The Cajon

Well here it is the newly completed Cajon!



















I built the box using 4mm 5 ply Meranti for the sides, 12mm Pine 5 ply for the top and bottom and 2.5mm Finish Birch for the sound board. The wood surface is finished with Danish Oil on the sides and polyurethane on the sound board. All the joints were made with bamboo dowels and secured with cross linking PVA white wood glue.
The Cajon took some tuning and adjusting of soundboard screws, rear port and snare strings before I was happy with the sound.



















The Cajon is a true Helmholtz enclosure so the frequency and bass response of the instrument can be tuned. The port diameter and depth was determined using an online port calculator. The cubic dimension of the internal volume of the box was entered into the calculator along with the desired resonant frequency, the port length and diameter are directly proportional to each other. Calculator link
Here is a link to a research paper which I found helpful. link


















I painted the motif on to the varnished surface with black enamel paint. I glued a cork tile on top to form a seat.




















Here Diane Ponzio and I are engaged in a Cajon duet. Diane plays the cajon very well having a highly developed sense of rhythm from all those years of performing.

Harmen's drum kit coming together

I've located a Sonor hi hat stand and a pair of 14" Meinl Headliner brass hi hat cymbals from our local online auction site, trademe.

Items that I still want to acquire include a splash cymbal a ride and some suitable stands. Not sure yet about tom toms. If I do add toms they will be mounted independently of the bass drum.

I've also constructed a Cajon. I'm waiting for an Auckland supplier to send me the last component, the sound board which is a small panel of 5 ply birch 2.5mm thick. I've based my Cajon on a German Schlagwerk, Cahon la Peru.

Inevitably it is different in several ways from the original, being slightly larger and built from denser materials. As I work my intuition guides me toward my goal. I'm wanting a brighter and fuller response from my Cahon than is present in the Shlagwerk unit.

I am enjoying the Cajon as a percussion instrument. The possibilities are huge and the box is so discreet and portable, perfect for spontaneous musical opportunities accompanying acoustic instruments. The Cajon can be amplified through my bass guitar rig with brilliant results.