.....Not good......

I made a post a couple of weeks ago about my newest project - a stave shell snare drum.

Well - lets just say that there are times that the Wood (and Drum) Gods want you to go back to square one and start all over again. 

Yup, the shell broke into 4 pieces. Impact with the floor is generally not good for your projects!

But, in all actuality, this was a good thing since the shell was flawed from my own lack of patience and a poor design on my jig.

When I cut the outside of the shell, I didn't have it completely centered in the jig and so one side of the shell ended up at 1/4" thick and the opposite side was at 1/2" thick after cutting the outside. It may not sound like a lot, but when the final thickness is supposed to 1/4" after cutting the inside, I was pretty much doomed to failure. I also believe that using ratchet straps to hold it after gluing may have made the shell slightly out of round, and making my mistake just a bit worse.

So, I will be redesigning my outside cutting jig and starting over. I've purchased more maple and with the blizzard bearing down on me, tomorrow may be a good day to stay inside and work on my new shell and fabricate my centering pieces for the outside cutting jig. I've also purchased four 7" hose clamps to clamp around the shell after gluing - I'm figuring that the hose clamps will apply more even pressure around the shell and force it to stay completely round as the glue dries.

Another positive is that when the old shell cracked, the glue joints held and the actual wood is what cracked.