Shekere Build - Part I

Oh, my. 

I see it's been five years since I last posted to this blog.

Time flies.

I've not disappeared, but it is true I haven't been doing much woodworking. Instead, I've been using my spare time playing trombone with some salsa bands here in Munich. Lots of fun.

My perspective from a recent Salsa gig.

However, I think it's time for me to start building again. What better way than to make an instrument I'll use on stage? A shekere!

My new shekere and güiro.

I recently bought a second hand shekere from a local percussionist. The one I bought is mass-produced (but quality), and made from fiberglass, but I decided I needed to try to make my own using a gourd, which is what how this instrument is traditionally made.

I watched several videos on YouTube, and found this one by the Stanford Taiko channel to be the most helpful.

I started by searching online for dried gourds for sale, and surprisingly found a seller in Germany. I ordered from the largest category of gourd they sell, hoping one would arrive that is nearly as big as the fiberglass one from LP.

My new gourd.

I was very pleased when it arrived. It was even bigger than I had hoped.

The first step was to clean it up in the sink with a metal pot scrubber. This task did not smell very nice, and it was probably a good thing that I did this while The Frau was at work.

Cleaning the gourd in the kitchen sink.

After it was clean and dry, I used 120 and 180 grit sandpaper to finish the cleanup.

Clean and finish sanded to 180 grit.

Being a natural product, there were some defects in the base of the gourd. I'd describe it as tear out. I don't think it affects the integrity of the gourd, but it doesn't look so nice, and you can really feel it. 

Some natural defects.

I decided to do what I would do with wood that has such defects: I mixed up some West Systems epoxy, added a drop of some brown color that I had laying around, with the thought that I would sand it flush and all would be good.

Dried epoxy on the affected area.

My Crucible card scraper was great for rough removal of epoxy.

It doesn't look that great, but it is smooth and hopefully stronger.

I'm wondering if clear epoxy wouldn't have been a better choice. Only time will tell. 

Braiding some string for the collar.

Next I thought it was time to start thinking about the net and the beads. I am going to use some 1mm polyester thread that I use for leatherwork for the net. I thought the collar on the top and on the bottom should be a bit thicker, so instead of using para-cord, I decided to braid three different colored strings for these parts. I don't see why this won't work just fine, and the contrasting colors are the exact color scheme as the beads.

I'll use these plastic 8mm beads.

Salsa Roja is the name of my salsa band, so there has to be some red in this gourd. I'll add black and some fake pearls for interest.

Next I have to saw off the top of the gourd, clean out the inside, add some finish to the gourd, and create the bead lattice. 

It's a big gourd, I hope 1800 beads are enough.

Stay tuned....