Adam Rahberg Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I just finished up this tongue drum last night. I have built quite a few as gifts (for really special people) Did the cutting boards for gifts for in laws, have 3 left and facebook has already relieved me of 2 of them for a good price. And did the cabinet doors a few years ago. But just a sample of the fun things. The drum is really fun and the kids love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Nice work Adam, the drum is beautiful ! How much time did you spend tuning it? I halfheartedly tried making one a few years ago and was not happy with it. Probably would have helped to do a little research on their construction ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Very cool looking drum ! You should post a little video so we can hear it being played ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Adam, Great looking projects. I too like the drum. I saw some at an art show here and was impressed. Where did you get the pattern? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Rahberg Posted January 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I saw one that my brother in law got as a gift. I haven't tuned mine as I'm still researching how to do it. My boys don't care if it's in tune. I also just made up the pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I've made a few of those drums myself (about a dozen I suppose) for grandkids and neighbor kids. Not only are they fun to make and play with, they drive the parents crazy for about a week. Obviously, I don't spend as much time as you do and do as good of work but they make noise! Rog 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Rahberg Posted January 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 The only real time consuming part of these drums is drawing a really cool layout for the keys and then cutting them. And then finding out that the baseplate on my jigsaw is broken. that was fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Really nice work Adam! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Very nice Adam. I just bought some Padauk last weekend for making a tongue drum. I'm glad to see everyone seems to like that as a project. As far as tuning, sandpaper and removing very small amounts until you get the note you want. The bigger the tongue the deeper the octave. There's an app you can use for tuning or if you are a guitarist, pianist, bassist, etc you probably have a chromatic tuner of some kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Coop Posted January 9, 2015 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Sold! I'm going to make two for a couple of kids whose parents I don't like! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Rahberg Posted January 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 They are actually quite nice to listen to even with the children banging on them. You have to get those bouncy ball end drumsticks for them. I actually drilled out two bouncy balls and put them on some 3/8 dowels and I like the way they sound better. I do have a tuning app for my phone but again, Im not musician unless air guitar and drums count. I will rock out some Rammstein though!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 This is what I was aiming for... BUT this is what I got I was a drummer growing up (played set, quads, etc).. I see Marc is as well.... Hmmm... Forum Challenge ???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Melton Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 The tongue drum is awesome. I made a padauk xylophone last year and the tongue drum is on my list of projects. Did you find a template for the keys or did you free hand it? Great work all around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 Interesting drum design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 The tongue drum is awesome. I made a padauk xylophone last year and the tongue drum is on my list of projects. Did you find a template for the keys or did you free hand it? Great work all around. That is the great and FUN thing about making the tongue drums, you can do anything you like on making the keys. That is why the tops of my drums are screwed on, I can try a different design for a top and not have to build the whole drum again. Just make sure that all the keys are a bit different. Make them all different lengths or widths or shapes and it will work. you can sand or drill dimples on the back side to tune each key. It is all an experiment and fun play time in the shop making tongue drums. I found that walnut tops gave me the best sound but, any hard wood works well. Size is another thing to experiment with. Notice that I used plywood for the box but tried different depths as well as covering or uncovering the bottom and you can drill large holes in the sides for better sound. Just go for it and build a simple one and you will soon see what I'm talking about! BTW, I use a scroll saw to cut the tongues so there is NO limit to what can be done! Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Rahberg Posted January 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2015 screwing on the tops is a great idea, but what I read is that gluing them helps the sound resonate through the whole box a lot better. I free handed the design. Just tried to make it look cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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