Mar26

RHD Pro Series Djembe Drum

by KevinB on March 26th, 2012 at 9:03 PM
Posted In: Drum Projects

Pro Series DjembeI’ve been talking this djembe up for a few months now on this blog and other places.  I’ve had lots of interest and a fair amount of skepticism.  So, can it be done?  A US made djembe built using segments and staves that not only holds it’s own with African djembes, but has a sound that any djembefola longs for?

Oh, it can be done and it has!  This is the first step in our RHD Pro Series Djembe line.  This build was extremely intense and involved and I loved every minute of it.  Its unique to anything else I’ve seen and has been designed for function over form.  Function over form?  But it’s such beautiful shell.  Yup.  That’s what I said!  But this djembe, as beautiful as it is, sounds like cannon with low bass, nice dark tones and bright quick slaps.  You don’t have to take my word for it, check out the video below.

From the Black Walnut segmented with Yellow Heart wood to give a zig-zag effect on the bottom, to the hand routed spiral pattern inside the bowl for that nice traditional feel.  I put 32 sets of verticals on this guy along with a thick Mali goatskin and the rings are nice and tight to the djembe shell.  Not only is this djembe a beautiful work of hand-crafted art, but the sound is no less than inspirational!RHD ProSeries Djembe

Since I began Rhythm House Drums quite a few years ago, my goal was to produce an eco-friendly djembe that would hold it’s own against African djembes and be as beautiful and customizable as can be imagined.  Using local hardwoods, a modern staved design (which saves so much wood compared to hollowing out a solid log), and my attention to the bearing edge, I’ve come up with a djembe that I am ecstatic to call Pro!   I hear that term thrown around everywhere ‘Pro’, and it usually just means ‘we painted it nice to cover the blemishes and raised the price so you think you’re getting something of greater value’.  When I call a drum ‘Pro’ that means it better hold it’s own whether in a drum circle of 50 drums, a fast paced African Dance class, or a close up intimate recording.  This means a Pro Djembe has got to have a nice dynamic range, be responsive and tuned properly.   I have developed many different shapes and styles of djembes and slowly began to learn what a great djembe HAS to have.  I pulled out all the tricks for this build and the result confirms my years of trial and errors and ‘close but no cigars’  :)

 

So what makes the RHD Pro Series Djembe stand out from the competition?

  • Truly eco-friendly, hand crafted djembe
  • Locally harvested and milled hardwoods
  • Built in USA (no oversees transportation)
  • Utilize a modern and efficient stave / segmented design which cuts down on waste that occurs with hollowing out a solid log.
  • More stable shell – because of the wood grain orientation and smaller individual
    pieces, the shell will hold up better over time.  Shells hollowed out from
    a solid log are much more prone to cracks and warping.
  • Hand crafted, never mass produced
  • High strength & low stretch rope makes for a drum that will stay in tune
    longer
  • Vegan / Vegetarian friendly options available
  • I can build these totally custom to meet anyone’s
    expectations.  Wood/rope/shape/size/skin etc.

I’m happy to offer the absolute best line of djembes I have ever built, and in my opinion, the best U.S. made djembe available!  Check out the video below and let me know if you agree!  If you are interested in getting a RHD Pro Series Djembe, or in having me build you a similar drum, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

 

 

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Jan29

A lot going on @ RHD

by KevinB on January 29th, 2012 at 9:10 PM
Posted In: Journal, The Drum Shop

Just a quick post to talk a bit about upcoming excitement here at Rhythm House Drums…  First things first, I’ve got a shipment from Mali on it’s way to me.  I’m super excited about this.  It’s my first shipment direct from West Africa and includes about 15 djembes, 30 goatskins and 4 cowhides.  I’ve seen photos of some of the drums and WOW… I’m really excited.  Keep a look out on my African Djembe page as I will be posting them for sale as soon as they come in.  I’m thinking only a week or so more.

Mali Djembes

Part in prep for this and part because it needs to be done, I’ve been remodeling and working on my workshop.  I’ve built the shop from the ground up and once I got the walls up and electrical ran, I put a hold on the building to get my machines up and running to turn out some drums.  Probably not the best idea, but it’s allowed me to work on drums and on the workshop at the same time.  Well, actually, I’m half ass working on the workshop.  It’s hard to move things around to get to what I need for finishing up the shop.  HOWEVER… this weekend I finally got the first coat of mud and got the taping done on the drywall… at least in the main section.  I’ve still got some work to do on the ceiling but at least it’s progress.  My goal is to be done with the drywall by next weekend, so I can do a final sanding and start painting.  My main goal here is get to a point where I can hook up my mini split A/C & heat system so I can store my drums and skins in the workshop. I’ve also got an air cleaner that hangs from the ceiling to help keep the dust to a minimum in the shop, right now it’s on the floor and takes up a lot of room, once I paint, I can finally hang this booger and get it out of my way.  I’m sure it’s going to work much more efficiently once it’s hung and can move air easier.

ALSO.. I’ve got a huge project underway.  I’m turning out 18 drums (15 ashikos and a set of dununs with stands) for a local school.  They are wanting the drums asap so I’ve got to get that in my mix and start pumping them out.   A great way to test out how much time the new lathe is going to save me!  Expect some blog posts happening (or not) surrounding this project.  On top of this, I have been contacted by another school who is wanting about half this many drums.  No definite go on this order yet, but things will get real crazy ’round here if that comes in while I’m still working on the big one.  :)

Fun times ahead… Looking forward to what is in store around the corner :)   Just more motivation to FINISH THE SHOP!

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Jan24

It’s a sticky situation – What Glue to Use?

by KevinB on January 24th, 2012 at 10:33 AM
Posted In: Food for Thought

In starting to add rings and different woods to my custom drums, I want to make sure they remain stable for years to come.  A new project I’m working on has me thinking about joinery and the best glues for each application.  Currently all of my joints have been long grain to long grain (gluing up the staves) or I have reinforce the the joint with dowels.   The key to success is to make sure all grain is going in the same direction.  Though end grain to end grain joints are not nearly as strong as long to long, there are some things I can do to make them stronger… and that just means better, longer lasting drums.  The more I’m learning about woodworking and stave vs segmented designs, I find myself incorporating these finds into my drums.  I thinks its one aspect that really helps my drums stand out and be completely unique…

So after some more research and a generous reply from Malcolm Tibbetts regarding end to end joints, it seems that as long as the grain is going in the same direction, the joint is OK.  Malcolm says the end to end joint will not be as strong as a long grain to long grain, but for most applications it’s OK.  Malcolm is a segmented wood turner who is leading the way in innovation and design using segments and the lathe.  I have a few of his DVD’s and his famous book, “The Art of Segmented Wood Turning”.  I was honored to have him reply to my e-mail, as I know he has lots more experience than I in this field.

Still for my purpose, ie, building functional art (hand drums, djembes, etc.) the joints probably get stressed a lot more than say a vessel that is mostly looked at.  So now that I know the joint is okay.. how do I make it better??  Is there a glue that works best for end grain joinery?

Doing some research on glues, I’m finding that using a polyurethane glue like gorilla glue on end grain joints greatly strengthens the joint.  Because it swells as it cures, it fills the grain and hardens.  The main problem with end grain joints is that the end grain absorbs too much glue, and the fibers are spaced further apart than with a long grain joint.

I read the analogy of trying to glue a bundle of straws to another bundle of straws by the open ends.  Think of using a standard PVA glue (Elmer’s glue, Titebond, most any white / yellow glue) it’s just going to run down the openings of the straw tubes and not give much adhesion.. if any.  Now using a PU glue (polyurethane glue like Gorilla Glue) the glue is a bit thicker consistency, and it expands about 3-4 times its size as it cures.  This fills the holes in the straws and helps to join the two bundles together, while cured it acts more like an epoxy.

I also found that because it expands, a lot of people think it’s good if your joint isn’t perfect, but this was proven false.  You actually need very good joint to get the most from the PU glue, even better than with a PVA glue.  A glue like Titebond II will keep about 80% of it’s strength in a gap up to 1/64 of an inch (.o15) however it is recommended that with a PU glue the gap is no more than 1/256 of an inch (.003)  That’s a pretty tight joint!

I’ll probably still add some dowels to my projects for comfort and knowing that they will add a mechanical advantage, but they are a pain! I keep my wall thickness pretty thick, (5/8 to 3/4 “) and in the case of hand drums, they get thrown around a lot, so using dowels is still a good idea, I’ll just substitute my Titebond for some Gorilla Glue when it comes to joining up end grain.  I’m happy to learn more about the PU glues as I think this will ultimately help me build better drums.   Remember that PU glue needs moisture to activate.  If your wood is kiln dried or under about 10% moisture, you will want to spritz the joint with water.  If you are joining air dried lumber you might be ok… I’d still spritz a tad of water on both sides of the joint before gluing.

Now for using long grain joints as I do with the main staves for my drums, I’ll stick with Titebond II extended set.  In tests (that I did not conduct) this situation for the glue joints were nearly the same, both being stronger than the wood itself.  A lot of people ask me if I reinforce the joints of my slats.. there is no need to with the glue bonding stronger than the wood.  With a good tight fitting joint, and all the grain going in the same direction, the bond will be excellent and with more chance of the wood failing from natural causes before the glue.  The shell might expand and contract a bit, but it will do so uniformly and the joints will hold.

Wow… unless you are researching glue or an avid woodworker (in which case this might be redundant) this is probably the most boring article I’ve written :)   But after all.. you found it!

I would love to hear others opinions that has first hand experience with PU glue or with end to end-grain joints.

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Jan16

Toddler Sized Djembe with a KICK!

by KevinB on January 16th, 2012 at 1:14 AM
Posted In: Drum Projects

Custom Djembe

I’ve been away from the blog for a while, I know… but I’ve been hitting it up double time in the workshop.  One of the most fun projects I’ve ever worked on was for a friends son who just turned 1!  My daughter just turned one herself, and I’m wanting to build a little djembe for her (more on that one later) so I had been thinking about the best size and drum design for a smaller kid, but also something they can grow up with and enjoy later.  Final dimensions are 20″ tall, 7.5″ base and 10.75″ head… Not one of those 5″ stocking stuffer drums.. :)

My idea for the design was to pretty much scale down my pro series djembe design, yet add some ports to the base and make the base a bit heavier to make it more stable on the ground.  The reason for the ports was that cheerin this young cannot properly tilt the drum to allow the bottom end to resonate.  Unfortunately I see many adults playing djembes out at drum circles with the drum flat on the ground as well… you get no bass this way, as the sound has to push through the shell.  Anticipating that kids play the drum with it flat on the floor, the only way to get a good bass response was to cut ports in the shell to allow the air to push out.

 

To fancy up a hole in the shell, I decided to go with 1″ plugs (Yellow Heart wood) in every other slat (7 plugs total) and then drill out the plug center with 5/8″ bit.  I then used a small round over bit in a router and added some curve to the opening so it flowed more.  On the back of the plug (inside the drum) I used a large counter sink bit I have to ‘cone’ out the port.

I added a rubber foot to the base to protect the shell and the parents floors from drops.  I was so happy with this shell.  It’s the first djembe I’ve turned on my new 16″ 2hp Jet lathe  :)   Anyhow, I wasn’t sure what would happen on the lathe, I was planning to just smooth up the shell and pretty much cut out my planing and sanding steps to get the drum round.  It was so easy I just started adding some simple designs and ended up with a drum that looks like an art piece.  I love it.  I think I went way over the top with this drum, the rubber foot was a new process for me, the sound ports were a new process, and turning the drum on the lathe was new.  I love how it came out.. I’ll be doing some more of these djembes but full size once I get some time!

A few things on this drum I might change for next time… well, the bottom groove I cut for the ring I cut it proportional to the drum size, yet my rings are the same size I use for full size drums… I should have cut the groove deeper and wider.  It’s not horrible, but the bottom ring pokes out a tad more than I’d like.  It takes away some from the very organic looking curvature that shell has.   Also, the finish I used browned up the Yellow Heart wood a tad.  I used a fabric to wrap the rings that matched the Yellow Heart when it was fresh cut, but it’s a little bright on the drum once the finish toned down the woods.  I suspect overtime the rings will get a bit dirty and then it might blend better with the shell… it’s not bad, in fact it looks really good… these are just some things I nit-pick about so that my next one is always better!

There were some other firsts and experiments on this build.  A major one being a sled for the table saw to more accurately and safely cut the slats.  I built the sled from 3/4″ baltic birch ply and used some thick 5/4 purpleheart for the fence and the miter runner.  Purpleheart is super dense and is a fiarly stable wood… it’s also super hard and heavy so makes for a good straight fence and a runner that wont warp… More about the tablesaw sled here.

All in all I’m really happy with this build and what I learned from it.  I’m excited to see where the next one takes me.  I know the new owners will enjoy the heck outa this djembe and that’s good enough for me!

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Jan14

Mitered Table Saw Sled for Ripping Angles

by KevinB on January 14th, 2012 at 10:54 AM
Posted In: Drum Projects, How-To Drum Building, The Drum Shop

So far this has been one of the best jigs in my shop.  I’m loving using it and my slats are coming out just right.  This sled is replacing an old aluminum taper jig that would bow and wouldn’t hold it’s position very well.  The sled also has the advantage of cutting an angle in either direction, as the taper jig only went from fat to thin.

Wish I had come up with this a long time ago!!  I had seen the design and idea a few times, but wondered about my ability to build it.  Guess I shouldn’t doubt myself.  The photo is one I took while still being finished.  I have made a few modifications since this photo as well as added a toggle hold down.

I used some 3/4″ baltic birch ply and thick 5/4″ purple heart.  I used T-track slots that I routed into the fence and the board to act as runners for positioning the hold downs and the fence.  I spent way too much on this sled.  I think I had around 90 bucks in material with already having the purple heart in stock.  I had a lot of material I didn’t end up using for this project, but I put it aside as I’m sure I’ll use it again.  I probably didn’t need to buy the baltic birch, but it’s a bit better qaulity than what I could get at a big box store, so I figured it was a good investment.

After using it for a few drums now, I might make a few more modifications.  Some things I’ve already done to it are trim up the extra lenght of tracks, added another sliding hold down to the fence and a toggle clamp.  I also added a strip of wood at the edge of the sled that touches the fence.  With the SawStop of that blade hit the aluminum track it would shut down and screw up my blade and cartridge.. about 200 bucks to get up and running again.  The plus side to this saw is that if it’s my finger that touches the blade, it’s a 200.00 fix to the saw and saves me an ER trip to sew a finger/hand back on.  :)

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