And here’s the third textured Cherry vessel that I did recently. I call this one, The Cuspidor’ It is 6″ tall and almost 5″ in diameter at it’s widest point.

Like the previous two Cherry vessels it has been finished with tung oil and buffed to a warm shine. Also like the other two it features some texturing, but this time around the neck only.

All three of these vessels were a bit of an experiment as they were turned from a well dried Cherry log with the pith left in. After a few months they as stable as ever with no cracking. We’ll see as time goes on.

Here’s a few more photos:

Continue reading 'A Textured Cherry Vessel III'

Here’s the second of three Cherry vessels that I turned recently. This one is 8″ tall and about 5 1/2″ in diameter at its widest.

The vessel has a large textured band around its lower portion that also features the burned ‘swirls’ used on the previous one. It has been finished with tung oil and then buffed to a warm shine.

Here’s some more photos:

Continue reading 'A Textured Cherry Vessel II'

Here’s one of three Cherry vessels that I turned recently. It is 7 inches tall and approximately 5 1/2 inches in diameter at its widest point.

It has been textured with a ‘swirl’ burn and also colored a bit with stain. Then it was finished with tung oil and buffed to a warm glow.

Here are a couple of more photos:

Continue reading 'A Textured Cherry Vessel I'

I recently attended a course at Lee Valley where we turned and built a djembe drum. Seriously, a djembe drum!

A djembe drum, pronounced ‘gem – bay’, is a large, goblet shaped African hand drum. The name, djembe, comes directly from the African saying “Anke dje, anke be” which literally translates to “everyone gather together” and defines the drum’s purpose. This was demonstrated at the end of the class when we all participated in a drum circle led by instructor Craig Reiner.

Craig Reiner is a musician, educator, drum maker, and part-time Lee Valley Tools employee. As a timpanist/percussionist, Craig has performed with The Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Nova Sinfonia, and Chebucto Orchestra. Craig has taught percussion in Halifax City and county schools, as well as the Maritime Consevatory. Craig began making drums in 1979 and has exhibited his work through the Nova Scotia Designer Craft Council.

The drum stands almost 15 inches tall and the drum heads is 10 inches in diameter. Traditionally, djembe drums use a skin covering, usually goat, as the drum head. However, in our case, for simplicity, we used a mylar head.

Here’s some more photos:

Continue reading 'The Beat Of A Djembe Drum'