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  Janis Wilson Hughes April 27, 2016 at 10:43am

  Turtle, sorry I've been off for a while. I think the Elmer's will work. My drums heads are just as solid now as they were right after the glue dried. Leave the area of the ceramic where you want to glue the skin free of glaze so that the glue can bond with the clay. Let me know how it goes! Sounds very exciting. :)
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  Dave Lynas April 26, 2016 at 4:38am

  I think it would work. Be sure your ceramic is strong. Thick rim for strength and a shape that is even walled and a thick footring. I'm going to try one with a wood body using this glue technique. I broke ribs 7 weeks ago and can't throw pots on my wheel yet. I'll try wood for now.
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  Dave Lynas April 25, 2016 at 10:55pm

  Janet, please do. I think you will like the book.
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  Janis Wilson Hughes April 25, 2016 at 4:27pm

  Dave, not to get all sappy, but I'm touched by your kindness & sharing. I'll send you a message. 
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  Dave Lynas April 25, 2016 at 6:15am

  Watched your gluing on demo. Wonderful! Thanks for your courage. I have found you don't need to stretch the head by hand much. It will do it itself in shrinkage. I have done a dozen or more banjo repairs and made several tack head banjos as well. I have found that just pulling out the folds and wrinkles is all that is needed. The skin gets almost noodle soft so pulling can tear it easily. I've cut the skin just tacking it withe the edge of the tack cutting the hide. Now I gently tack and do minimal stretching. Loved yor video tutorial. Janis you are the best. THANKS! .. Dave
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  Dave Lynas April 25, 2016 at 5:46am

  Wow Janis, thank you so much for your info and long letter. I have not made a clay didgeridoo for a Long time, but I still have several that I made. I extruded them using the spider system in our Baily. I make two tubes and finish each one separately. When fired they are glued together using Marine Tex epoxy. It is a wonderful glue for ceramists. White, water proof, heat resistant up to 300 degrees f. And you can clean up your seam with a damp rag. They sound great. Like a ships horn coming into port. Very deep and mellow. I quit smoking cigarets by playing the didgeridoo. Great breathing exercise. I learned circular breathing and love it's magic. I'm an old guy and owe my age to music and art. Now, I do only what my heart tells me to. If you would like it I will send you a book of my own work in clay. It reveals all of my techniques in drawings. Just message me your address in private and I'll post one to you.
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  Janis Wilson Hughes April 24, 2016 at 10:59pm

  Dave, your time with Susan sounds like it was wonderful. Her flutes are amazing! I have never played a didge myself, but one of my buddies is into them and used to make wooden ones. Do you still make & play ceramic ones? I bet you could whip up a drum pretty easily if you wanted to. 

  The first instrument I made was an ocarina, and I learned how just to make one for my nephew. And when I made the first one 'sing' it was just magical to me! I think making instruments is wonderful. It's a great feeling playing something you made yourself. I know everybody around here shares that. 

  For the drums with the glued on heads, you are right on. I used the method you described (which is the method laid out in Mud to Music). I was really skeptical that regular old Elmer's Glue would work, but it absolutely does. I had a heck of a time finding much info on gluing heads on ceramic drums. I made a video series showing the process I used to help my potter friends. A few of them said that there were going to make one, but only my didge buddy has as far as I know. I think drums are a great instrument to make because everybody can have fun banging on a drum without really needing training. I haven't made any to sell, but I've made 4 for myself. If you're curious how the drum sounds, here's a link to the playlist for my drum making process (video 1 shows making the ceramic drum body, 2 shows stretching and gluing the head on, 3 shows finishing the edge of the head). There's a demo of how the drum sounds at the end of each video, & you can just skip to the end if you want. Throwing, gluing a head on, & finishing a clay bass drum
  
  I also made a ceramic djembe with a traditional rope & rings attachment system. I followed the regular process used for wooden djembe drums. That heading process was a crushing amount of work, but the sucker's got a big deep thump! Here's a super sped up time lapse of how that was made if you are curious or bored. My playing at the end of this one may be a little uninspiring, though.  ;) Time lapse ceramic djembe

  
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  Dave Lynas April 24, 2016 at 3:01pm

  How did you skin your drum? I heard you can use a big truck hose clamp to rim the drum. Using white glue to hold it once set. Then using a razor blade to trim around the clamp. I make flutes and ocarinas also. I got to be an assistant to Susan Rawclffe (featured in Mud to Music). She,s a wonderful musician. Her didgeridoo playing is fantastic. She blew me away. I make ceramic digeridoos also. Thanks for all the info Janis. Keep up the fun...
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  Janis Wilson Hughes April 24, 2016 at 10:19am

  Hi Mick! Thanks a lot! I get really cranky about tone when it comes down to wanting to play for any amount of time, and I'm so pleased I was able to get this warmth. When I first dialed it in last week, I played for hours (probably the first time I've done that in years).
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  Janis Wilson Hughes April 24, 2016 at 10:12am

  Hey Dave, 

  It's pretty cool to combine the fairly open ended design possibilities of clay with making cbgs, but there are definitely limitations & complications with joining clay and wood as you know. Still, it's a fun challenge! I bet you could come up with some very cool designs with all your experience. 

  Yes, I love that book From Mud to Music! I've made several ceramic drums with stretched goat skin heads and a whole bunch of ocarinas. Last year when I was looking for more books on technical drum building, I kept seeing books about building cbgs. That combined with a chance chat with Charles Atchison who lives in my town got me started on the path to making myself some cbgs. I've been a hobby guitarist for a long time, and after my hubby & I made our first 3 string late last summer I was pretty hooked on the cbgs. I've only made a handful by myself. My woodworking skills are pretty basic.

  Here's one of my ceramic drums inspired by the 'clay bass drum' in From Mud to Music.