On Sunday I reached the final stage of another 12-inch composite frame drum. This one’s for me, not for passing around at a drum circle. I tried a different lacing method, and was very methodical about it. The head skin was not perfectly round, and the frame flexed to accommodate it. It looks even more…
…at plans. And drum makers who make plans. But this time I think I’ve got it right. It took several weeks to make the frame, from steel hoops, cardboard, and layers of paper and fabric. Tedious waits for glue, paint and protective coatings to dry. Sanding, re-coating, measuring, drilling. Then twice I tried to head…
‘Twas the day after Christmas, and I wanted to do something. I did two somethings. This four-inch drum is made from a section of PVC sewer pipe. It has a bright tone, loud for its size. The striker is not only proportional to the drum, it is ideally suited to bring out the best sound…
I blew it again. The binding wasn’t tight enough. Since there was no way to adjust it, I’ve taken it apart again. Yes, again. This was the second time I’ve mis-headed that frame. Maybe the third will be lucky. Oh well. Dinner was good. Ham, baked potatoes, and squash. BTW, I have always loathed that…
The promised bad weather held off. I went to work with lots of summer sausage, cheese, and crackers and a jar of my favorite wine-substitute: cinnamon hibiscus tea mixed with orange juice. It was my co-worker’s birthday, an extra excuse to party. We had one visitor to help eat the munchies. I know, doesn’t sound…
I made one mistake in buying a ready-made drum. It was so shoddy there was no way to tighten it up enough to get a decent sound out of it. So I took it apart. The fourth-rate rawhide heads can be recycled into rattles. The frame, after a little work, was fit to use again….
The wonderful one-hour drum I got up a little too early, and a little obsessed. This was the result: The head is ultrasuede. I have a lot of odd pieces from when sewing machine art was my current obsession. While looking for things to get rid of, I ran across my stash of purple, and…