Making and tuning a perfect sounding 2 octaves Wooden Tongue Drum (by a musician & for musicians).
Here is how I made my Tongue Drum. I am not a professional woodworker, I do have some basic skills and tools but you don’t have to be a carpenter to make this.
The range is D3-C5, almost two octaves. It is diatonic, and tuned in C major scale.
The board is padouk, 18mm thick, 220mm x 350mm.
The frame is ashwood, 160mm high, 18mm thick.
I created my own design, you can create your own too without fear. The shape isn’t really important, you can adjust everything with an accurate tuning process.
Tools needed :
a jigsaw with a narrow blade
a good plane
a gouge & a wood chisel
a router
a drill
a miter saw (mine is not large enough so I had to use my ribbon saw)
some clamps, straps, and wood glue
The woodwork isn’t perfect but the sound is as good as expected ( I’m a professional musician ).
I have also built a bass tongue drum, an octave lower but only 7 notes, you will see it at the end of the video.
Here is a better sounding