How to: Make a Twist-Drum

Category: Shelter / Difficulty Level: 2
Posted: 2010-01-18 11:22:45
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Recycled part of the stump of Christmas Tree...burned it hollow for the frame. Used deer rawhide from tanning last Summer for drum-head and lashing.

Dogwood handle a-fixed with pine pitch, as well as dogwood beaters tethered with buckskin, and buckskin handle wrap.

Instructions

ABOUTTHEIMG

1). Start with coals or embers from a fire. Here I have a good fire going in the fireplace. I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS PROJECT INDOORS!! Be very careful not to burn yourself!

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2). Place coal(s) on the center of your wood stock. Here I sectioned out a piece of the Christmas tree (recycling that ol' tree ;-)

Take a reed, straw, or hollow tube and blow through it to increase the heat of the coal. This speeds up the process and aids in the control of the burn...

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3). Blowing may cause your coal to flare up. BE CAREFUL! If this happens allow the flames to die down before blowing on the coal again.

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4). You will then have a charred area in your wood stock. Using a rock or small knife begin to scrape away the loose char...

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5). By scraping away the loose char you will start to create a pit in your wood stock. Repeat the process from step 2.

As you add coal(s), blow/burn, and scrape your pit will become bigger and deeper. Remember to use your straw to control the rate and size of the burn.

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6). Here I have gotten pretty deep and wide with the burn. You can see a flare-up in this pic. Sometimes you can just blow on the char to control the burn without adding any additional coals.

Note how the wood stock is placed on a block of wood to proctect the fireplace surface.

ABOUTTHEIMG

7). Here, I have pretty much burned all the way through. I would now use my knife and start to scrape away and shape the interior of my drum-body. I may even try and burn from the other end to create uniformity of the interior.

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8). This is the finished wood stock hollowed out in to the start of the drum-body. I have scraped and sanded the interior to try and get as uniform of thickness all the way around as possible.

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