So this is how we make a taiko...(THE AMERICAN WAY)
The Documentary on the Births of "Keith" and "Byron"(the names of our chudaiko #3 & 4)


So I was told that in Japan, they'd carve out a whole entire tree trunk to make a taiko. Here are UCR, we make our own drums out of wine barrels. We do this because the "real" taiko drums made from tree trunks are just too expensive to buy, and you wouldn't expect us to have the craftsmanship to make our taiko the "traditional way", would you? Actually, a lot of groups in North America had used this method to make their taiko too. We thank many members of the So-Cal taiko community (especially Victor Fukuhara in Long Beach) for their instructions and assistance in drum making.
That's going to be the body of our new drum! And to get an ordinary barrel to look like that, we had to:
1. Glue the barrel together using wood glue.
2. Hammer off the metal rings that were originally there to hold the barrel in one piece.
3. Trim off the top and bottom ends of the barrel.
Sound like three easy little steps, don't they? These had caused us a lot of cuts and bruises on our hands.
Then, we reinforce the inside of the barrel with fiberglass. (to keep the body of our drum-to-be from falling apart in the future)
This step must done outside because the chemical used for the fiberglass produces quite a pungent fume. >_< And it takes a while to wait for the fiberglass to dry too.
After the reinforcement comes a long, tedious step called sanding. This turns the rough, splintering surface of the wooden barrel into a smooth surface (& I feel terrible for having to use the word "surface" twice in one sentence).
Details on the sanding: We started off with the electric belt sander, using various grades of sandpaper (from rough to fine). Then we sanded by hand just to get the surface really polished before staining and putting on a coat of varnish. There can be never enough sanding.
Actually, I take back what I said about how there could never be enough sanding. If we do too much sanding, the wall of the barrel gets too thin. And that makes really lightweight drums that move forward when we play. (but hey! easier to carry) ^_^
In this picture, I'm holding one of the ends to the original barrel that we trimmed off... can you see the difference in thickness? (well, the ends of barrel are normally a little thicker too)
Skinning...

-brought to you by... Fong (2001).