Collect the material
You will need two pieces of good quality one inch thick plywood, 11 1/4 inches wide and 18 inches long and two 12 inch x 18 inch pieces on the sides of the drum. The upper and lower parts should be 12 inches square. The box is held together by 1 & # xBD; ‘wood screws and carpenters’ glue. You will need an electric drill with a 1/8 inch drill and a 4-inch hole saw to cut the sound hole. Wire snares can be purchased from a music store or recycled from an old snare drum. A half-inch wood screw will secure the wire rods. A sandpaper and sandpaper are needed to sand the edges smoothly. Choose a wood stain and clear polyurethane for your Cajon finish.
Drill the sound hole
Use a four-inch hole saw connected to an electric drill to cut a sound hole in one of the 12 ‘x 18 holes should be placed approximately so that the bottom of the hole is in the horizontal center of the board, and the center of the hole is exactly in the vertical center.
Attach the strings
Attach the strings to the other 12 ‘x 18’ side piece with half inch wood screws. The placement of the snare should go over the width of the side, about two inches down from what will be the top of the drum. Mounting the Drawer Drill holes two inches apart in the facing sides of the 12 ‘x 18’ drum side panels, 1/4 inch in from the edge. Apply a bead of wood glue along the outer edge of one of the shorter pieces and place it against the side panel, screwing the two pieces together to form an ‘L’ shaped figure. Repeat on the following two pages. Put the sides together after driving Tie a glue along the edges where they will join. Screw the two ‘L’ pieces together to form a hollow box.
Attach the top and bottom
Drill holes around the two 12 ‘pieces approximately two inches apart and 1/4 inch from the edges on all four sides of both pieces. Place the side pieces upright and place a bead of wood glue around the top edge, place a 12-inch square on top of the sides and secure with wood screws. Turn the Cajon drum over and put wood glue around the edges and put the bottom in place. secure with wood screws.
Finish the drum
Sand all sides of the drum, starting with 60-grit sandpaper; followed by 100-sand sandpaper and then a third time with 120-sand sandpaper. Use a soft absorbent cloth to apply wood stain to the top and sides of the Cajon drum. Allow the stain to dry thoroughly before applying at least one coat of clear polyurethane. There is no need to use stain and polyurethane on the bottom. When the polyurethane has dried, you are ready to sit and play your new Cajon drum. What sounds like a combination of conga drums, bongo drums and marching snare drums? The answer is a Cajon (pronounced ka-hone), a percussion instrument made of a wooden box. Music stores sell Cajon drums that start at around SEK 200, but it is possible to build your own for a fraction of that cost. You have an instrument that sounds as good as the ones you can buy. Since you sit on the Cajon to play it, the drum also acts as an attractive piece of furniture.
Source:danspela.com