What's a "Thunder Gourd" you Say???

Well it's a gourd which, after being prepared and transformed, makes the sound of thunder when it's shaken.

Items needed for this project are:

Your Proxxon Jig Saw
Your Proxxon Belt Sander
Your Proxxon Rotary Tool
Glossy White Spray Paint
Alcohol Inks
Stone Texture Spray Paint
Painters Tape
Drum Head
Spring with Bead attached to the end
Special synthetic drum head which heat shrinks and becomes tight
Black acrylic paint mixed with some school glue
Suede lace

Super Glue

The main thing to remember about this project is that the gourd must have the bottom cut off to attach the synthetic drum head and spring to, and a hole or holes put on the gourd to let the sound out. The decorating can be done in many ways. This is just one way of doing it.

 You need to choose a gourd that has somewhat of a handle to it. You need to clean the outside of the gourd and get rid of any dirt or mold on the exterior.

 Once the outside is clean you need to use your Proxxon Jig Saw to cut the bottom of the gourd off flat and not at an angle. When you get the bottom cut off you need to clean out the inside of the gourd. Make sure you leave nothing on the inside of the gourd that could flake off at a later time because it will fall down inside the gourd and end up on the drum head you will be attaching to the bottom.

 For my sound hole on this gourd, I cut the top off of the gourd also. It does make it easier to clean out the top by doing it this way too. I used my Proxxon Belt Sander to sand the top of the gourd and get rid of any marks. I then painted the inside of the gourd with the black paint and glue mixture and let it dry.

 I had about four thunder gourds going at the same time and took a picture of this one that I used blues and green alcohol inks on. I just used the painters tape to tape off the area that I wanted to color, sprayed the glossy acrylic paint and then used the alcohol inks. Once that was done and sealed, I blocked off the alcohol ink part and sprayed the textured stone spray paint on the rest of the gourd. I then sealed the whole gourd.

 Here's the first one that I finished and as you can see, it was done in different colors. I then drilled holes on both sides of the top of the gourd using my Proxxon Rotary Tool and strung the suede lace through it to use it to hang the thunder gourd up.

 I then glued the synthetic drum head to the gourd and once it dried, I trimmed it off and heat shrunk the drum head until it was tight. You then take your spring and poke a hole in the drum, put a tiny drop of super glue on the hole and thread your spring into the drum head.

 Woo Hoo! You're done! Now you just hold the drum by the neck of the gourd and shake it. The sound that comes out is remarkably like the sound of thunder.

I hope you like this tutorial and leave some comments for me. Go to www.proxxon.com and check out these wonderful tools too!

Barbara