DIY Network

Drum Table: Finishing Touches and Musical Audition From "Wood Works" episode WWK-612

Three centuries ago, when the British outlawed the playing of conga drums by African slaves, the slaves still created rhythmic sounds using wooden-box crates. Those primitive drums serve as the inspiration for this contempoary wooden drum table.

In this episode, David Marks creates a drum table that serves as both a coffee table and a functional drum. In this final segment, the table is given a wood finish and then given test-run with a skilled percussionist to see how it sounds as a drum.

Materials:

Maple banding stock
Yellow woodworker's glue
Plunge router
Hand scraper
320-grit sandpaper
Tung-oil wood finish
Paint brushes
Rags
Keen sense of rhythm

Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses, and follow proper safety precautions, when working with wood, power-tools, saws, drills, routers, etc.

Safety Alert: Always wear protective gloves, and ensure adequate ventilation, when working with wood stains, solvents and other toxic solutions. When working with some sprays and chemicals, a respirator mask may be required.

advertisement

Figure A

Finishing Steps

Before adding a wood finish, the top "skin" (a.k.a., the tabletop) must be secured to the top of the case. This is done following the same steps that were used earlier to attach the bottom skin on the underside of the case:

• Glue the skin to the top of the case;
  
• Rout a rabbet around the perimeter;
  
• Band the edges with strips of maple;
  
• Flush-trim the banding, cutting off the excess length, using a universal razor saw.

Once the glue has dried, scrape away any excess glue using a hand-scraper and sand the entire surface to 320-grit.

To bring out the patterns of the bubinga and curly maple, we applied a tung-oil finish (figure A). Since the end-grain of the dovetails is more porous than the surrounding wood, it will soak up more oil, resulting in a darker color that creates a distinctive visual contrast.

Drumming represents one of the world's oldest forms of music. To give our drum table the ultimate test, David Marks is joined by guest Papo -- a world-renowned percussionist -- to create some rhythmic sounds.

To give our drum table the final test, David Marks recruited world-renowned percussionist Papo to create some rhythms on this new piece of "musical furniture."

RESOURCES :

Woodworking Techniques: Best Methods for Building Furniture from Fine Woodworking
Author: Editors of Fine Woodworking magazine
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561583456

David Marks Website
David Marks, DIY's Wood Works host, is a master woodworker. For more information on cut sizes and project details, please contact him via his Website at www.djmarks.com

Woodworker's Guide to Wood: Softwoods, Hardwoods, Plywoods, Composite, Veneers
Model: 080836878
Author: Rick Peters
(2000)
Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.
Website: www.sterlingpub.com

Fine Woodworking
A magazine devoted to high-quality craftsmanship in woodworking.
The Taunton Press Inc.
Website: www.taunton.com