This is a collection of various cajon-related posts I dug up. Not sure of the sources. This document from: http://caseyconor.org/cajon cajon@caseyconnor.org -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- How to build a Cajon From: Steve Tierra The caja I ended up being most satisfied with was made of 1/4" mahogany ply with light pine framing. I made it as a thinner rectangle...about 18" high (comfortable enough to sit on while playing a conga) - with a 24" face and about 8 " deep. I found that a second layer of ply glued to the INSIDE of one large face gave me a great bass tone, while leaving the other sides thin and light. I cut my opening at the bottom and elevated the caja on wood strips about 1" off the floor). If you want better info drop me line and I'll go into more detail. AND...... Here is some old info I had lying about. Mostly useful , though my own approach has changed a bit. You learn a lot just by making them... Here's what follow up information I can offer on measurements for cajones. Most cajas (bass cajones) I've seen are large enough to sit on comfortably and essentially rectangular ie. made of straight sides and 90 degree angles. They are a box with all six sides, including the bottom! I recently had occasion to play one (briefly) that was 'tapered' (side to side) and used two playing faces. Measurements for that caja are: 22" wide across the face 17 3/4" high 15 3/4" wide right side (bass side) 13" wide on the left side (that creates a taper from right to left) Sound hole was a crescent (running top to bottom) cut in the rear of the smaller side, 16 3/4" long to a max depth of 3 5/8" Considering the following info you might want to serious consider your own body configuration in designing a caja. Measure the height of drum throne when you are sitting comfortably and consider that for the height... then mock up how wide the caja should be for your arm length. etc. The sound will obviously vary but I suspect that he caja police will not come get you in the middle of the night. I understand that many of the cajas currently for sale are based on the Peruvian model, played on the front face with a round sound hole in the back panel. Two smaller cajones (cajitas) in quinto sizes and range that I've had a chance to play are both made for 1/2"ply with 1/8" door skin for the top surface. (following measurements are all O.D.) One with ALL sides and faces glued is 10x10" on top, tapering to 4 3/8 x 4 3/8". The sides are 13 1/4 long. Another with a 'rattle top" (two countersunk screws one each top edge - corners left un attached) is also 10x10" but tapers to 5 1/4" with 12" long sides. I have seen 'conga range' cajones in larger proportions than the 'quinto' version but have not had a chance to measure one. -looked something like 20-24" high with a 12x12" top and tapered side panels. You can get a good idea of what these look like from the pictures on the liners notes to the new Conjunto Clave y Guaguanco CD "Dejala en la Puntica". These are the height of a standard conga, taper to an (apparent) open bottom with palying surfaces that seem about 12x12". One conguero appears to be playing a full height cajita (quinto) with a smaller top. These look much like the units that Barky just built.....painted and all.! ________ Here is some additional info I received from Luis Nunez (ex?) list member: Just saw the discussion in the archives. Went to see Poncho (Quinto) yesterday. The set up was this: Poncho sitting on a cajon 4'x18"x18" lying horizontal. Base (buzz) on right. Buzz is given by leaving @ 1/4 of the box face unattached. Tight (high) on left. In front he had a tumba and conga which he sometimes played with spoons. On right he had three batas piled into a pyramid (played large heads only). Bell by his left foot that he played with the spoons. Guy playing caja 24"x18"x18" tapering to 8"x8" with bells attached to a cloth strip tacked along the front top edge. Guy playing quinto 12"x8"x8" tapering to 6"x6" Material was spruce plywood 1/8" for faces 1/2" for sides of cajon. 1/8" spruce ply for face 1/2" for sides of caja. 1/8" face and 1/4" sides for quinto. I do have a little quinto that's nothing but a 10"x10"x6" box. The 10" faces are 1/8" ply. The sides are 1/2" ply. Motto: always carry a little tape measure. -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- A few people were interested in the art of making a cajon. As a percussionist I have had the opportunity to try many cajones, and this has helped me a lot in making the instrument. The first thing I suggest is to try as many cajones as possible in specialty percussion and flamenco shops, go to workshops that teach cajon, go backstage after flamenco concerts. This will allow you to learn new things about the cajon that you did not imagine before. For instance, there was one guy who taught me how to use my foot to change the tone of the cajon up and down - this adds a melody to the percussive beat and makes it sound a little North Indian. The basic typical construction is 50 x 30 x 30 cm. Some cajones are smaller, some bigger. The frame should be 3/4 of an inch (19mm) thick, except for the head (striking surface), which must be very thin. Using thin plywood is recommended. The sound hole should be 5/12 of the width of the box. If this seems too difficult to calculate, think of it as right in between 1/3 and 1/2. For a 30cm wide cajon the sound hole will be 12.5cm. I have seen slightly smaller - 11 or 12 cm - this could give more "snap" to the sound, but I recommend using other techniques to achieve this. Also, I recommend not using nails or screws - just high quality woodworking glue. This means, however, that you cannot disassemble it, which could be handy if you need to modify it. So if you like to fiddle a lot, you may be better off using screws until you come up with a perfect cajon. I personally don't see the need - if I want to try something new I prefer to design a new cajon. There are two ways to achieve the snare sound. One way is the traditional method which is stringless. The corners are loose, so that when you strike them with the tips of your fingers the panel hits the edge. If you do this, be aware you will miss out on a lot of bass. If you are into a full bass sound, you will need to either make special corner pieces or use strings. If you want to try using strings, try an A (la) guitar string with either a G (sol) bass string or an E (mi) guitar string. Use high quality strings. This will avoid the need for replacement, eliminating the need for a screw-on panel, which in my experience spoils the sound. If you want a real edge to the crackle you will need to crack the head a little bit, but this may again compromise the depth of the bass sound. The stringed cajon requires a different technique to obtain the snare. You must strike the middle of the top edge with the part of your hand from the knuckles down to the fingertips - like with a djembe. If you want to try using corner pieces, you need a special surface that produces this sound. This is a non-conventional technique and uses non-conventional materials. Some plastics sound quite good as corner pieces. If you are doubtful, consider that many drum skins are made of plastic. The golpeador is also plastic. If you open your mind you will discover many innovations that improve the sound. Someone asked what wood to use. Try birch or cherry. There is not much point buying heavy woods - they just make it hard to carry! I even saw a good-sounding cajon made from pine. Maple and hickory aren't bad choices either. I have seen many cajones made only from plywood. These are ok, but in my opinion have a mediocre sound. The head (thin plywood) is the panel next to the one with the soundhole. Some people put them at opposite ends. I prefer it perpendicular because it improves the reverberation and therefore the projection. I personally like a strong bass sound so I do everything to "milk" the bass sound. You must find the part of the drum that best facilitates this. Generally if you thump the top third of the head with your palm you will get the best bass, but the position may very slightly on your cajon. Also try hitting the top third with a cupped hand to achieve a lighter bass sound. If you want to try some other innovations, I have seen some very effective ones. I saw a two-headed cajon. This is a bit like congas to play. I also saw an elaborately carved rosette instead of an ordinary round hole for the soundboard. One person put castors on his cajon so that it was easy to move around. I saw an "ergonomic" cajon that goes on a stand so you can play it standing with your back totally straight. The head was on top so it was like playing congas but still had an almost authentic cajon sound. It also had a very good tonal range, but not as good as using your foot to alter the tone. Don't be afraid to try new innovations. There is not really any such thing as an authentic "flamenco cajon". The cajon originated in Peru, but became most widespread through Cuba. The thin plywood head is like a drumskin. The African slaves weren't allowed to play skinned drums so they used dresser drawers and wooden boxes as an improvisation, which later became an instrument in its own right. The cajon was made popular in flamenco music by the Paco de Lucia troupe. Before this palmas, golpes, zapateados, jaleos and other vocal effects (such as Manitas' "chica-chica" which sounds like maracas) were the only percussive effects used. Although it has been suggested that the Gypsies in the early flamenco period used clay pots and the Arabs and Jews may have introduced a kind of tambourine. There is of course no way to verify these suggestions. The message I am trying to convey here is that cajones are a new addition to flamenco and so there is no "authentic" flamenco cajon. Good luck and may you become good cajonares! Pharaoh :) -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Benj, I have gone beyond just emailing plans around. I actually got off my butt and built my first cajon this weekend. It is not a sit-on top. You hold and play it like a conga. Here are the dimensions and materials: The top (head) is 15"x15" 3mm (3ply) birch plywood I bought at my local hardwood store. ~$4 The sides are 1/2" birch faced plywood I got at my local building supply store (Menards) ~$7.00 They are 25" tall. 15" at the top tapering to 4-5" at the bottom. I don't think you could make the cuts without a tablesaw. I glued it up with Titebond II (no metal fasteners) and rounded all of the corners by hand with a palm sander total cost = $11.00 Results: It's really light - maybe 5 lbs It has good volume and passible tone separation with a light touch (jamming in the kitchen volume). Deep bass, OK tone, The slap is distinct, but not too crisp. Playing it harder adversely effects the tone seperation. The bass doesn't get louder, only slappier. The tone gets louder and slappier, the slaps get better, but they still don't really pop. The head seems kind of flabby. If it were a skin head, it would need to be tightening. What I'm planning to do next: Add legs to it. Screw them to the sides. Add a couple ~5" slap pads on the corners. Make another cajon with identical body dimensions but use 1/4" 5 ply for the top and see if it "tightens it up" a little. I'll send a picture when its done. Any thoughts/comments/suggestions? Please send them my way. /Talk to you soon Alan Deaton GIS Managed Computing Services - WinOS COE Senior Member of Technical Staff Computer Sciences Corporation One Tower Lane, Suite 400 Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181 USA Direct: 630.990.6225 Fax: 630.990.6369 Email: amdeaton@alliance.csc.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------