Hollow a slit drum

[Peter852]

I am a new carver with very little experience and I have taken on the task of carving with hand tools only, a toere drum. This is a log with a 1 inch wide slit along its length, then hollowed out from the slit. Decorative carvings on the top and bottom.
My log is 26 inch tall and 8 inch diameter. The slit is 18 inches long and 1 inch wide.
I have carved out a trough about 6 inches deep, but now I need to hollow the log out. The walls should end up about 2 inches thick or so.
I do not even know what tools I should use.
Any advise would be great.

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

Just to let you know you're not being ignored, I don't either.

That being said, I think my first try would be a large drill bit, probably a forsterner, and just drill holes and cut out between them with a chisel.

Hope somebody who really knows what they are doing come along though.

[bassman]

Hi Peter,

I toyed with making a didgeridoo at one point from a solid tree branch or tree trunk. The process involves sawing the log in half length ways then hollowing out each half to the desired wall thickness then gluing the two back together again. I have seen didgeridoos made this way and you can hardly see the joint. In your case I would place the joint horizontally or perpendicular to the slot. I've seen a YouTube clip of a guy doing this with hand tools, straight saw to cut the wood and a large gouge to hollow it out. In your case you can use a small concave adze or just a large bent gouge and a mallet. The two halfs are usually glued with epoxy for a stronger joint.

Native Love flutes are also made in this way and are usually made from cedar.

Hope this helps and good luck. Let us know how you make out

Elliott

[Ron T]

Hello and welcome, Peter. It's nice to have you here with us. Like Bassman, I, too, have made didgeridoos by splitting the log, hollowing it out and gluing the two halves together.

[Smee]

Uuhm, just a thought! Native didgeridoos were made from branches hollowed out by termites. Having said that, how about starting with a log that is already hollow?

[joshm]

iorana peter,

The toere drum use to be made with special curved knives which dug out the inside of the log. now days i know people who use a chainsaw to make the slit, then gently chisel the inside of the drum out until they have gone in far enough. doesnt have to be pretty on the inside, ive seen some hacked out toeres!! hope this helps! also ball nut tree logs were commonly used in tahiti and hawaii for the toere

good luck bro

[joshm]

ps glad you're taking interest in the pacific arts!

[gtech]

I can see myself making of of these...



There is one guy who explains how to make one here Drum Journey: World Drums - Making Drums and Percussion Index.

Gilles

[Donsexton]

Let me start by saying that I love to use hand tools some time I just don’t want to hear the noise from a power tool. But you cant beat the speed that you can achieve with a modern high performance grinder with a high quality burr. I want you to look at the long tapered burr it is 41/2” x 11/4” destroys wood fast and fairly smooth. The mushroom shaped burr can hollow out fast and wont load up.