Djembe-L FAQ - Dununba Repair

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so i have this big mother shell whose bearing edges are pretty cockeyed. i want to make them nice and even -- 90 degrees to the long axis of the shell. what's the best way to do this with ordinary tools? say chalk, a level, a square and a jigsaw?

1) i used to use the driveway, a fairly rough surface, not entirely flat but it worked, i would work the rim of the shell on the concrete until it was flat. the finished bearing edge should be rounded, i do not want it flat, can cause the old vibration thing.
my quick two cents
happy drumming to all
shorty
www.goatskins.com
djembe@prodigy.net

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There is no right tool to use. You could file and sand, use an
electric sander (requires experience), even plane it. Not sure a
jigsaw is a good tool to use, though.

The main thing is to keep looking at the overall bearing edge. You do
a little, then look some more, do a little more, look again, etc. If
both sides of the rim look level with each other all the way around
the drum, then it will be level enough. A level will let you
achieve a near perfect result but it's not essential. Make sure the
edge is not too thick (may cause buzzing).

If you don't already have a small hole or two drilled into the shell,
now would be a good time to do so. It helps equalize pressures and
reduce trapped moisture. The skin will also dry more quickly that way.

Also, if you haven't already done so, take some time to smoothen the
inside of the shell (improves sound) and oil it both inside and out
(prevents cracking).

Drew
drumpower@gmail.com

To square up a cylinder drum, I use a framing square or a machinists
square from L.S. Starrett with a two foot rule to keep me honest. I
start with the end that is out o' square the least. Then I measure from
the squared up edge to the worst one, finding the lowest measurement and
mark that all round with a stripe of strapping tape and saw off the bulk
of the surplus with a hand saw and finish as Shorty did with the
sidewalk trick and rounding over.

Thanks for Everything!
One Love, R
clark@acceleration.net

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Try placing the shell upright on a flat and level surface, such as a table or the floor. Use shims to set the drum shell as truly vertical as possible....So shim up the low spots, making sure the shell is stable and *not* wiggly.

When the shell is stable and vertical, take a sharp pencil and scribe a line around the bottom, as close to the table or floor as possible, yet still contacting the wooden shell all the way around. For a very "cockeyed" shell, you may need to set the pencil on some kind of block or a cd case or something. If it is only a little cockeyed, just resting the pencil on the table surface will do.

Anyway, as long as the shims do not get in your way, by scribing a line like this you will end up with guide for cutting or sanding or filing the "cockeyed" parts away. The important thing is to set the shell up really vertical, independent of the bottom edge. It does not matter if the whole thing is a couple of inches off the table surface. Just use a steady hand to scribe that line around, and file down to that.

Once you have one side 90 degrees relative to the long axis, I suggest measuring to the opposite side carefully, and from many points along the way, say every 6-8 inches. That way you avoid making the two sides precisely 90 degrees from what you *think* is the long axis, yet slightly *differently* 90 degrees from one another....

I recommend a very sharp and *hard* pencil, or, if the drum shell is already dark, use a scratch awl or pointy scribe tool to scratch a line into the wood. A piece of chalk is soft and mushy, and will not so easily provide you with a precision mark, plus it will smear off rather too easily.

Finally, I use files or carving tools, or a block plane for this kind of thing, unless I am really cutting away a lot of material. A "block plane" is a hand-held plane that is specially designed for planning the "end-grain" of a piece of wood. The angle of the steel blade is lower-set and the bevel reversed from a standard jack plane. As always, keep your hand tools sharp as possible for easy work and a minimum of cuss word utterances....

I hope this is helpful,
Bilhelm
bsaragosa@yahoo.com

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