How to Make a Bodhran

The bodhran is a traditional Celtic frame drum typically attributed to the Irish. The word "bodhran" is Irish and is pronounced "boh-rawn." In traditional Irish music, the bodhran is played not to define the beat of the music as in most other music styles, but instead to accentuate its melody. A well-made bodhran can produce a wide range of notes, almost enough to sound its own melody.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 48-inch-by-1/4-inch ash plank
• 48-inch leather strip
• Staple gun
• Upholstery tacks
• Mallet
• Wood glue
• Large stew pots
• Water
• Ladle
• Three band clamps
• Cured rawhide goatskin at least 18 inches across
• Rotary saw
• Marker

Making the rim

1. Use the rotary saw to cut each end of your ash plank at a 45 degree angle. The cuts should be parallel to each other, so that when bent into a circle they will come together to form a continuous scarf joint.

2. Fill your stew pots with water--the larger the better, because you're going to need a lot of water--and heat it to boiling.

3. Pour boiling water over your ash plank with a ladle to soften it. You'll need a helper to keep water boiling and help you keep pouring it over the wood as you work.

4. Bend the ash plank into a loose circle whose ends overlap. You may use your hands and feet to do this, or you might enlist another helper for this job.

5. Tighten the three band clamps around the overlapping ends of the plank and cinch them down until the ends of the scarf joint are about to meet.

6. Apply wood glue to both sides of the scarf joint. Cinch the band clamps the rest of the way down. Make sure the joint comes together cleanly, then leave it secured by the clamps for at least 2 days while the glue dries.

7. Remove the clamps once the wood glue has dried.

Mounting the skin

8. Use the marker to draw a line all the way around the outside of the drum frame, 1 inch back from the side the skin will be on.

9. Soak your rawhide goatskin in water until it's soft and flexible.

10. Set the bodhran frame on a clean, level working surface, with the side that will have the skin mounted on it facing up.

11. Place the soaked goatskin over the bodhran frame, making sure that the side of the skin with pores--tiny holes--on it faces up.

12. Use the staple gun to fasten the goatskin in place, stapling along the line you drew with the marker. Alternate your stapling locations: In other words, staple first at 3 o'clock, then at 9 o'clock, around the rim. Then place a staple at 12 o'clock, another at 6 o'clock, and so on.

13. Place the leather strip over the line of staples and use the mallet to pound upholstery tacks through the leather into the drum frame, so that the leather and the tacks cover the line of staples holding the skin in place.

14. Let the goatskin drum head dry--this may take anywhere from 1 to several days or longer. Be patient and don't touch it until it dries. Once it's dry, your bodhran is ready.

Tips & Warnings

• Band clamps should be available from any woodworking shop. The ash plank you use for your rim should be a minimum of 3 inches wide.