| Evolution of a Steel Drum, Part 1 |
| A steel drum begins its tranformation from industrial container to musical instrument. |
From "Handmade Music"
episode DHMM-301 |
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Ellie Mannette's ingenuity introduced the steel drum to the world. His foresight elevated the "pan" to an instrument worthy of a symphony orchestra. At Mannette Steel Drums, all instruments go through three phases in their evolution from industrial container to musical instrument: construction, preparation and tuning. In addition, all steel drums begin their journey with the same initial processes. Sinking charts the course, followed by smoothing, shaping, and grooving. The basic steps in the construction phase are summarized below.
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The distinct areas on the surface of the pan, delineated by grooves, correspond to individual notes in the finished drum.
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Materials:55-gallon oil drum
1-pound hammer
2-pound hammer
3-pound hammer
6-pound hammer
rubber hammer
power shears
power center-punch
work gloves
permanent marker
ruler
Sinking- Drum maker Glenn Rowsey draws two circles (figure A) to act as "targets" for delivering equal blows to the surface of the oil drum.
- With a six-pound hammer (figure B), Glenn strikes the surface evenly working around the pre-drawn guidelines. The overall goal is to "sink" the surface seven inches below the edge. The trick is to strike flatly so the top is stretched evenly and slowly.
SmoothingThe construction of the "double second" pan resumes with a step called "smoothing". - Smoothing looks a lot like sinking, but the hammer used is lighter and the hits are much more precise. Instead of using the flat surface exclusively Glenn Rowsey alternates the flat and curved ends of the hammer to reduce the marks left from sinking (figures C and D).
The end result of smoothing should be an oil drum converted to something that looks like a giant salad bowl. The bottom of the bowl should be seven inches below the top edge of the oil drum (figures E, F and G).
Using note patterns created by Ellie Mannette's years of experience, Glenn draws out the position of each outer note (figures H and I).
The distinct areas on the surface of the pan, delineated by grooves, correspond to individual notes in the finished drum.
| ALSO IN THIS EPISODE: | | Evolution of a Steel Drum, Part 1 |
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