0:01:24.795,0:01:28.795
Making a tongue drum is something that [br]had been on my list for quite a while.

0:01:28.795,0:01:30.914
I knew it was going to [br]be quite a challenge

0:01:30.914,0:01:33.964
so I decided to eliminate as [br]many variables as possible

0:01:33.964,0:01:36.604
so that the margin for [br]error would be smaller.

0:01:36.604,0:01:39.408
I began researching intensively [br]and watched all the videos

0:01:39.408,0:01:41.256
I could find on people making these drums

0:01:41.256,0:01:44.107
watched videos of drums that [br]are out there for sale

0:01:44.107,0:01:47.387
searched for woods, joinery, design [br]and all that stuff.

0:01:47.576,0:01:51.876
Eventually, what I decided to make [br]was a copy of a Shlagwerk log drum.

0:01:52.181,0:01:54.556
It took me a while to go [br]further in each step

0:01:54.556,0:01:58.556
because the last thing I wanted to end up [br]with was a horrible sounding instrument

0:01:58.556,0:02:02.096
and call it a failure or [br]remaking parts of the process

0:02:02.096,0:02:05.015
so I tried to be cautious [br]and think 100 times

0:02:05.015,0:02:07.967
before cutting into actual [br]material and so on.

0:02:08.352,0:02:10.674
If you do a bit of research [br]you will find that

0:02:10.674,0:02:13.866
most tongue drums have [br]padauk or wangi wood tops

0:02:13.866,0:02:17.370
and that's because these woods [br]are more musical than others.

0:02:17.569,0:02:19.135
I don't know much about this

0:02:19.135,0:02:23.135
but all I can say is that they vibrate [br]and reverberate in specific ways

0:02:23.135,0:02:27.405
that allow for better, fuller and [br]easier to achieve notes.

0:02:27.405,0:02:31.405
It's probably due to their density [br]and hardness but not just that.

0:02:31.693,0:02:35.693
So I started by preparing the wangi [br]and after close observation

0:02:35.693,0:02:39.403
of the Shlagwerk drum I noticed that [br]the top is not a single piece.

0:02:39.403,0:02:43.093
It's made out of 4 strips,[br]so that's what I did.

0:02:43.093,0:02:45.885
I also did it because my timber [br]was a bit twisted

0:02:45.885,0:02:48.313
and this way I could obtain a flat board

0:02:48.313,0:02:50.133
without as much wood removal.

0:02:50.133,0:02:52.213
Here you can hear [br]the difference in the sound

0:02:52.213,0:02:54.655
when the pieces are being [br]held in different spots.

0:03:23.085,0:03:26.706
For the box sides I used three-quarter[br]inch Baltic birch plywood

0:03:26.706,0:03:30.706
and routed rabbets on the bottom [br]and sides on the router table.

0:03:33.038,0:03:36.522
You’ll want to use high quality materials [br]and not cheap plywood

0:03:36.522,0:03:39.482
as it may affect the sound in the end.

0:04:08.228,0:04:12.008
I planed it carefully removing a [br]very small amount on each pass

0:04:12.008,0:04:17.097
until the board was 14 mm [br]or a little over half an inch.

0:04:17.350,0:04:20.533
I also made a groove in the [br]middle of one of the largest faces

0:04:20.533,0:04:22.593
to inlay a strip of wangi.

0:04:24.296,0:04:26.190
There are many ways of cutting the keys

0:04:26.190,0:04:28.270
but since I had made the template [br]on the computer

0:04:28.270,0:04:32.820
I sent a file over to the X-carve and [br]had it carving the lines

0:04:32.820,0:04:34.957
with a 1/16 straight bit.

0:04:34.957,0:04:39.387
You can also use a jigsaw or scroll saw [br]and create other shapes for the keys.

0:04:39.687,0:04:42.867
Steve Carmichael has a great video [br]on how to make a tongue drum

0:04:42.867,0:04:44.889
and he uses a jigsaw.

0:05:46.093,0:05:49.435
Since wangi is very splintery wood [br]I made a second pass

0:05:49.435,0:05:52.445
with a V-bed to get a smoother [br]look and feel.

0:06:18.140,0:06:20.662
I made the top edges level [br]and glued the top

0:06:20.662,0:06:23.001
using two pieces of wood [br]with a slight arc

0:06:23.001,0:06:26.192
on them that will act as bow clamps.

0:06:26.422,0:06:28.555
These are great for when[br]you have a small number

0:06:28.555,0:06:31.433
of clamps and need to make [br]pressure along the entire edge

0:06:31.433,0:06:34.076
using just one clamp on each end.

0:07:06.705,0:07:10.088
I flush trimmed the box and [br]rounded over all the edges.

0:07:10.280,0:07:12.244
After all, this is a musical instrument

0:07:12.244,0:07:14.604
and your hands will be all over the place

0:07:14.604,0:07:16.845
so it's nice to make it [br]round and comfortable.

0:07:37.645,0:07:41.932
I was still not getting good results [br]so I sat back and did more research

0:07:41.932,0:07:44.762
and I found a video from KR2 wood [br]

0:07:44.762,0:07:47.093
explaining his process for tuning his drum

0:07:47.093,0:07:50.174
and how adding more mass to the box sides

0:07:50.174,0:07:53.435
would bring the keys to [br]a better tone and vibration.

0:07:53.435,0:07:55.634
So, I found some hard maple scraps

0:07:55.634,0:07:58.454
and glued them super [br]tight into both sides.

0:08:00.925,0:08:03.829
Always make sure that [br]your glue ups are perfect

0:08:03.829,0:08:07.661
because a bad glue joint [br]will mess with the final sound.

0:08:19.816,0:08:22.047
I should have made the walls [br]thicker from the beginning

0:08:22.047,0:08:25.023
and that way I could start [br]fresh on the tuning

0:08:25.023,0:08:28.008
but I kept going and it [br]eventually worked fine.

0:08:28.228,0:08:30.115
So, here I am hitting the keys and

0:08:30.115,0:08:32.243
writing down which note I was getting.

0:08:32.243,0:08:36.243
Then went back and forth [br]removing material

0:08:36.243,0:08:38.994
until the desired note was achieved.

0:08:44.289,0:08:46.459
You can change about two tones

0:08:46.459,0:08:50.459
so, let's say you are getting a C [br]and you want to go up to an E

0:08:50.459,0:08:51.539
then it should work

0:08:51.539,0:08:56.804
but if you're getting a C and you [br]want to go up to a G or down to a G

0:08:56.804,0:09:00.413
it's going to be super hard[br]or even impossible.

0:09:00.413,0:09:03.146
That's why the size of [br]the keys also matters

0:09:03.146,0:09:06.725
and a bigger tongue is [br]never going to go up

0:09:06.725,0:09:08.587
to match a super small tongue.

0:09:08.952,0:09:12.595
To tune it up you have to remove [br]material from the tip of the tongue

0:09:12.595,0:09:16.595
and if you want to go down you remove [br]material from the back of the tongue

0:09:16.595,0:09:18.813
where it meets the rest of the board.

0:09:19.034,0:09:23.284
What I noticed is that removing [br]material on a perpendicular line

0:09:23.284,0:09:26.603
is much more effective [br]than drilling larger holes.

0:09:27.114,0:09:29.796
Just be careful not to drill [br]all the way through

0:09:29.796,0:09:33.288
or even make part of the tongue [br]too thin and fragile.

0:09:45.948,0:09:49.948
After I was satisfied with the tuning [br]I screwed the bottom with lots of screws

0:09:49.948,0:09:51.862
to make sure it was fully closed

0:09:51.862,0:09:55.083
and the pressure was even[br]along the entire edge.

0:10:43.095,0:10:46.180
I finished off with three coats [br]of water-based varnish.

0:11:04.919,0:11:10.091
Finally, I stuck on four foam pads that [br]are typically used on drum kit cymbals.

0:11:15.323,0:11:18.334
The tongue drum is done and [br]I think it sounds pretty good

0:11:18.334,0:11:20.324
for a first handmade instrument.

0:11:20.543,0:11:24.030
If you have any questions feel free [br]to drop it on the Patreon post

0:11:24.030,0:11:28.030
where you can find a PDF with more [br]details about this build

0:11:28.030,0:11:29.431
and a free template.

0:11:29.481,0:11:31.921
A big shout out to [br]Rockler and Inventables

0:11:31.921,0:11:33.491
and all my Patreon supporters

0:11:33.491,0:11:36.218
and go get your hands dirty.