Homemade Djembe African Hand Drum

I have always loved the looks and sounds of the ethnic instruments known as hand drums. In particular, the djembe. For those of you who are not familiar, the djembe is a goblet shaped hand drum which originated in West Africa near Ghana, and has become famous around the world in Traditional African and Latin music.

While they are a simple drum in appearance, they require an immense amount of work to create from scratch. I found this out when I chose to make one for myself...
For instructables purposes, I have placed many of the instructions on the pictures as most of this will need both hands and it's easier to follow the picture than the text...

The following is not just an instructable, it is a piece of me that I would like to share with you all.

Enjoy,
Andy 

P.S. This is my first Instructable so please go easy... : )

Step 1 Gathering Supplies...

First and foremost, please be careful if you choose to try and do this on your own. The tools you will need, mainly the hatchet and chisels, need to be very sharp... I didn't need stitches, but I did go through a few band aids...

You will definitely need the following:
~An appropriate work environment consisting of a place for your block of wood, a place for you to sit, and a place for you to lay out your tools. I cannot stress how important it is to have a comfortable work area since this is a very labor intensive project.
~A standard rubber hammer
~A standard hatchet (boy scout or camping hatchet works well)
~A few sharp chisels with good tips (broken tips will damage the wood)
~You do not need one, but a half-round chisel would be quite handy for working the inside
~A chain saw (for cutting the log to length and also for hollowing the center)
~A Sharpie Marker (for drawing your pattern)
~A drill and some large, sharp bits (preferably a speed-bore)
~A metal tubing bender (Yeah, I know, but it will make sense when we get to that part)
~A sharp punch or awl (for making holes in the head)
~Either upholstery thread or quilting thread (for cinching the head around the ring)
~a large piece of paper and a sharpie (this will make sense in a few more steps...)
~A large piece of hard wood (oak, maple, cherry, poplar... with a diameter of about 13"-16" and a length of approximately 22" -24")
~A lot of patience
~A first aid kit (just in case...)
~Some sand paper in various grades from 60 to 180 grit
~A quart of stain (any color, preference)
~A quart of Polycrylic Selaer
~A drum head, rings, and rope(and more patience)
~(Info on getting the drum head, rope, and rings will be listed on the page with those steps...)~

Comments

[mjursic]

GREAT INSTRUCTABLE!!!!!!! In the middle of a modified version of it right now. How much rope do you need for this step? Roughly.

[Wo0kiE]

it really depends. I was told to have 4~5 times the length of the circumference of the rings but I didn't actually need that much.
You might want to just start off by wrapping the rope around the drom head 4 times and try that length. When it comes to running the verticals, it will all depend on the number of loops.

Best of luck, it's a tough task.

[mjursic]

Clearly stated in the instructable on a different page. I'm doing a modified style made from tapered, angled pine slats. Using everything from your section on skin preparation and roping, though. I'll try to post a pic when I'm done. You don't know how grateful to you I am for this. Hopefully I'll be doing it with a bunch of 12-14 year-olds over the next year.

[Wo0kiE]

I was actually going to try one like that using staves (tapered and mitered slats).
I want to do one with ash and walnut alternating though... kinda black and white all at the same time... Can't wait to see yours though.

[mjursic]

Here arwe some pics of mine. Trouble with the uploader, so sorry if I upload twice.

[mjursic]

Turned out pretty well. Pics anon. Some cautions I found out the hard way: 1, when you have seated your skin properly and secured it a bit, snip the string holding it up in the centre, or you'll be fighting the string instead of the skin when tensioning the verticals 2, don't reef on the verticals. That way you can do an extra set of over-and-unders and it looks beautiful. 3, when pulling string, WEAR GLOVES!!!!! I not only have a brand new home made drum, but also a nice new set of hand made blisters to go along with it! Pics probably tomorrow. I repeat, GREAT INSTRUCTABLE!!!!!

[chapa-de-frente]

everyone should have a drum, im of the same camp brother. thats a beautiful djembe. i plan on making a djembe and a ngoma from pieces of a very large mesquite tree that fell in my neighbors yard. and if i understand you, you started carving this fresh, without drying it? that seems like a good idea if you cant control the drying of the log, but you gotta work quick. i started drying without being able to control it, and i have cracks in my stumps already, i should get to work. thanks for posting this project, i feel so lucky to have found this site with so many awesome people making great food, instruments, and other things.

[mjursic]

Next time, use a wood product called "sanding sealer," on the ends, which stops the wood from drying inconsistently. No cracks.

[chapa-de-frente]

I will, thanks! Ive tried using paraffin wax, and still got cracks, but it did take a lot longer

[Wo0kiE]

yeah, I learned a valuable lesson about drying beforehand...

I actually regret rushing through this but hey, what's done is done and the sound is what's important.

when you finish, make sure you use a really good sealant so the wood won't split itself...

Good luck to you on yours! Hope to see it up here soon!

[Wo0kiE]

ok, so I just saw that I am a finalist!

God Bless you all for the votes! It means more than you know!

[rimar2000]

VOTED!

[Wo0kiE]

thanks!!

[rimar2000]

Can you vote my two projects, please? Today is the last day!!

[Wo0kiE]

done!
gracias y denada!

[rimar2000]

Great!

[r_harris2]

Wow, that is something I might dream of doing, but to actually carve the whole drum, starting with a log, AND achieve that level of finish. Awesome.

I know, our ancestors did this kind of thing regularly, but they didn't have TV, let alone www to distract them...Congratulations on a job well done!

I have ONE small tip for you, straight from Roy "The Woodwright's Shop" Underhill. If you start the process by drilling a center hole all the way through any hollow work, you can buy time from the grain splitting. It allows the wood to relieve some of the shrinkage pressure. I believe he recommended something like a 1" hole, but I am sure any drill size close to that would work.

[Wo0kiE]

Yeah...
I learned a lot about how not to do things while working on this...

The next drum will actually be done in pieces (staves) kinda like a wooden bucket...

I have many more things to take care of before then though...

[Browncoat]

Wow!! I wish I had the patience to do something like this. :)

[Wo0kiE]

Thanks much. It was a long process as this was not only my first instrument but this was also the first time I have ever carved anything. It took about 4 1/2 weeks to finish and was probably the most physically demanding project I have ever done.

[misteravocado5]

Awesome. I love djembes, they sound so cool. This looks like it took a lot of work. (As mentioned above, you might want to put one of the pictures in the intro section so it doesn't just show that instructables hand there. Almost didn't click on it)

[rimar2000]

You did a great job, congratulations!

[ChrysN]

That looks really amazing! I recommend putting a picture of the finished drum in the intro step before the video so that it appears as the thumbnail image.