SCIENCE  OF IT ALL

Supplys

Desired wood

1/4" round metal rings

30' of ring rope

upto 100' of main rope

1 of the following: goatskin, deer,

t hide, deer hide, calf or cow hide,

buffalo and sheep or any exotic thick hide amimals.

cloth to wrap the rings

duct tape

Tools:

table saw, sanders, wood glue, file

router with 1/2 round bit

hair trimmers and a sharp round blade

wood:

15 slats or stalves 1/2" to 3/4 thick

puple hart wood used in photo

measurements:

mark 1 1/2" at one end and 2 1/2" at the other end

12* + 15 pieces of wood = a circle

2 1/2" cut make a 12" head

1 1/2" cut makes a 7 1/2" exhaust

saw blade angle: 12* degree saw blade angle

using 15 pieces of wood cut at 12* degrees will

make a cirle.

example:

notice angles cut.

mock up:

use duct tape and rings to hold together

ready to glue:

spread wood glue in the cracks and roll the wood

back together.

squench:

use scrap rope and a piece of wood to make the squench.

spin the wood and it clamps like a vise.

making a ring

roll cut and weld.

you will need to make 3 rings

1 for the bottom and 2 for the top head

2 top rings: 1 needs to be 1/4" less then

the other. The smaller ring gets

wraped with cloth and rope.

sanding:

many sanders will do the job well, so choose one you prefer

orbital sanders work well for the finishing.

rounding the rim:

routers are fast and effective

though a rasp file works well

wraping the ring:

wrap the ring with a desired cloth

use a desired rope and use this knot pattern

18 + knots is a good approximation.

you will have to repeat this process on one

of the top rings

soak the hide in water:

: fold hide as shown.

using the larger of the 2 top rings

ready to place the head:

use the smaller wraped ring to

clamp the skin.

ready to thread the main rope:

this drum used about 65' of main rope.

like a needle and thread feed the rope

through each loop.

after the rope has been threaded:

let the skin dry over night and trim off

excess skin.

pulling the slack out:

this will take a lot of effort and may reqiure you

to wear gloves. You will need to repeat this process

many time through out the life of the skin.

more examples of tunning a drum.

mali weave:

this knot has been around for centurys.

the key is: through 2 back through 1 pull down.

repeat the mali weave:

removing the hair

use hair trimmers to shave excess hair off

use a sharp round blade to scrape hair.

scrape in a pull towards you motion

be very careful not to cut or nick the skin.

finished product: