Excursion to percussion

I'm not a guitarist, but even less am I a percussionist. Nevertheless, I wanted to try a build of a simple cajon-drum. It's a box made of plywood with some kind of snare mechanism. I've always admired the vast range of sounds a talented percussionist is able to get from a simple wooden box.

The box is nordic birch (12mm for the frame, 6,5mm for the back and only 2mm for the 'tapa', the "drumhead"), and I "loaned" the adjustable snare system from a Sonor cajon that I had a chance to peek into yesterday. The 5-ply 2mm aeroplane veneer might be a bit thin for the top. The bass is good, but overall sound might be a tad flappy. Thus I added an extra brace to support the hitting surface.
The sound? I'd need a real drummer to pop in and give it a slap.

The cajon is a one day project. I stained the top into rich mahogany and finished with a simple wash coat of shellac. Laatuvaneri in Oulu is the place to get any veneer you need, precisely cut into dimensions. Note to self: remember to add the extra 24mm to top and back plates...

Here are some pics of the build:

The snare adjustment mechanism. 

Getting it togehther

Turning this knob up gives full snare sound, turning it down lifts the snare wire off the head completely.

Inside view in bad lightning = long exposure = shaking hands = blurry image