wait 2 days. It should be dry, but it’s still tacky. I don’t worry though. I apply the 2nd coat, and start rubbing the finish, taking off the tacky first coat with the 2nd. One day later, less tacky. I apply the third coat, and use 0000 steel wool to wet sand it. That removed all excess tack, and left me a beautiful semi gloss. Completely dry in one day.
I put some red felt material on the bottom piece and pressure fitted it into the box. I’ll need to retune it after Christmas, so no screws. I honestly don’t think I’ll need them anyway, the bottom fits so well! Any Hoo, with out further ado, here is the big reveal. One tongue drum. Curly maple sides, paduak keys, and a curved through inlay on one side. Hope my friend likes it!
Thanks again you guys, for all your help.
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Came out nice, I’m sure your friend will like it
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Looks great! I love curly maple!
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Great work!
I might need to make one of these and then make a friend with someone that can play it!
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