I made Fireball XL-5 for Mykal Burns, a video producer, roller derby enforcer and erstwhile percussionist. The build went something like this:
I safely emptied the propane (see the build log for Green Destiny on how to do that), rinsed and dried the tank, and then prepared the surface. This means scraping off all the paint with an angle-grinder and then in this case, sanding the hell out of the metal with 80-grit on an orbital sander.
Ooo. Satiny-smooth.
The workspace – Plastic sheeting contains the mess of metal filings, ground-off paint chip and Krylon overspray that fly around during fabrication, to keep it from polluting the area reserved for sewing, beading and, well, breathing.
I built a stand out of a 3/4-inch flange and 5-inch nipple, which screws neatly into the tank socket where the valve fitting was removed.
Once on the stand, I can spin the tank to any angle for drawing, cutting, painting, etc.
Using Green Destiny, I traced and cut a template in thick sheet plastic.
This is what happens when you put a flat template on a domed surface. You spend some time fudging and finagling to get it aligned with the center of the tank, then tweak some more to …
… trace the individual key shapes.
Use a center punch to mark all the corners – this will make drilling easier.
Drill holes through all the corner points – this makes it easier (and hella less finicky) to connect the linear cuts.
And … start cutting, with reiforced cutting wheels.
Cutting takes 4-5 hours – the Dremel gets pretty hot from being overworked. I might just upgrade to a beefier model.
Now for tuning. You tap the key and check the tone on a guitar-tuning app. This one came out G#, supposed to be G natural.
Cut the key a tad longer with a hacksaw blade …
Sweet. Tuning all the keys takes another couple of hours.
Burns wanted the note markings left on the drum, so before clearcoating the keys, I engraved them into the steel.
After spraying three coats of clear enamel onto the whole drumhead, I masked off the keys from the paint.
Two coats of red later, it looks a little like this.
Now for the sunburst.
First peek!
Peeling is appealing …
Burns requested this paint scheme – it came out pretty sweet.
Now I apply material to damp the ringing of the drum body – The sound tends to overwhelm the sound of the keys if you don’t deaden it. I used the same type of self-adhesive rubber step-tread strips here that I applied to Green Destiny. Unfortunately, the Chinese manufacturer used shitty adhesive and they immediately started peeling off.
First I tried riveting the corners – but the riveting crushed and distorted the edges and looked awful. So I removed the rivets, and re-applied them with industrial-strength rubber cement – the solvent in which had the immediate effect of … blistering the paint. Ain’t chemistry a hoot. But precisely applied, the strips covered their own adhesion problems – and stuck fast.
Here’s the finished product – Paint scheme picked out by Mykal Burns, other aesthetic and functional nonsense was mine.
I can’t wait to make the next one. And yes, I am taking more commissions like this one. If you want me to create a drum for you, hit me up. If you want to know about the experience, ask Burns.
Man spotted with bizarre handmade musical instrument. Enjoy, Mykal!
If you would like me to make a drum for you on commission, the price is $300 – $250 if you bring your own empty propane tank. Contact me for details.
I made Fireball XL-5 for Mykal Burns, a video producer, roller derby enforcer and erstwhile percussionist. The build went something like this: 
