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Grumpy John
12th October 2010, 04:38 PM
This (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/how-turn-djembe-drum-123037/) thread aroused my interest and I've been waiting for a suitable log to come my way. Well the winds that blew through Melbourne recently brought down a large Blackwood tree at a friends property, lucky me :D. Unfortunately the log was too heavy and big for me to muscle onto my Jet 1642, so who has a large lathe, a forklift and block & tackle for large jobs. You guessed it, The Axewielder.

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More pictures to follow.

mkypenturner
12th October 2010, 05:10 PM
looks pretty good for a thimble:D

La truciolara
12th October 2010, 07:12 PM
John, I see you like turning miniatures....
looking forward to seeing the progresses

NeilS
12th October 2010, 07:29 PM
Some serious hollowing to come, John.

I'll follow with interest.

.

Sawdust Maker
12th October 2010, 07:32 PM
Nice hunk of wood

That is one serious looking 3 point steady

In piccy 7, I was wondering whether you had the rest a bit high? You look uncomfortable

Grumpy John
12th October 2010, 08:29 PM
Nice hunk of wood

That is one serious looking 3 point steady

In piccy 7, I was wondering whether you had the rest a bit high? You look uncomfortable

Everything at 's is serious gear :D. I don't recall feeling uncomfortable, but working at an unfamiliar lathe probably had me taking an unnatural stance. Looking at the photo's, I certainly had my serious look on

RETIRED
12th October 2010, 09:07 PM
Nice hunk of wood

That is one serious looking 3 point steady

In piccy 7, I was wondering whether you had the rest a bit high? You look uncomfortable
The rest is not too high. That is the Easy wood Ci! rougher which is used horizontal. The tool rest is just under centre.

Not uncomfortable, just terrified doing real turning. :whistling2: :roflmao:

springwater
12th October 2010, 09:21 PM
Not uncomfortable, just terrified doing real turning. :whistling2: :roflmao:

:oo: Should have a gutsy effort award. I think being in something akin to Ned Kelly's amour would more comfortable considering what's happening there, how fast is that log spinning by the way?

Grumpy John
12th October 2010, 09:44 PM
...............................................how fast is that log spinning by the way?


Fast enough :rolleyes:, dunno, was in charge of the speed selector :oo:.

Michael Spain
12th October 2010, 09:51 PM
Hi Grumpy John,that beautiful wood, it has a few most beautiful colors, I hope to see the photos when you have stopped doing it, congratulations.:2tsup:

RETIRED
12th October 2010, 09:53 PM
It was spinning at 316RPM between centres and 265 in the steady.

Grumpy John
12th October 2010, 09:56 PM
Hi Grumpy John,that beautiful wood, it has a few most beautiful colors, I hope to see the photos when you have stopped doing it, congratulations.:2tsup:

Thank you Michael, we are very fortunate in Australia to be blessed with some of the most stunning timbers ever seen.

springwater
12th October 2010, 10:35 PM
It was spinning at 316RPM between centres and 265 in the steady.

I suppose turning the outside is a breeze compared with the inside.

Assuming the log is green, I thought Blackwood was a bit of a bugger to dry without split :whatonearth: but taking the guts out of it will probably help. Should be a great looking drum when it's finished let alone sounding :2tsup:

TTIT
12th October 2010, 10:47 PM
Everything at 's is serious gear :D. I don't recall feeling uncomfortable, but working at an unfamiliar lathe probably had me taking an unnatural stance. Looking at the photo's, I certainly had my serious look onI'll bet there was a certain set of orifice muscles clenched tightly too :; :roflmao: Any lump of wood as big as that, spinning at any speed, can and rightfully should have that effect.

What weapon are you using for the hollowing???

Grumpy John
12th October 2010, 10:52 PM
I'll bet there was a certain set of oriface muscles clenched tightly too :; :roflmao: Any lump of wood as big as that, spinning at any speed, can and rightfully should have that effect.

What weapon are you using for the hollowing???

Not sure about the oriface muscles, but I kept having to relax the grip on the Ci1 rougher, the knuckles kept turning white :D.

4" forstner bit for the rough out. Then either Rolly Munro hollower or heavy duty home made Oland tool, whichever gets the job done the most effeciently.

steck
12th October 2010, 11:12 PM
GJ,
you've got to get over thinking small!
Fascinating post - I will look forward to the next update!
How long did it take to rough out!

artme
13th October 2010, 07:20 AM
:o:o:o

Stunning timber and a great effort all round to get the whole project up and going.:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

Grumpy John
13th October 2010, 07:24 AM
Not sure Steve, my guess would be ~4 hours. and I spent a bit of time pondering the situation and watching this video, this then discussing the merits of the Oneway lathe. There were the obligitory coffee/tea breaks and of course lunch. Also spent time doing metal turning to modify a face plate to suit, plus mods to one of the roller assy's. Needless to say I prolly spent about 7 hours at 's

Sawdust Maker
13th October 2010, 10:00 AM
It's 10 am, I hope you are at it so we can see the nearly finished drum today :p

RETIRED
13th October 2010, 10:13 AM
Yep, I have the whip out on the boy.:D

jefferson
13th October 2010, 10:23 AM
I'd like to see some pics of GJ hollowing all that end grain. :D:D:D

More money spent on some fancy tool? :rolleyes:

mick61
13th October 2010, 11:44 AM
G`day the DJEMBE on U TUBE looks smaller than what you are making.
How would you to quote to something like that?
Where are the progress pics.
Mick:D

Ed Reiss
13th October 2010, 12:09 PM
John, ya' look like the "cat that swallowed the canary" in that one pic:roll:

Good score on the blackwood...now ya' just need to find a chunk of whitewood for a "salt & pepper" pair of drums :D

RETIRED
13th October 2010, 02:18 PM
I'd like to see some pics of GJ hollowing all that end grain. :D:D:D

More money spent on some fancy tool? :rolleyes:They're coming. He is doing the last bit as we speak.

Sawdust Maker
13th October 2010, 03:53 PM
must have been a mishap :p
as posted over and hour and a half ago :U

RETIRED
13th October 2010, 04:04 PM
Gotta keep him working. He left not long ago so pics should happen soon.

Grumpy John
13th October 2010, 05:17 PM
Sorry for the delay with the pics but I took a detour into Frankston to check out djembe skins at the music shop.

Getting stuck into it with a Rolly Munro hollower :2tsup:
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Having a decent forstner bit saves a lot of time.
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Setup and ready to do the small end on the Nova.
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And the curlies come thick and fast :D:D:D.
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Some people say I have a chip on my shoulder.
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The light at the end of the tunnel.
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I've had an absolute ball doing this project, even if it is a complete failure as a djembe it will make a great side table or stool for the shed. I would like to thank the following people for their part in this project:
, who is always so generous with his time and willingness to help others
Blair Davis, who took the time to answer an email from a complete stranger and give some helpful advice
Julz, for not using that beautiful piece of blackwood as firewood

Sawdust Maker
13th October 2010, 08:27 PM
Now that looked like fun :2tsup:

Thanks heaps for the show and tell :clap3: and that looks like one very nice piece of wood

How are you going to finish it or are they left rustic?

Grumpy John
13th October 2010, 08:32 PM
Hi Nick,
Still not finished, but it's now a more manageable size and weight. has kindly lent me his 3 point steady so I'll mount it on my lathe and finish roughing it out and leave it for a couple of months to dry before finishing and fitting the skin.

Grumpy John
14th October 2010, 10:58 AM
Well I'm back in more familar territory now with the drum mounted on the Jet. I've turned a recess in the base to fit a piece if 16mm ply with a face plate ring (http://www.vicmarc.com/default.asp?contentID=568) fitted to it, similar to the big end. There's still a lot of work left to do and I might have to make some mods to the skin end as it will finish up being ~290mm dia and the skins only come in 250mm and 300mm sizes and I've hacked out too much to go down to the 250mm size.
This is where my second signature line kicks in :rolleyes: and the third one is threatening.

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dai sensei
14th October 2010, 11:21 AM
Looking great John :2tsup:

Have you left it oversized to finish turn it when dry, or finish turning it green? I'd be tempted to leave in the ply plugs in either end while it dries to ensure it stays round at either end, drilling holes to allow ventilation, although it may cause cracking in the shell :?

NeilS
14th October 2010, 11:25 AM
Well I'm back in more familar territory now with the drum mounted on the Jet. I've turned a recess in the base to fit a piece if 16mm ply with a face plate ring (http://www.vicmarc.com/default.asp?contentID=568) fitted to it, similar to the big end. There's still a lot of work left to do and I might have to make some mods to the skin end as it will finish up being ~290mm dia and the skins only come in 250mm and 300mm sizes and I've hacked out too much to go down to the 250mm size.
This is where my second signature line kicks in :rolleyes: and the third one is threatening.

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John, on the skin. My son replaced the skin on his drum on the weekend. He uses goat hides which fit any djembe size. Seems a shame to be reducing the size of your drum to fit a pre-cut commercial skin when a hide will do an authentic job and allow you to use the full size of your drum 'blank'.

I'm sure my son would be happy to give you advice on how he does his with goat hides. He has learned to do this from the leader of his djembe band, who is from West Africa, and from his djembe classes in West Africa.

.

Grumpy John
14th October 2010, 11:33 AM
John, on the skin. My son replaced the skin on his drum on the weekend. He uses goat hides which fit any djembe size. Seems a shame to be reducing the size of your drum to fit a pre-cut commercial skin when a hide will do an authentic job and allow you to use the full size of your drum 'blank'.

I'm sure my son would be happy to give you advice on how he does his with goat hides. He has learned to do this from the leader of his djembe band, who is from West Africa, and from his djembe classes in West Africa.

.

PM sent.

rsser
16th October 2010, 04:59 AM
Great work GJ.

Grumpy John
19th October 2010, 04:34 PM
Finished roughing out the inside today and fitted the faceplate ring to the small end.

Finished the outside shape and gave it a sand to 240 grit and a coat of oil, just to get an idea of what the finished product will look like.
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Do problems with balance :D :2tsup:.
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Should I leave the plywood discs in to stop the drum going oval during drying or would this cause too much stress and lead to splitting. I have drilled holes in each end to allow venting.
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Looking Good :2tsup:
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TTIT
19th October 2010, 04:42 PM
...........Should I leave the plywood discs in to stop the drum going oval during drying or would this cause too much stress and lead to splitting....Unless they're really sloppy, get 'em out quick :o. Some shrinkage is inevitable and if you don't give it room to contract, it will definitely crack. Ovalling will be absolutely minimal if the heart was fairly central in that log to begin with. :2tsup: (Had a play with one of these drums at one of my schools today - your's looks like it will be better quality by far :; )

NeilS
19th October 2010, 05:37 PM
just to get an idea of what the finished product will look like.

Should I leave the plywood discs in to stop the drum going oval during drying or would this cause too much stress and lead to splitting.


Unless they're really sloppy, get 'em out quick :o. Some shrinkage is inevitable and if you don't give it room to contract, it will definitely crack. Ovalling will be absolutely minimal if the heart was fairly central in that log to begin with.

Looking very swish.

I'm with TTIT, get them out. Stopping the air from circulating through inside while allowing the outside to dry faster is more likely to cause stress cracks. If anything, I'd be letting it dry from the inside out by wrapping something like woven polly bag or layers of shade cloth around the outside. Lay it down, keeping it out of drafts, and rolling it a quarter turn every few days. But then, I've only made smaller ones for my grandkids so I'm not talking from a lot of experience.

.

RETIRED
19th October 2010, 05:49 PM
What they said.

I bet it is lighter now. :wink:

Grumpy John
19th October 2010, 05:50 PM
Unless they're really sloppy, get 'em out quick :o. Some shrinkage is inevitable and if you don't give it room to contract, it will definitely crack. Ovalling will be absolutely minimal if the heart was fairly central in that log to begin with. :2tsup: (Had a play with one of these drums at one of my schools today - your's looks like it will be better quality by far :; )


Looking very swish.

I'm with TTIT, get them out. Stopping the air from circulating through inside while allowing the outside to dry faster is more likely to cause stress cracks. If anything, I'd be letting it dry from the inside out by wrapping something like woven polly bag or layers of shade cloth around the outside. Lay it down, keeping it out of drafts, and rolling it a quarter turn every few days. But then, I've only made smaller ones for my grandkids so I'm not talking from a lot of experience.

.


Both plywood discs were a "knock in" fit and have now been removed.

Neil, I did mention that I'd drilled breather holes in each end.

Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated :2tsup: :2tsup: :2tsup:.

rsser
19th October 2010, 06:02 PM
A fine piece of timber, and a fine bit of work with it.

Sawdust Maker
19th October 2010, 07:20 PM
looks good
nice piece of wood
how thick did the walls end up

steck
19th October 2010, 08:42 PM
Nice work GJ!:2tsup:
Can i see a change of career in the future????

Grumpy John
19th October 2010, 08:56 PM
looks good
nice piece of wood
how thick did the walls end up

Roughed out to ~30mm. The top should end up ~13mm thick and the bottom ~19mm thick.


Nice work GJ!:2tsup:
Can i see a change of career in the future????

Not likely, it's been fun but unless I can streamline the operation they would be too expensive. But then again I've seen bowls for sale at the Rocks Market in Sydney with $1200 price tags on them. Whether or not they sell is another matter.


Thanks for the kind words and encouragement guys.

Grumpy John
26th November 2011, 04:03 PM
The djembe shell has been drying for just over a year now so it should be ready to finish. Lucky I took Verns advice and removed the bungs as it shrank enough that it would have split apart. The top recess went from 246mm dia to between 237 - 240 mm dia and the bottom went from 205mm dia to 200 dia. Slight ovality on the top and little to none on the bottom. The best bit was there was no cracking at all :2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:.
I'll be taking it over to 's tomorrow for the chucks and grippy things day.

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tea lady
26th November 2011, 04:58 PM
The djembe shell has been drying for just over a year now so it should be ready to finish. Lucky I took Verns advice and removed the bungs as it shrank enough that it would have split apart. The top recess went from 246mm dia to between 237 - 240 mm dia and the bottom went from 205mm dia to 200 dia. Slight ovality on the top and little to none on the bottom. The best bit was there was no cracking at all :2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:.
I'll be taking it over to 's tomorrow for the chucks and grippy things day.

189031 189032 189033That will give them something to think about! :U

Grumpy John
1st December 2011, 06:04 PM
I came back from the chucks and grippy things (link (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/chucks-other-grippy-things-142284/)) day all motivated and ready to finish the djembe. I remounted it and there was very little runout (<5mm ).

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I did a minimum cleanup to get it running true and sanded to 320 grit.

Next thing was to borrow a steady from so that I could finish the inside, something I'm not looking forward to. I think I'll do most, if not all of the cleanup with the Rolly Munroe hollower. If anyone has any advice on the best way to go about this it would be most welcome. At least it's not a hollow form and I can see where I'm going and what I'm doing. The top has to be ~13mm thick and the bottom ~19mm thick.

I put a single thickness of duct tape around the drum in the hope of preventing scuffing of the sanded surface. The rollers are not the optimal spacing of 120 degrees but it seems to be running ok at the moment.
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There's going to be a lot of tool overhang to finish both the top and bottom walls. I may have to make a special tool rest to do the job :hmm::shrug:.
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Sturdee
1st December 2011, 06:57 PM
I saw it last Sunday and it's indeed a work of art in the making. :2tsup:

I think you will need to make either a better toolrest or put the cutting head into an Oland style tool.

Peter.

munruben
2nd December 2011, 09:21 AM
Wow! this has been an exciting and incredible thread. :2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

TTIT
2nd December 2011, 03:26 PM
Must be getting nervous about now GJ :; So close to finished :2tsup:

jefferson
2nd December 2011, 05:45 PM
GJ makes a habit of taking his drum kit and his esc. chuck to the forum geet-togethers. :D:D:D

Looks like this half of the project is finally getting there. Great work GJ. :2tsup:

NeilS
3rd December 2011, 10:18 PM
I put a single thickness of duct tape around the drum in the hope of preventing scuffing of the sanded surface.

Don't worry about scuffing near the top rim of the drum as that will be covered up with skin and cord.

But the bottom rim will be exposed, so hollow out that end first so you can remove any blemish from the steady when you reverse the drum to hollow out the top end.

Remember to leave a smooth rounded top rim to allow the skin to stretch over it and not be cut.

The Munroe should readily do the job (and no need for a super smooth interior). Perhaps get or make up something like a Shepid Irons gate (http://www.cws.au.com/shop/item/woodcut-shepid-irons-toolgate) to reach in and secure the hollower while working deep.

rsser
4th December 2011, 02:46 PM
Yes, the Irons toolgate can be very helpful.

What do you mean by 'clean up' GJ?

If sanding after thinning the wall further, depending on the wall shape you might get away with abrasive sheet wrapped around a dowel of decent thickness.

Of course as Neil says it'll never be seen by anyone else .... but a maker always remembers ;-}

NeilS
5th December 2011, 11:07 AM
Of course as Neil says it'll never be seen by anyone else .... but a maker always remembers ;-}

Yes, I should have qualified what I meant by.... no need for a super smooth interior.
From what I have seen from the various djembes that my son has brought back from West Africa, their interiors have been very rough, as you would expect from being hand hewn, but I haven't heard from him or the other members of the djembe band he plays in that this has much effect on the quality of the sound.

But of course, as Ern says, taking the interior to the level of finish that satisfies you is another matter, just like the finish on the interior of a hollow form which cannot be felt beyond finger reach or readily seen under normal lighting conditions. Many of us struggle to find a happy compromise there.

Grumpy John
5th December 2011, 03:28 PM
Thanks for the input guys. I'm just cleaning out the inside to achieve the required wall thickness, not too worried about the finish. Even with the Irons Toolgate there is going to be some severe overhang so I'll have to be pretty careful when I get further inside the drum.

Waldo
5th December 2011, 03:40 PM
Is that a bottle stopper? I'd like to see the bottle of vino it's going to fit. :2tsup:

rsser
5th December 2011, 04:09 PM
Well I've got some HD boring stuff here and you're welcome to come up and use it.

Straight bar, 3/4" x 50cm, that will take a Proforme head and Proforme scraper, mounted in a Vicmarc hollowing tool support. How deep do you have to go?

Also a steady that can be modded (I think) from the days of big swing lathes chez Ern. What's the max. diameter of the piece?

You can leave the drum in your chuck as we prob. now have spindle threads that match. 30 x 3.5 M.

Let me know.

Grumpy John
31st January 2012, 01:42 PM
Went out to the shed with all the good intentions to finish the Djembe today (I've been making too many excuses for too long :-), however......... part way through finishing the inside of the top, one of the welds on the steady "let go". A quick trip over to 's to get it welded up and when I got back I noticed a HUGE crack in the bottom half :((, my fault for leaving it unsupported :doh:.
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Undaunted I continued on and finished the top, the extended tool gate (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/gorilla-brand-super-duper-toolgate-wip-147113/) worked a treat :2tsup:.

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I've filled the canyon with araldite and coffee grounds and clamped it using my cole jaws, here's hoping it holds together. I'll let it cure till Wednesday and remount it in the lathe and hopefully everything will OK.

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dai sensei
31st January 2012, 04:00 PM
why did you use coffee grounds in the epoxy? Now if any are in the joint, it will squeeze back to original shape

rsser
31st January 2012, 04:10 PM
I've had no probs with 50/50 grounds and epoxy in this kind of application with Cypress Pine. Was more stable than the wood. (And yes, the wood was dry).

Grumpy John
31st January 2012, 04:25 PM
why did you use coffee grounds in the epoxy? Now if any are in the joint, it will squeeze back to original shape

Neil, before filling with epoxy I tried to fully close the split, unfortunately it has "sprung" too much to close up. I used the coffee grounds hoping to avoid the look of bare epoxy. If you look at the last photo you can see that the split has not closed up fully, there is about a 5mm gap at the bottom.

dai sensei
31st January 2012, 07:51 PM
Neil, before filling with epoxy I tried to fully close the split, unfortunately it has "sprung" too much to close up. I used the coffee grounds hoping to avoid the look of bare epoxy. If you look at the last photo you can see that the split has not closed up fully, there is about a 5mm gap at the bottom.

Makes sense

Grumpy John
16th March 2012, 06:43 PM
After 18 months it's finally finished. Many thanks to NeilS who put me in touch with Simon at Melbourne Djembe. He did a wonderful job of putting the skin on for me. He used goat skin for anyone who is interested.

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springwater
16th March 2012, 06:54 PM
Arhhh well done grumpy ity looks great, sound allright? Where'd you get the goat skin if you don't mind me asking?

Grumpy John
16th March 2012, 08:02 PM
Off a goat???

Sorry, couldn't resist. Simon from Melbourne Djembe (http://www.melbournedjembe.com.au/mod/) fitted the skin for me, no idea where he gets the skins from.

Thanks for the kind words.

ticklingmedusa
16th March 2012, 08:14 PM
Very impressive ! :2tsup:

springwater
16th March 2012, 08:14 PM
Off a goat???

Sorry, couldn't resist. Simon from Melbourne Djembe (http://www.melbournedjembe.com.au/mod/) fitted the skin for me, no idea where he gets the skins from.

Thanks for the kind words.

:D fat lotta good you then :rolleyes:

Grumpy John
16th March 2012, 08:16 PM
Very impressive ! :2tsup:

Thank you :).

dai sensei
16th March 2012, 08:21 PM
Super effort John :2tsup:

Great tio see it finally finished :cool:

springwater
16th March 2012, 08:24 PM
Any chance of a video of grumpy going djembe bananas or there abouts?

Grumpy John
16th March 2012, 08:28 PM
Any chance of a video of grumpy going djembe bananas or there abouts?

:no:, but you're welcome to swim across the mud flats and visit.

tea lady
16th March 2012, 08:30 PM
:2tsup:

Acco
16th March 2012, 08:34 PM
Nice :2tsup:

Sturdee
16th March 2012, 09:45 PM
:2tsup: Are you going to play it at the next GTG? Cliff on guitar, you on drums and TL the front singer.


Peter.

TTIT
16th March 2012, 10:47 PM
Top job GJ :2tsup: Would love to do one myself but we don't get too many drum skinners out here :no:

:2tsup: Are you going to play it at the next GTG? Cliff on guitar, you on drums and TL the front singer.


Peter..... and on the triangle - can just picture it :roflmao:

Christos
16th March 2012, 11:05 PM
Good to see the completed item. :2tsup:

steck
17th March 2012, 06:19 AM
Super Job, John! It must feel good to finish such a long running project with such a good result? I have followed your project reports with interest.
When I visited Japan last year I was fascinated by the drums used in a Shinto Ceremony. Here is a picture of one that made the whole building shake. It was hundreds of years old and was made from a single tree trunk.
The second pic is a smaller version in the same style.
Perhaps this could be your next project? :)

springwater
17th March 2012, 10:34 AM
:no:, but you're welcome to swim across the mud flats and visit.

Thanks Grumpy that'd be good, just gotta finish this canoe and I'll float around with the tide one day :rolleyes: On the Blind Bight jetty a few years back I was entertained by a couple of blokes dragging their tinny about 50 M through knee high mud on a dropping tide, talk about slap stick :U