Someone once asked me if I could make a wooden flute and while I can certainly make a wooden tube, I have no idea where the holes should go to make it into a musical instrument. Since then, I have had a long interest in musical instruments made from wood. One of my first projects on the lathe was to make an end pin holder for a student cellist. Thinking about the cello itself as a wooden instrument, I wondered what features of woodworking lent themselves to better sound.
A baby rattle is another lathe project that features sound and I started making them with two separate chambers with different sized rattlers for a two-tone effect.
One day, I wondered if I could make a wooden kazoo on the lathe. I had found some directions for a homemade kazoo on the internet using a toilet paper roll and some waxed paper and a rubber band. I thought I could adapt the design for the lathe but it didn’t work well and now it’s banished to my unfinished projects bin.
A couple weeks ago, I got a commission to make a gavel for a judge and as I was making it, I thought about how together with it’s sounding block, it too is a percussion instrument. I had never made a gavel before, so it was an exciting project to work on.
After making the sounding block, I tested it out for sound quality. The smack of a gavel in a courtroom in such a distinctive sound, but I was left guessing which features are required to produce it. The first version did not sound good, the pitch felt too high. I had undercut the bottom too much. Usually when I am trying to copy an object, I need to see it in person to fully understand how to reproduce it, but I’ve never seen the bottom of a sounding block. I decided to flatten it out as much as possible.
In the end, I think it sounds better. Do they usually have a felt pad? I don’t know, mine doesn’t. Maybe the sound is transferred into the desk through direct contact? I wish I could hear how it preforms in the courtroom.
Upcoming classes:
April 19th, Introduction to Woodturning - A Carver’s Mallet at Brookfield Craft Center
May 17th - 18th, Intro to Spindle-Grain Woodturning, Vases and Apothecary at Peters Valley School of Craft
May 24th, Turned Wooden Plates at Brookfield Craft Center
June 23rd - 27, Summer Youth - Basic Woodturning at Brookfield Craft Center
Upcoming Markets:
April 27th, Daffodil Days at Honeybee Grove Flower Farm, Somers, NY