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Ikigalas Are Very Flexible
This drum design allows you a lot of freedom of choice for what kind of instrument you want to suit your purposes. For Goro-Goro, we needed a set of drums that would encompass the following abilities.

• The drums would be large and powerful, possibly in a range of sizes.
• The drums would be free-standing, but also be light enough to wear on our bodies for movement.
• They would allow for very powerful playing. Some members of the band are fugitives from taiko groups, and they light to beat their drums into debris.
• Possibly allow for sharp rimshots to augment the bassy sound of the large leather heads.

We considered taiko drums, which are heavy and quite expensive, Taos drums, which are heavy and a little expensive; and alfaias, which have relatively weak heads. Not only were money and weight factors in our decision, the ability to construct the drums to our specifications and the pleasure of playing something we had created ourselves also convinced us.

This style of drum can be made with any shell strong enough to take the constriction of the drying hide. I chose laminated maple shells normally used for drum kits. They have a nice sound and are light. The choices for drumshells are almost limitless. You can make a drum in a very small size, use a wide range of materials, and try different shapes for the shell to shape the sound.

55-gallon oil drums, like those used for steel pan drums, make great rawhide-laced drums. A friend of mine made a fine dunun (jun-jun) out of one. To reduce the metallic sound, he coated the outside surface in cloth and rimmed the bearing edges with rubber.

Four Versions of the Ikigala
Although all my ikigalas have the same kind of shell, I have experimented with different ways to attach and tension the heads. Before you get started, you may want to choose which version is best for you. In some cases, the way you want to rope your drum may determine how you construct the sheel and heads. In the instructions for making the heads, I will refer to "Method 1", "Method 2", etc. These refer to the roping methods. See Roping Your Drum

Components

Drum Shell
The components necessary to build one of these drums are available for instruments of 40cm (16" head) to 70cm (28" head) in diameter, with a depth up to 60 cm (24"). My favorite sizes are 40cm (16"), 45cm (18"), and 50cm (20"). You can find old drum kit pieces or you can buy raw, unfinished drum shells. For more information about choosing a shell, see Selecting a Shell.

All of my ikigalas were made from unfinished shells. I ordered Keller products online from Anderson International Trading. This gives you more control and makes a better-looking and better-sounding drum.

Rawhide
Whereas you can use just about anything for the shell, the rawhide heads are very important for sound and playability. My drums have medium thickness heads. Too thin is weak; too thick makes a hard sound, like hitting fiberglass. You have to weigh sound against strength. Cow, goat, deer, elk, and horse can all be used. I have used cow and elk for ikigalas.

Here's an advice page I wrote about Making Drumheads with Rawhide

Here's a source for taiko drum-quality rawhide.

In addition to the large sheets of rawhide for the heads themselves, you will need rawhide laces. I have a ready supply at an Indian store about an hour's drive away. If you don't have such a resource, you might try buying one online. Rawhide lace is a long strip of cowskin. It comes in two widths. I use the thicker one. You can also cut your own laces from unused sheet rawhide, but this is very time-consuming.

Rope
Any strong, non-stretching rope (avoid pure nylon) works. In the cold months, I use static climbing rope with a kevlar core (there is also shock rope; don't use this because it stretches). 5mm (3/8") seems to be a good size. I got my most recent rope from Rhythm Traders. They have solid colors made sprecifically for drum making.
Rhythm Traders

If you choose synthetic line (like climbing rope), make sure it is static (doesn't stretch), not shock (has a little elasticity) line.

Most of the year, my choice is natural hemp, which is difficult to get in the US, but I highly recommend it. It is very strong and has less stretch than nylon. I change it to synthetic to get tighter heads in the winter. If you are interested in using hemp on your drum, here are some links to websites for ordering.
Scientific Nature Hemp Emporium
Dragonwing
TerraWear.

Tools

• If you choose wood, you will need to put an edge on the shell. I use a Dremel tool, but you can do the same with a good wood file. Coarse sanding blocks work as well.
• white chalk for marking the hide.
• A clamp to hold laces and rope in place while tightening.
• X-Acto knife or 1/2" leather punch (good luck finding one).
• Razor blade to cut the hide.
• Spray bottle filled with water for keeping the hide damp.

Selecting a Shell

Dimensions
Drums have different characteristics determined by the ratio of the diameter and depth of the body. Drum fanatics often argue, even using mathematical calculations, over which are the ideal dimensions for certain drums. Some general rules:

• A deeper shell has more resonance and fuller sound; a shallower shell has a "tighter" response and clearer tone.
• A wider head can be tightened more than a smaller head for a given pitch. This gives better stick rebounding when playing, more volume, and allows better control.

Thickness
Generally, a thin shell is desirable. It will vibrate with the drum and produce a fuller sound with a nice sustain. However, if the shell is too thin, it will be weak and may warp. If you want a thin shell, it can be reinforced with interior rings at each bearing edge. A thin shell also obviously makes for a lighter drum. You can quite comfortably wear the drum strapped over your shoulder.

If you order Keller unfinished drum shells from a distributor such as Anderson Trading, the shells will be measured in layers. There are four standard thicknesses:

For an ikigala, I usually choose an 8 or 10 layer with no reinforcement. Another alternative is 6 layers with reinforcement, which is a little more expensive.

More advice
Here is a good web page about tuning drums. Much of it won't apply to this project, mainly because the heads on these drums are tuned together; heads on drum kits are independently tuned.

The Molehill Group: Learn How to Tune your Drums

and here is Prof. Sound's Drum Tuning Bible from Drumweb.com:

Prof. Sound's Drum Tuning Bible

Preparing the Shell

If you wish, drill about a 9mm to 12mm (3/8" to 1/2") hole in the side of the shell. This lets air pressure out when you strike the drum and can improve the sound. This is less important for a tight drum than one with a loose head. I chose not to do this for my ikigalas.

Fill any undesired holes in the drum shell and finish it. The lacing/ropes will be tight against the shell, so you should make sure the finish is cured before assembling the drum.

Protection
This is, of course, a personal decision. But your wood will need some kind of protection. For coloring, there is paint or stain. If you want the original color, just use tung oil alone.

On this example, I used Minwax Polyshades "Olde Maple". Polyshades is a combination of stain and protective coat. It came out great.

I used tung oil on the inside surfaces of the shell, as well as on the bearing edge.

Creating the Head

The photos in this series, like most of the tiny photos on this page, are thumbnails. Click them for a larger image.

Find a section of the hide that is consistent and at the desired thickness. Try to avoid flaws. Place the shell vertically on the hide in the chosen spot.

With the razor blade, cut the head out around the line you just drew.

Using a compass or graduated string, locate where the lacing holes will lie. For Method 2 and Method 3, it is not important whether the number of holes is even or odd. For Method 1 and Method 4, you need to make an odd number of holes for it to work.

Below is a chart showing the number of holes I make for a particular diameter of shell.

Mark the bottom edge of the holes 2cm (3/4") from the edge of the skin. Make the holes about 12mm (1/2") wide. Make sure there is at least 3/4" between the holes and the edge.

Preparing the Heads for Roping

For my earlier drums, I had the tensioning ropes pull down on the heads through holes cut into the heads themselves. I was a little worried about this. For one thing, I didn't like so much tension bearing down on holes cut directly into the heads itself. Also, the ropes had a lot of friction when I pulled them through these holes during tuning.

The answer was to make an anchoring rope that passed through the holes in each of the heads, distributing the tension more evenly. The anchoring rope, made of thick, twisted rawhide, has a round cross-section, which aids the ropes when they are pulled through. When dry, the anchoring rope has loops through which the tuning rope passes.

The photos in this series, like most of the tiny photos on this page, are thumbnails. Click them for a larger image.

With the heads well saturated with water, place one head facedown, then the drum vertically on top of it. Put the other head on top, and align the holes in the top head so that they line up between the holes in the lower head.

Twist a length of rawhide lace into it resembles a twisted rope. When it starts binding up, it is tight enough.

Then begin lacing the rawhide rope through the anchoring holes around the head. keep the rope twisted as you go. Push the rope through the holes always in the same direction (it does matter which way you thread it).

The heads of ikigalas are tensioned with ropes. Over the years, I have used many different methods of attaching and tightening ikigala heads, but I have settled on a method I learned from making alafaias, a rope-tuned bass drum from Brazil. This method of attaching and tightening the heads does not allow easy adjustment. Once the heads are mounted and they dry, the only way to re-tune the heads is take them off, soak them in water and remount them.

I decided on this method because I have found the a method that allows adjust does not get the heads any tighter than the alfaia method. I always want my drums as tight as possible.

Click here for roping instructions for the Alfaia Method.

The heads of all ikigalas are attached and tensioned with ropes or hide lacing, and I have used many different methods. I have included instructions for five of these methods in this website. Here is a synopsis of each method and links to the step-by-step instructions.

To go to the step-by-step construction pages, click on the corresponding photo.

Method 1: Rawhide Lacing

Method 2: Double Lateral Ropes

This method is relatively easy, but usually doesn't get the heads quite as tight as the other methods.

Go Here

Method 3: Tuning Rings

Method 4: Twisting