DIY Cajon

Here's another idea.  I've been thinking about how to play small venues as a drummer.  I'm not much on conga's or bongo's and sometimes the cocktail kit may even be too much.  What about a cajon?

I was with a friend last week and we happened to be in a local music store.  While looking around, I came across a cajon made by LP.  The price was around $250.  When I got home, I checked craigslist and sure enough, there were several out there for closer to $100.  I got to thinking, these things are rather simple and can't take all that much to build.  So, I set out to find some good plans.

Cajon is Spanish for box. That's all it is.  A box that has interesting tonal qualities depending upon where it is tapped.  Some can sound like a complete drum set.  This is what I'm interested in.

There are tons of different designs out there but I ultimately settled on the more traditional style.  I can always build something else later on.  Knowing that my buddy Jim's son is a percussionist, and that he does not have a cajon, I thought I'd see if he would be interested in working on this one together.  He agreed.

Off to the hardware store.  We purchased a 4x8 sheet of 1/2 inch hardwood plywood and a 4x8 sheet of 3/16 inch floor sheeting.  Once back at my house, Jim and I set about finalizing the design and finding the most efficient layout for cutting the wood.  Basically, we figured we could make four cajons with what we purchased.  Two for each of us.  total cost will be around $40 each when it's all said and done.

Here are some pictures of what we've done so far...

The wood all cut:

The playing surface or "toppa":

Panels all squared up and channels cut:

Dry fit to see how it will go together"

The corners look pretty nice:

All glued up.  I'll let it set till tomorrow night.

Now it's time to think of how I'm going to finish this one.  Natural stains?  Aniline Dye?  What color?