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Here's some information about musical instruments I have built.
Bodhran (Celtic Drum)
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My first bodhran was an exercise in laminating wood into a curved shape in
preparation for building a harp. My first bodhran was a cross-braced rim with a skin
tacked on. In the humid Queensland climate, however, this proved to be
inconvenient,
as the skin alternates between to tight and too slack. My second bodhran was a
double rim tuneable version, allowing skin tension adjustment to suit the weather.
I also left out the cross braces on the second bodhran, and made it a bit
smaller - I find the smaller size more comfortable to play.
The bits
inside the smaller drum are the tippers (sticks). The stick with
balls on each end was home made (I don't have a lathe). The other
one was a bought one. I like the natural mottled look of these goat
skins. They have been oiled, and it's really brought out the
colouring of the skins.
Click here for a description of how I made my bodhrans |
Celtic Folk Harp
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The Celtic folk harp is certainly my biggest woodworking achievement.
This started my interest in instrument building, after promising to make a harp for
my sister. So far (start 2004), I have built eight harps to this 30
string celtic design. Soon I'll be starting on a 36 string classical
harp design. If anyone wants to buy one, you can email
me for details.
The harps are made from Brazilian mahogany neck and pedestal, sapele
rounded back, and King William pine sound board. I have used nylon strings and
fitted Robinson's sharping levers (not pictured).
Click here for a pictorial description of
building a harp
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Tin Whistles
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Tin whistles are a nice simple instrument, and easy to build. There
are plenty of plans on the web. I made my own dimensions for different keys by
scaling up my high D tin whistle, and then adjusting by experimentation. |
Conga Drum
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If you ever want to build a conga drum, don't bother. Just buy one.
Building it will cost you more than buying one. Of course, I knew that before
I started, but I just had to see for myself. Anyway, it makes a nice lounge room
ornament. It sounds OK too, but it wasn't worth the effort.
For those who care, the body is made from Meranti (Pacific
Maple). The staves were hand shaped, steam bent and glued together,
nailed onto a mould. The mould was built to be removable from inside
the completed drum. After the mould was taken out, the inside of the
drum was fibreglassed for strength. The outside was planed and
sanded smooth and varnished. The rim is a traditional double rim
held down by eye bolts.
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Future Plans
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After building this next harp, I'm planning to build a guitar.
I'm looking at a dreadnought size steel string, Qld maple back, sides and
neck, Sitka spruce front, and rosewood fingerboard. Plans are going to come from a book
called "A Guitar Maker's Manual" by Jim Williams. Plans to build a violin
have been shelved for the moment, in lieu of other projects. |
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