Alexander
Not Moscow, Idaho? :-)
I've made a few Celtic bodhrans so I can give you some advise. First
thing is what's your glue situation? If you can get yellow carpenter's
glue, it's the easiest to work with, but epoxy will work too.
Don't know what "scalewood" is, I use 2 ply plywood and bend laminate.
Principle is the same. Wrap, glue, clamp, and finish. A belt sander will
help a lot, but a handplane will work.
Cut 2 circles the size of the shell you want (minus the wall thickness
if you're feeling fussy) or find a cylindrical something that is the
right diameter. Wax it good to prevent sticking.
Cut or sand a long scarf on one end of the first strip of wood (maybe 10
cm). Now wrap the wood around the form, mark where it overlaps itself
and put a similar scarf on the other end. Now put glue on where it
overlaps. Put a couple old bicycle inner tubes around the shell and
tighten them up with a piece of scrap wood (this are the clamps). Let
dry and continue doing that until you've got you shell as thick as you
want. Sand and finish to taste (make sure it's water proof - see below).
Don't know the tanner / leather supply situation in Moscow, but there
must be some around. What you want is a circle of hard tanned skin
("rawhide" works) that is about 10 cm larger in diameter than the shell.
You don't want suede or treated leather, it's too soft. Goat is best,
it's the strongest. Calf is ok though a bit thick and sheep is very
iffy, tends to be soft and tear. I've actually seen a nice Egyptian def
made with engineering mylar for the head.
Easiest way of attaching the head to the shell is furniture nails, which
are those ornamental round headed nails like you see on old sofas. Soak
the skin in warm water until it's limp. drape it over the shell and get
it as well centered as possible. Start putting in nails along one edge,
I tend to use a decorative wavy pattern, stretching the head as you go.
Let dry and you've got a drum. It will inevitably be a bit off center,
but this is folk work. To make them more even, you tack the head down,
let dry, put a second layer of nails around that are even, remove the
tacks and trim the head back. You can cover the trimmed edge with a
decorative wood band if you want (look closely at a traditional drum,
you can still see the temporary tack marks at the lower edge of the shell).
If you want to get fancy, you can put an internal rim with threaded
tighteners on it that push up against the inside of the head and allow
you to tune it. You can also put rings or zills around the edge if you
want that sound. If you're going to hold it in one hand while playing,
you'll want to put either a thumb hole through the side of the shell or
cut a rounded notch so you can hold it comfortably.
Good luck
Jim
