Need some advice on gluing up a box. This is a standard box about 6" x 11"
solid wood with rabbit joints on corners (for appearance). Bottom is 1/4"
ply glued to the box body, no problem yet. The top is 11/16" hard maple with
tongues cut in it to make a drum head. I need to fasten the top to the body
in such a way that there is no vibration in the top except in the tongues.
Gluing all four of the top to the box body works fine except that I get
wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum. Any Ideas on how to
attach the top in such away as to allow the wood movment but hold the drum
top to the box. The maple is kiln dried, and seems stable in about 65% of
the drums the rest get cracks. Finish is poly on the inside of the box and
drum head (sprayed on) outside is oil. tried poly on outside no difference
in cracking and liked oil better. Any advice would be helpful.

Mon, Jan 22, 2007, 10:24pm (EST-1)
(sweet*sawdust) doth mumble:
snip Any advice would be helpful.

I read it, but I musta missed the type of glue you used. .



JOAT
Bugrit. Millennium hand AND shrimp.

Hard (for me) to follow description completly but it seems like maybe
treat the top like a panel in a fram where you would cut a rabbit on
all 4 sides of the top and have them fit in a slot. Maybe even use the
rubber balls they sell to take up the slop in the slots.


sweet sawdust wrote:
Need some advice on gluing up a box. This is a standard box about 6" x 11"
solid wood with rabbit joints on corners (for appearance). Bottom is 1/4"
ply glued to the box body, no problem yet. The top is 11/16" hard maple with
tongues cut in it to make a drum head. I need to fasten the top to the body
in such a way that there is no vibration in the top except in the tongues.
Gluing all four of the top to the box body works fine except that I get
wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum. Any Ideas on how to
attach the top in such away as to allow the wood movment but hold the drum
top to the box. The maple is kiln dried, and seems stable in about 65% of
the drums the rest get cracks. Finish is poly on the inside of the box and
drum head (sprayed on) outside is oil. tried poly on outside no difference
in cracking and liked oil better. Any advice would be helpful.

Glue is tight bond II
"J T" wrote in message
...
Mon, Jan 22, 2007, 10:24pm (EST-1)
(sweet sawdust) doth mumble:
snip Any advice would be helpful.

I read it, but I musta missed the type of glue you used. .



JOAT
Bugrit. Millennium hand AND shrimp.

Tried putting one in a dado cut and it was a no go, top needs to be flush.
Tried the rabbit joint had bad results, slots for tongues would squeeze to
the point the tongues wouldn't vibrate on wood expansion or the crack would
occur on shrinkage.
"SonomaProducts.com" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hard (for me) to follow description completly but it seems like maybe
treat the top like a panel in a fram where you would cut a rabbit on
all 4 sides of the top and have them fit in a slot. Maybe even use the
rubber balls they sell to take up the slop in the slots.


sweet sawdust wrote:
Need some advice on gluing up a box. This is a standard box about 6" x
11"
solid wood with rabbit joints on corners (for appearance). Bottom is 1/4"
ply glued to the box body, no problem yet. The top is 11/16" hard maple
with
tongues cut in it to make a drum head. I need to fasten the top to the
body
in such a way that there is no vibration in the top except in the
tongues.
Gluing all four of the top to the box body works fine except that I get
wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum. Any Ideas on how
to
attach the top in such away as to allow the wood movment but hold the
drum
top to the box. The maple is kiln dried, and seems stable in about 65%
of
the drums the rest get cracks. Finish is poly on the inside of the box
and
drum head (sprayed on) outside is oil. tried poly on outside no
difference
in cracking and liked oil better. Any advice would be helpful.

sweet sawdust wrote:
Need some advice on gluing up a box. This is a standard box about 6" x 11"
solid wood with rabbit joints on corners (for appearance). Bottom is 1/4"
ply glued to the box body, no problem yet. The top is 11/16" hard maple with
tongues cut in it to make a drum head. I need to fasten the top to the body
in such a way that there is no vibration in the top except in the tongues.
Gluing all four of the top to the box body works fine except that I get
wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum. Any Ideas on how to
attach the top in such away as to allow the wood movment but hold the drum
top to the box. The maple is kiln dried, and seems stable in about 65% of
the drums the rest get cracks. Finish is poly on the inside of the box and
drum head (sprayed on) outside is oil. tried poly on outside no difference
in cracking and liked oil better. Any advice would be helpful.

I made 2 of these for last Christmas:

http://jtpryan.smugmug.com/gallery/1080675/1/50212914

I used Paduk for the top's. How much are you taking off at the hinge?
Is this where the cracks occur? What are you using for mallet's? I
use superballs. Anyway, I just glued mine on with yellow glue and a
ton of clamps. Been over a year without a problem. My sides are miter
joints with horizontal splines, I have no bottom as I liked the sound
better without one.

-Jim

Very Very Nice!!! No Hinge, top just glued straight to the box. Crack
occurs at one of the end cuts for the tongues. Most of the time the cracks
occur when I take them to outside shows where the temp/humidity changes are
severe over a short period of time. Have had the same problem with other box
type items, but not to the extreme (maybe one out of a hundred). Mine look
similar to yours, not anywhere near as fancy, but are toys for children,
cost is a strong concern. That's why maple instead of Paduk or other wood.
For the mallets I use superballs also. I find that the superballs have a
tendency to crumble after being drilled and used a lot so I coat them with
"dip It". Before coating I was having about a 70% failure in the sticks
after a month of use. After coating I am down to a 1% failure after one year
of use. and that is by kids banging the daylights out of them.
"jtpr" wrote in message
oups.com...

sweet sawdust wrote:
Need some advice on gluing up a box. This is a standard box about 6" x
11"
solid wood with rabbit joints on corners (for appearance). Bottom is 1/4"
ply glued to the box body, no problem yet. The top is 11/16" hard maple
with
tongues cut in it to make a drum head. I need to fasten the top to the
body
in such a way that there is no vibration in the top except in the
tongues.
Gluing all four of the top to the box body works fine except that I get
wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum. Any Ideas on how
to
attach the top in such away as to allow the wood movment but hold the
drum
top to the box. The maple is kiln dried, and seems stable in about 65%
of
the drums the rest get cracks. Finish is poly on the inside of the box
and
drum head (sprayed on) outside is oil. tried poly on outside no
difference
in cracking and liked oil better. Any advice would be helpful.

I made 2 of these for last Christmas:

http://jtpryan.smugmug.com/gallery/1080675/1/50212914

I used Paduk for the top's. How much are you taking off at the hinge?
Is this where the cracks occur? What are you using for mallet's? I
use superballs. Anyway, I just glued mine on with yellow glue and a
ton of clamps. Been over a year without a problem. My sides are miter
joints with horizontal splines, I have no bottom as I liked the sound
better without one.

-Jim

jtpr wrote:

http://jtpryan.smugmug.com/gallery/1080675/1/50212914
-Jim

Hey Jim, what did you use for the hinge on the travel log? Is that
leather? I'm working on a family scrapbook design for my wife's family
and that looks like a pretty nice job. Looks like it's about 3/8 thick
at the front and 1/4 at the back. VERY nice looking binder.

Dan

sweet sawdust wrote:

Gluing all four of the top to the box body works fine except that I get
wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum.

Firstly make sure that the timber is dry and stable, with all parts
already at equilibrium humidity with where they're going to be stored
afterwards. The less it has to move, the less trouble it will cause.

Just glued butt joints should do you, but bring the ends of the tongues
near to the ends so that there's less width of "contracting" timber.
The limiting length of the shrinkage is the same, but there's less
force involved and so the limited elasticity of the glue / timber is
enough to cope. Obviously the tongues themselves aren't a problem
because the slots absorb any movement.

Mine are glued up with Titebond II and have dovetailed corners, just
for looks. Top's a simple butt though.
(and yes, superballs on sticks)


If you have old FWW copies, or their "Thinsg to Make" reprint book or
even if you search this ng for an old post of mine, you can find more
details
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/rec...8c5cff8627cc08

sweet sawdust wrote:

Need some advice on gluing up a box.**This*is*a*standard*box*about*6"*x*11"
solid wood with rabbit joints on corners (for appearance). Bottom is 1/4"
ply glued to the box body, no problem yet. The top is 11/16" hard maple with
tongues cut in it to make a drum head.**I*need*to*fasten*the*top*to*the*body
in such a way that there is no vibration in the top except in the tongues.
Gluing all four of the**top*to*the*box*body*works*fine*except*that*I* get
wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum.

Seems to me the plywood is part of the problem, assuming the grain in the
sides is horizontal. Make the bottom of the same wood as the top and glue it
the same way. Finish with shellac inside and out to minimize moisture
changes.

The ultimate solution would be to make the ends floating panels. Think of the
tongues as being on the side of a tall skinny box :-).

--
It's turtles, all the way down

Plywood is not an issue here since I have had the same results with solid
wood, the ply makes a better sounding board then the solid wood, for less
cost. Wood in sides is solid 3/4 stock either poplar or oak with the grain
running horizintal. Don't know how to float the the the end panels and come
up with a solid box, that is one of the delimas I am having. Maybe making
the end boards of the box with a vertical grain would allow both to move in
much the same way and reduce stress?? any thoughts on this?..
"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message
...
sweet sawdust wrote:

Need some advice on gluing up a box. This is a standard box about 6" x 11"
solid wood with rabbit joints on corners (for appearance). Bottom is 1/4"
ply glued to the box body, no problem yet. The top is 11/16" hard maple
with
tongues cut in it to make a drum head. I need to fasten the top to the
body
in such a way that there is no vibration in the top except in the tongues.
Gluing all four of the top to the box body works fine except that I get
wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum.

Seems to me the plywood is part of the problem, assuming the grain in the
sides is horizontal. Make the bottom of the same wood as the top and glue it
the same way. Finish with shellac inside and out to minimize moisture
changes.

The ultimate solution would be to make the ends floating panels. Think of
the
tongues as being on the side of a tall skinny box :-).

--
It's turtles, all the way down

wrote:
jtpr wrote:

http://jtpryan.smugmug.com/gallery/1080675/1/50212914
-Jim

Hey Jim, what did you use for the hinge on the travel log? Is that
leather? I'm working on a family scrapbook design for my wife's family
and that looks like a pretty nice job. Looks like it's about 3/8 thick
at the front and 1/4 at the back. VERY nice looking binder.

Dan

Dan,

I can't take full credit for that. My son designed it and made the
bulk of it with me offering help. It was a gift for his girlfriend who
was going away to do a semester in India. That is a map of India on
the front he cut on the band saw out of purple heart. Yes, the binding
is leather he bought at a local leather/shoe store. He bought nice
writing paper at a stationary store and had it bound at Kinko's with
black cardboard front and back, then glued that to the wood.

-Jim

sweet sawdust wrote:
Very Very Nice!!! No Hinge, top just glued straight to the box. Crack
occurs at one of the end cuts for the tongues. Most of the time the cracks
occur when I take them to outside shows where the temp/humidity changes are
severe over a short period of time. Have had the same problem with other box
type items, but not to the extreme (maybe one out of a hundred). Mine look
similar to yours, not anywhere near as fancy, but are toys for children,
cost is a strong concern. That's why maple instead of Paduk or other wood.
For the mallets I use superballs also. I find that the superballs have a
tendency to crumble after being drilled and used a lot so I coat them with
"dip It". Before coating I was having about a 70% failure in the sticks
after a month of use. After coating I am down to a 1% failure after one year
of use. and that is by kids banging the daylights out of them.
"jtpr" wrote in message
oups.com...

sweet sawdust wrote:
Need some advice on gluing up a box. This is a standard box about 6" x
11"
solid wood with rabbit joints on corners (for appearance). Bottom is 1/4"
ply glued to the box body, no problem yet. The top is 11/16" hard maple
with
tongues cut in it to make a drum head. I need to fasten the top to the
body
in such a way that there is no vibration in the top except in the
tongues.
Gluing all four of the top to the box body works fine except that I get
wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum. Any Ideas on how
to
attach the top in such away as to allow the wood movment but hold the
drum
top to the box. The maple is kiln dried, and seems stable in about 65%
of
the drums the rest get cracks. Finish is poly on the inside of the box
and
drum head (sprayed on) outside is oil. tried poly on outside no
difference
in cracking and liked oil better. Any advice would be helpful.

I made 2 of these for last Christmas:

http://jtpryan.smugmug.com/gallery/1080675/1/50212914

I used Paduk for the top's. How much are you taking off at the hinge?
Is this where the cracks occur? What are you using for mallet's? I
use superballs. Anyway, I just glued mine on with yellow glue and a
ton of clamps. Been over a year without a problem. My sides are miter
joints with horizontal splines, I have no bottom as I liked the sound
better without one.

-Jim




Thank you for the compliment. Actually, by hinge I was referring to
where the tongue attaches to the rest of the top. I would get the tone
by chiseling away at the bottom of that point. If you go too deep it
will crack. But everything I read said to go with a mahogany type
wood. In fact when I did a Google for "tongue drum" I found most of
the results had Paduk for a top, so I went with that. The sides of one
are birds eye the other curly maple. But I understand what you mean
about cost. If the children are young I don't think I would use
expensive wood. My boys are both in college, so they are (a bit) more
gentle. The drums were quite a hit in the dorm and are cool when you
stick a mic in them.

If cost is a concern, the kids might have fun with the Cajone's that
are also on that page. Easy to make, and not expensive using birch
ply. I have plans if you would like them. They also have a nice
sound, but could drive you crazy if you get a bunch of kids beating on
them. Give some to the brother in law's kids...;+}

-Jim

On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 09:07:16 -0600, "sweet sawdust"
wrote:

Very Very Nice!!! No Hinge, top just glued straight to the box. Crack
occurs at one of the end cuts for the tongues. Most of the time the cracks
occur when I take them to outside shows where the temp/humidity changes are
severe over a short period of time. Have had the same problem with other box
type items, but not to the extreme (maybe one out of a hundred). Mine look
similar to yours, not anywhere near as fancy, but are toys for children,
cost is a strong concern. That's why maple instead of Paduk or other wood.
For the mallets I use superballs also. I find that the superballs have a
tendency to crumble after being drilled and used a lot so I coat them with
"dip It". Before coating I was having about a 70% failure in the sticks
after a month of use. After coating I am down to a 1% failure after one year
of use. and that is by kids banging the daylights out of them.

Just a thought, but it seems to me that orienting the ends with the
grain running top to bottom rather than side to side would go a long
way toward addressing the problem you are describing. The ends
wouldn't be as strong that way but I find myself wondering just how
strong they really need to be in this application..

"jtpr" wrote in message
roups.com...

sweet sawdust wrote:
Need some advice on gluing up a box. This is a standard box about 6" x
11"
solid wood with rabbit joints on corners (for appearance). Bottom is 1/4"
ply glued to the box body, no problem yet. The top is 11/16" hard maple
with
tongues cut in it to make a drum head. I need to fasten the top to the
body
in such a way that there is no vibration in the top except in the
tongues.
Gluing all four of the top to the box body works fine except that I get
wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum. Any Ideas on how
to
attach the top in such away as to allow the wood movment but hold the
drum
top to the box. The maple is kiln dried, and seems stable in about 65%
of
the drums the rest get cracks. Finish is poly on the inside of the box
and
drum head (sprayed on) outside is oil. tried poly on outside no
difference
in cracking and liked oil better. Any advice would be helpful.

I made 2 of these for last Christmas:

http://jtpryan.smugmug.com/gallery/1080675/1/50212914

I used Paduk for the top's. How much are you taking off at the hinge?
Is this where the cracks occur? What are you using for mallet's? I
use superballs. Anyway, I just glued mine on with yellow glue and a
ton of clamps. Been over a year without a problem. My sides are miter
joints with horizontal splines, I have no bottom as I liked the sound
better without one.

-Jim

Curran Copeland wrote:

Plywood is not an issue here since I have had the same results with solid
wood, the ply makes a better sounding board then the solid wood, for less
cost.**Wood*in*sides*is*solid*3/4*stock*either*poplar*or*oak*with*the*grain
running horizintal.**Don't*know*how*to*float*the*the*the*e nd*panels*and*come
up with a solid box, that is one of the delimas I am having.**Maybe*making
the end boards of the box with a vertical grain would allow both to move in

Making the ends vertical would just move the stress to the end/side joints.

How about making the whole thing of plywood? Veneered if you want to get
fancy.

There must be a solution to your problem, there's a lot of tongue drums out
there :-).

--
It's turtles, all the way down

There a lot of answers to the problem and plywood may be one.
"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message
...
Curran Copeland wrote:

Plywood is not an issue here since I have had the same results with solid
wood, the ply makes a better sounding board then the solid wood, for less
cost. Wood in sides is solid 3/4 stock either poplar or oak with the grain
running horizintal. Don't know how to float the the the end panels and
come
up with a solid box, that is one of the delimas I am having. Maybe making
the end boards of the box with a vertical grain would allow both to move
in

Making the ends vertical would just move the stress to the end/side joints.

How about making the whole thing of plywood? Veneered if you want to get
fancy.

There must be a solution to your problem, there's a lot of tongue drums out
there :-).

--
It's turtles, all the way down

I would love to have the cojones pattern if it is avaible for commercial
sales.
"jtpr" wrote in message
ups.com...

sweet sawdust wrote:
Very Very Nice!!! No Hinge, top just glued straight to the box. Crack
occurs at one of the end cuts for the tongues. Most of the time the
cracks
occur when I take them to outside shows where the temp/humidity changes
are
severe over a short period of time. Have had the same problem with other
box
type items, but not to the extreme (maybe one out of a hundred). Mine
look
similar to yours, not anywhere near as fancy, but are toys for children,
cost is a strong concern. That's why maple instead of Paduk or other
wood.
For the mallets I use superballs also. I find that the superballs have a
tendency to crumble after being drilled and used a lot so I coat them
with
"dip It". Before coating I was having about a 70% failure in the sticks
after a month of use. After coating I am down to a 1% failure after one
year
of use. and that is by kids banging the daylights out of them.
"jtpr" wrote in message
oups.com...

sweet sawdust wrote:
Need some advice on gluing up a box. This is a standard box about 6"
x
11"
solid wood with rabbit joints on corners (for appearance). Bottom is
1/4"
ply glued to the box body, no problem yet. The top is 11/16" hard
maple
with
tongues cut in it to make a drum head. I need to fasten the top to
the
body
in such a way that there is no vibration in the top except in the
tongues.
Gluing all four of the top to the box body works fine except that I
get
wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum. Any Ideas on
how
to
attach the top in such away as to allow the wood movment but hold the
drum
top to the box. The maple is kiln dried, and seems stable in about
65%
of
the drums the rest get cracks. Finish is poly on the inside of the box
and
drum head (sprayed on) outside is oil. tried poly on outside no
difference
in cracking and liked oil better. Any advice would be helpful.

I made 2 of these for last Christmas:

http://jtpryan.smugmug.com/gallery/1080675/1/50212914

I used Paduk for the top's. How much are you taking off at the hinge?
Is this where the cracks occur? What are you using for mallet's? I
use superballs. Anyway, I just glued mine on with yellow glue and a
ton of clamps. Been over a year without a problem. My sides are miter
joints with horizontal splines, I have no bottom as I liked the sound
better without one.

-Jim




Thank you for the compliment. Actually, by hinge I was referring to
where the tongue attaches to the rest of the top. I would get the tone
by chiseling away at the bottom of that point. If you go too deep it
will crack. But everything I read said to go with a mahogany type
wood. In fact when I did a Google for "tongue drum" I found most of
the results had Paduk for a top, so I went with that. The sides of one
are birds eye the other curly maple. But I understand what you mean
about cost. If the children are young I don't think I would use
expensive wood. My boys are both in college, so they are (a bit) more
gentle. The drums were quite a hit in the dorm and are cool when you
stick a mic in them.

If cost is a concern, the kids might have fun with the Cajone's that
are also on that page. Easy to make, and not expensive using birch
ply. I have plans if you would like them. They also have a nice
sound, but could drive you crazy if you get a bunch of kids beating on
them. Give some to the brother in law's kids...;+}

-Jim

That may be the answer, change grain direction. Strength is not an issue,
the joint I use now is end grain to end grain and is more then ample. Your
joint would be a step up in strength.
"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 09:07:16 -0600, "sweet sawdust"
wrote:

Very Very Nice!!! No Hinge, top just glued straight to the box. Crack
occurs at one of the end cuts for the tongues. Most of the time the
cracks
occur when I take them to outside shows where the temp/humidity changes
are
severe over a short period of time. Have had the same problem with other
box
type items, but not to the extreme (maybe one out of a hundred). Mine
look
similar to yours, not anywhere near as fancy, but are toys for children,
cost is a strong concern. That's why maple instead of Paduk or other
wood.
For the mallets I use superballs also. I find that the superballs have a
tendency to crumble after being drilled and used a lot so I coat them with
"dip It". Before coating I was having about a 70% failure in the sticks
after a month of use. After coating I am down to a 1% failure after one
year
of use. and that is by kids banging the daylights out of them.

Just a thought, but it seems to me that orienting the ends with the
grain running top to bottom rather than side to side would go a long
way toward addressing the problem you are describing. The ends
wouldn't be as strong that way but I find myself wondering just how
strong they really need to be in this application..

"jtpr" wrote in message
groups.com...

sweet sawdust wrote:
Need some advice on gluing up a box. This is a standard box about 6" x
11"
solid wood with rabbit joints on corners (for appearance). Bottom is
1/4"
ply glued to the box body, no problem yet. The top is 11/16" hard maple
with
tongues cut in it to make a drum head. I need to fasten the top to the
body
in such a way that there is no vibration in the top except in the
tongues.
Gluing all four of the top to the box body works fine except that I
get
wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum. Any Ideas on how
to
attach the top in such away as to allow the wood movment but hold the
drum
top to the box. The maple is kiln dried, and seems stable in about
65%
of
the drums the rest get cracks. Finish is poly on the inside of the box
and
drum head (sprayed on) outside is oil. tried poly on outside no
difference
in cracking and liked oil better. Any advice would be helpful.

I made 2 of these for last Christmas:

http://jtpryan.smugmug.com/gallery/1080675/1/50212914

I used Paduk for the top's. How much are you taking off at the hinge?
Is this where the cracks occur? What are you using for mallet's? I
use superballs. Anyway, I just glued mine on with yellow glue and a
ton of clamps. Been over a year without a problem. My sides are miter
joints with horizontal splines, I have no bottom as I liked the sound
better without one.

-Jim

I hope I haven't misrepresented my item here, I am making it to sell as a
toy. It is not tuned just a noise maker. The cost factor is an issue
because I sell them and would like to make as much profit as I can. In the
past 2 years I have made several hundred of the drums. I am always trying
to improve quality, lower cost and increase profit (not always easy). This
not an art object just a kids toy that goes with the other kids toys I make
and sell. I am always looking for new toys to make especially ones with a
historical connection. I try to make a version that is cheap enough to let
kids buy them and durable enough for them to give to their kids. While it is
not my intention when making a toy I do wind up giving a few away at craft
shows, Kids know a sucker when they see one.
"sweet sawdust" wrote in message
...
Need some advice on gluing up a box. This is a standard box about 6" x
11" solid wood with rabbit joints on corners (for appearance). Bottom is
1/4" ply glued to the box body, no problem yet. The top is 11/16" hard
maple with tongues cut in it to make a drum head. I need to fasten the
top to the body in such a way that there is no vibration in the top except
in the tongues. Gluing all four of the top to the box body works fine
except that I get wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum.
Any Ideas on how to attach the top in such away as to allow the wood
movment but hold the drum top to the box. The maple is kiln dried, and
seems stable in about 65% of the drums the rest get cracks. Finish is poly
on the inside of the box and drum head (sprayed on) outside is oil. tried
poly on outside no difference in cracking and liked oil better. Any
advice would be helpful.

If you send me mail I'll respond with the plans. They were publicly
posted on a web site by somebody that made them, so there is no charge.
You can email me: ryan at jimryan dot com.

On Jan 23, 7:59 pm, "sweet sawdust" wrote:
I would love to have the cojones pattern if it is avaible for commercial
sales."jtpr" wrote in oglegroups.com...



sweet sawdust wrote:
Very Very Nice!!! No Hinge, top just glued straight to the box. Crack
occurs at one of the end cuts for the tongues. Most of the time the
cracks
occur when I take them to outside shows where the temp/humidity changes
are
severe over a short period of time. Have had the same problem with other
box
type items, but not to the extreme (maybe one out of a hundred). Mine
look
similar to yours, not anywhere near as fancy, but are toys for children,
cost is a strong concern. That's why maple instead of Paduk or other
wood.
For the mallets I use superballs also. I find that the superballs have a
tendency to crumble after being drilled and used a lot so I coat them
with
"dip It". Before coating I was having about a 70% failure in the sticks
after a month of use. After coating I am down to a 1% failure after one
year
of use. and that is by kids banging the daylights out of them.
"jtpr" wrote in message
groups.com...

sweet sawdust wrote:
Need some advice on gluing up a box. This is a standard box about 6"
x
11"
solid wood with rabbit joints on corners (for appearance). Bottom is
1/4"
ply glued to the box body, no problem yet. The top is 11/16" hard
maple
with
tongues cut in it to make a drum head. I need to fasten the top to
the
body
in such a way that there is no vibration in the top except in the
tongues.
Gluing all four of the top to the box body works fine except that I
get
wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum. Any Ideas on
how
to
attach the top in such away as to allow the wood movment but hold the
drum
top to the box. The maple is kiln dried, and seems stable in about
65%
of
the drums the rest get cracks. Finish is poly on the inside of the box
and
drum head (sprayed on) outside is oil. tried poly on outside no
difference
in cracking and liked oil better. Any advice would be helpful.

I made 2 of these for last Christmas:

http://jtpryan.smugmug.com/gallery/1080675/1/50212914

I used Paduk for the top's. How much are you taking off at the hinge?
Is this where the cracks occur? What are you using for mallet's? I
use superballs. Anyway, I just glued mine on with yellow glue and a
ton of clamps. Been over a year without a problem. My sides are miter
joints with horizontal splines, I have no bottom as I liked the sound
better without one.

-Jim

Thank you for the compliment. Actually, by hinge I was referring to
where the tongue attaches to the rest of the top. I would get the tone
by chiseling away at the bottom of that point. If you go too deep it
will crack. But everything I read said to go with a mahogany type
wood. In fact when I did a Google for "tongue drum" I found most of
the results had Paduk for a top, so I went with that. The sides of one
are birds eye the other curly maple. But I understand what you mean
about cost. If the children are young I don't think I would use
expensive wood. My boys are both in college, so they are (a bit) more
gentle. The drums were quite a hit in the dorm and are cool when you
stick a mic in them.

If cost is a concern, the kids might have fun with the Cajone's that
are also on that page. Easy to make, and not expensive using birch
ply. I have plans if you would like them. They also have a nice
sound, but could drive you crazy if you get a bunch of kids beating on
them. Give some to the brother in law's kids...;+}

-Jim

A totally enclosed 6 board box with mitered edges will blow
itself apart in time - even if all the boards are the same wood.
Mix woods and it gets worse.

BUT - if the box is made out of ply - with lock mitered corners,
and then veneered - the veneer may split but the box will stay
together and closed. Getting the right mitered profile on the
right edges is fun but it is do-able - see

http://web.hypersurf.com/~charlie2/L...MiterBox1.html

They make two versions of the lock miter bit, one for 1/2"
and another for 3/4".

charlie b