Thread: Tongue Drum / Zyladrum

OK, I decided that I might as well start another project.

I copied the tongue pattern onto a piece of MDF and had a practice run with the jig saw.
Not too bad but tricky plunging the jig saw blade through the board for the start.

I ripped a piece of jarrah to 130mm width. This will do all the sides at 450mm and the ends at approximately 90mm.
All sides cut to 450mm.

I then cut two pieces for the ends. I snuck up on the line to get a neat fit.

A board was selected for the top and the tongue layout transferred.
A new blade in the jig saw cut clean but the curve for the ends of yhe tongues is a bit rough.

I made an oval template on a piece of mdf the used then used the jig saw to rough cut the sound hole in a side board. A bearing guided spiral straight router bit and the template cleaned up the oval.

I used a 6mm roundover bit on both sides of the oval.

Now how the fix it together.

Just glue?

Most of the mating edges are long grain to long grain so I expect just glue would be adequate to hold the drum together.

Things get slippery with glue so I decided to use dowels to keep everything in place.

The Ozzie dowel jig makes it easy to get all the dowels aligned. I just had to adjust the depth to about half the thickness of the flat surfaces.

Titebond III usually bonds Jarrah fine for these low stress joints.

I glued it all up at once. The dowels and Bessey clamps held everything in place.

The drum came out of the clamps fine.
No gaps but a bit of sanding to do.

I noticed that some of the tongues had moved sideways. It could have been that they were squashed a bit in the glueup.
Maybe the wood moved as it adjusted to the space created by the saw cuts.
The tongues vibrated together when hit so I decided to run the jigsaw along the tight gaps.

They don't rattle now but they are not as neat as they used to be.

I sanded the joints smooth and gave it a couple of coats of danish oil.

The sound wasn't great. A bit muted.

I screwed four rubber feet to the base.

Now it sounds pretty good. A bit deeper than the original.

Is it in tune? Not sure.
My musical skill is limited to volume control on the stereo and I get criticised for that.

Maybe my grandson will like it.

Now off to Toys R Us. Wongo said their rubber balls made good dongers.

I hope some of you might find this helpful or interesting.
A nice way to use offcuts too.

Great Post Scally. You did a nice job there. A tip for the jig sawing is to cut down width of the blade that makes it more turnable and you will minimise the risk of run off.

SpiritFlutes

Thanks SpiritFlutes for the comment.

I will see if I can find some thinner blades.
I have been using narrow blades to get around the tight curves but the timber is pretty hard.
A thin and narrow blade might test me.

Nice work Scally. I am a big fan of your work.

How many tongue drums have you made now? 50?? I am still on 8.

Originally Posted by SpiritFlutes

Great Post Scally. You did a nice job there. A tip for the jig sawing is to cut down width of the blade that makes it more turnable and you will minimise the risk of run off.

SpiritFlutes

I should have been more specific, get the blade that suits the wood and thickness first then by putting it in a vice pointing up or which ever way you can mount it safely in your vice, careful the angle grinder dosent grab the blade, alternatively and preferably use a bench grinder if you have one. Trim 2 mm of the back side to just clear of the cutting stroke so as to keep the blade strength, careful not to burn the steel. Test the blade on the wood and thickness desired for the drum, then if necessary trim more till it has the manouverability you desire to do the job. You can cut quite a bit off and they will still be effective just you need to be a little more gently with them when cutting. Instead of making the cut a step back to the standard width steep ramp it so there is less week spot or just cut the whole blade length. Either way works, you chose.

I was taught this by an old pro Tongue Drum maker

Good luck

OK, I think I understand.
Could you post a pic of a blade you have operated on?
Do you know Johnothan Chance? You must be neighbours.
He made my original xyladrum.

A bench grinder does sound like an easier option so I will try a blade and see if I can get down to 2mm of the teeth. It would certainly make it easier to get a neat job.

Well Scott there have been a few distractions. I probably haven't made any more than you but there have been a few variation. Like putting the tongues on a cajon.
Lately I have been making a few round drums using staves. Fortunately I remember the maths but the table saw, router and jointer operation are tricky. Getting long, even and clean bevels has been difficult.
Epoxy is great stuff.

Here is a pic of a set of Dun duns and a stand that I made. This African guy made them sound good.
The overgrown tube is going to be a jumbo drum - about the size of a 44 gallon drum. I thought I would dress it up with a carving. This is supposed to be a gecko and the other side has sketch of a guy beating a drum.

I need to find some buyers so I can afford timber to make other interesting stuff.