build

So you want to know the secrets...

There are a few schools of thought on how cajons should be built. One school suggests you build a frame for structure, attaching thin sheets of plywood on all surfaces, and add snare wire behind the playing surface. The other school, of which I am a member, advocates that the sides themselves be the structure, with no snare wire behind the playing surface. The first school's drums have no tone, make an awful rattle, and lack any real bass. The second school's drums have a rich sound and are extremely sturdy.

Here you will find descriptions and pictures of each step I take in the drum-making process. This is a documentation of all that went into making Michael's drum. Feel free to duplicate my work, or make suggestions for improvement.

planning

One of the first steps to making a drum is obviously to decide which kind of drum you want to make, and what its dimensions will be. These dimensions will determine how much wood you need, what size to cut it, and what size hole you need for a given tone. Head on over to the calculate page to get started. Once that's done, go buy some wood.

cutting

Now that you've got your wood, it's time to start cutting it. Each pic below has a caption describing what's going on. I have a Jet contractor table saw and it is plenty accurate for my needs. The sled is homemade and isn't anything special.

the hole

Cutting the hole should be done before any glueing takes place. This will allow you to use your router to round the both the inside and outside edges of the hole. It's also just a lot easier to manage a single piece of wood than a whole drum.

gluing

I use Titebond II to glue up all the drum pieces. Enough to cover the joint area, but not enough to make your pieces super slippery when in contact. Enough to squirt just a little out of the joint when clamps are applied.