BLAMINACK - HOW TO BUILD A KETE HAND DRUM - PART 7

In the area that is red on this picture is where I hit with the hammer. Small strikes to create tiny bends that add up to being a rounded ring…

You can see here that the ring is beginning to fit nicely but the ends still are not touching. Notice that there is still slack and gaps. By careful shaping these gaps will be removed and the ends will touch so that they can be welded closed…

Finished ring shape… now the welding, and grinding…

Now the ring has been welded closed but it does not fit exactly. If you have cut the ring the right length and it is as round as you can get it, it will fit. No matter how round you can get it using these primitive means, the ring is bound to be a bit oblong and oval shaped… that is ok! The drum shell will be a bit oblong and oval shaped too! You just have to rotate the ring around the shell to find where they match up. This needs to be tight, but not so tight that it is damaging the wood. It must be tight enough so that it cannot rattle when the drum is played. But it must be loose enough to get it on and off…. This will take some practice. Most of the time I get it very close the first time, but sometimes adjustments need to be made…

Here is a bit of a blurry picture but you can see that the ring is fitted to the shell in the manner described above … now I need something for the tensioning rods to pass through on this ring… I have used small pipes cut to the right size and welded on but now I prefer something called coupling nuts. They are threaded but that is no big deal, because I get a size larger than the size of the tensioning rod and I drill the threads out…Here is what they look like…

Sorry for the blurry pictures, it is plain to see that I am no photographer!!!!!