How to make a Mini Cajon - Cajonito // DIY // How-To

How to build a mini Cajon Drum.
Building a Cajon is not so difficult. The hardest part is to cut the plywood to the right size:
Fron (playing surface): 3 mm x 20 cm x 30 cm
Back: 5 mm x 20 cm x 30 cm
2 Sides: 9 mm x 13 cm x 20 cm
2 Sides: 9 mm x 13 cm x 28,2 cm
Soundhole 8 cm
Don't forget to measure twice and cut once!
If you have a table saw you're good to go, but you can make the cuts with a jigsaw or even a hand saw, as long as you can cut a straight line.
Tools you need:
A saw (Jigsaw, Circular Saw, Handsaw, Scrollsaw....)
woodworking square
folding rule
pencil
wood glue
ten small screws
sandpaper of various grids
clamps
drill

[@CarlJacobson]

That's a great project Fabian, my kids would love one of these.

[@daniloberruezo6875]

Awesome, man! Great job, and the sound is just the right. I'm gonna try to do my own cajon. Greetings from Agentina!

[@samuelvincent5286]

thanks fabian this video was very friendly and informative. much appreciated

[@kaushalshah18]

your video solved my tension 😊

[@telsonvital3374]

Very good your Mini Cajon the sound is incridible congratulations Fabian

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

+Telson Vital Thank you :)

[@joejohnson5297]

You could put a bunch of snares in the little one and make big one with no snares. Use a bass pedal with your heel instead of your toe (backwards) a couple of sticks and a hihat. You can even make a little one like this with no snares for a tom. The possibilities are endless with these things!

[@oortcloud5108]

Great video.

[@efuzziable]

gut gemacht! danke!

[@arnacionales4140]

nice work! i like your cajon. it's cool

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you!

[@lucasmgodoi]

Thanks, Fabian!

[@emiliobmota]

Nice!!!! I'm doing right now a stomp box, with the same idea. As soon as I finish it, I will show you. lol Thanks for your video, because make me think about some ideas about my project!

[@andreacosta4695]

show us

[@emiliobmota]

@@jayeshdeepak424 yes, I did! but I forgot to record the video!!! I will do it soon

[@emiliobmota]

@@andreacosta4695 I Will!

[@jonhwalsh4900]

COOL ! THANKS,

[@inayat21189]

I am going to build this for sure

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Cool, thank you :)

[@castillosammy7886]

thanks Fabian. now, can you teach me how to play it? thats alright im already learning. keep the good work. i have watched your other videos & enjoy them all

[@spadelump]

awesome Thanks have a standard sized and want to make a mini one so this is great thanks

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

:)

[@MoinKhan-bn1vh]

Good job

[@andreasganahl3171]

suuuuuper, thank`s

[@hezidiy4262]

Wow

[@dieselstruck]

Oooh nice tone!

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Dani El Thank you

[@rhythmista7707]

Great job ! Sounds great too .. I would have even installed an old tom tone control and have it placed right underneath the snare to the side of where the snares will touch the veneer , and then you would be able to adjust the tension of the snares from loose to tight or in between for sensitivity adjustment..

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

blica 1 Thanks! Good idea, that would have been a great improvement.

[@weixiongling6294]

Blica 1 may i know where do you buy the snares from!? :((( i cant find it in the net

[@rhythmista7707]

Teddy Ling Any music shop..They are regular snares used for snare drums.. ;) However , you may have to cut the wires to make them shorter, but i don't think it is necessary.. Hope this helps ;)

[@dinosaurus.brewok]

excuse me, are the position and the diameter of hole effect the sound ?? thanks for your answer . :)

[@RayJayJrUke]

Have you tried the sound hole in a different position? It looks like it can be blocked by your leg when you play. I wonder if the back or the bottom might be better options. Love the project. I've added it to my list of things to build.

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

RayJayJrUke Thank you :) I haven't tried that. Don't know if it makes any difference.

[@albertocr2434]

cool suena igual que un bongo cajon lo único diferenete es el hueco de la parte de atrás

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

I think you could get a better snare sound if you make the angle more acute and increase the surface area of the snare that hits the wood. You might even want to try two. Honestly, a full snare from one end to the other like in a snare drum would be better. I don't know where you got that little half snare. Do they sell those for cajons? Or, if you wanted something a little more intricate, a lot of them have like a switch on them where you can remove or replace the snares. You might want more of a drum sound sometimes. Like you're playing a hand drum or something. Maybe for a drum circle. Then other times you want that more familiar bass, snare sound that sort of imitates a drum set. More of a challenge but the added functionality is cool.

[@zarbithechti]

Vous êtes drôlement outillé, Fabian ! Mais c'est super de se fabriquer soi-même ses propres instruments de musique.

[@raykent3211]

Very nice video, very nice cajon. One thing puzzles me. If you have a table saw, which almost automatically cuts in a straight line, would did you use a scroll saw, which doesn't? I'm just curious...

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

+Ray Kent Because it's a very crappy table saw ;-)

[@raykent3211]

+Fabian's Tiny Workshop I bet mine's worse! I haven't given up with hand saws yet, I need the exercise.

[@pctips4all]

Awesome job man!!!! Very cool!!! Going to make one following your instructions! What type of stain/oil did you use? I missed that part. Thanks bud!

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you :) Oh I think I used Danish Oil.

[@pctips4all]

@@FabiansTinyWorkshop thanks so much!!!! It’s beautiful

Sehr schön. Aber warum hast du den Deckel verschraubt und nicht geleimt und wo bekommt man die "Snare" her oder kann man sich diese selber basteln?

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Danke, verschraubt, weil die Ecken rechts und links oben etwas gelockert bleiben. Schlägt man die Spielfläche genau dort an, so produziert die Kiste einen knackigen Ton. Diese Ecken nennt man deswegen auch „Clap Corners“. Zudem hat man besseren Zugang, falls man mal an die Snare muss. Eine Snare gekommt man im Musikladen oder z.B. bei www.thomann.de

[@rimanrante7044]

nice. great job ... just let me know what type of oil that you use to finishing? Thanks a lot

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Riman Rante Thank you, it's Rustins Danish Oil.

[@Fabianhil]

cooles video

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Manifans Lp Danke :)

[@rohitdoraiswamy5550]

can you give the measurements for a bigger Cajon

[@electrajuro3845]

bro bisa sebutin perlatan potong n amplasnya , beli dimana aja?thx

[@JJV.09]

its looks very professional ..i love it..i made a big cajon..but it turned out looking like a cat house..lol i wanna make one like this too.. one question ..what wood did you use on the front..the one that you tap?? sounds great sir!

[@trublgrl]

Jasper Villarta I believe he says he used plywood for the whole thing, but added a walnut veneer to the front panel for looks.

[@JJV.09]

thanks ! :-)

[@Fabianhil]

Ich werde mir auch eins bauen

[@andydiep1992]

I have a question, what are those silver things called ? and where can i purchase it ?

[@joemusic2882]

Andy Yeh drum snares and you can buy them at drum stores

[@susangleeson53]

Hello, this is a nifty little cajon with pretty good bass sound, compared to other brands being sold out there. I notice the thickness of each piece varies, did you experiment with different thickness for good sound? I am thinking of adding a strap, as I will be walking around while playing, and I am not sure if putting the pins in the side will affect the sound quality? Thanks in advance.

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

I don't think the pins will affct the sound. I used a thinner material for the Playing surface, because it has to resonate. You can find the dimensions in the description of the video. I'm not an expert, I just used what I had on hand.

[@susangleeson53]

Thank you for replying Fabian. Good to know that the playing surface has to be thinner.

[@jonathanwong5098]

Fabian can the sound be tune. Show us howto tune the sound & where

[@ymelfilm]

yes, great. Buying the whole building tool set is much more expensive than buying a mini cajon :))

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

...and buying a cajon and learning to play it is much more expensive and time consuming than buying a cd with someone else playing. See where i'm going with this? It's not about saving money it's about having fun doing it yourself.

[@ymelfilm]

I was joking man, ur cajon is very good - actually much better sounding than the Chinese mini cajon called gecko - that one sounds crap. No bassy at all. Ur one still has some bass. I m wondering how about adding a cheap 'stupid' Chinese karaoke mike's head inside, and put a 6,3 jack out: do you think it will work through a PA?

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Sorry, guess I was reading too fast ;-) I have no experience with miking a cajon but I can imagine it to work. Although I would probably use a better microphone ;-)

[@nightmareTomek]

Nice video. Which song is this in the background?

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

+nightmareTomek Thank you. It's called "Tidal Wave" from the KZbin Audio Library.

[@masoodahmed9203]

Price kya h bro

[@jianningteoh]

Great one! But it seems too hard for us without professional equipments. Yes you can probably made one but it won't be as nice. =(

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Jian Ning Teoh Thanks! It's not too hard and you don't need professional equipment :)

[@Reymundodonsayo]

I saw her on ze cover of a magahzine

[@gilbertonasiasenosaramento2945]

Manda pra mim

[@keithandrewperis624]

where did u get the snare from?

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Keith Andrew Peris www.thomann.de/gb/pearl_s1420d_snare_teppich.htm

[@petersavage4242]

Try Amazon. Put in snare drum wires.

[@weixiongling6294]

where do you buy the snares from !!!!!

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

www.thomann.de/gb/pearl_s1420d_snare_teppich.htm

[@petersavage4242]

Try Amazon. Put in snare drum wires.

[@allannguyen4738]

is the diameter of the hole 8cm?

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

At least that's how it says in the video description. Unfortunately I don't have the cajon anymore so I can't verify it.

[@allannguyen4738]

Aww what happened to it?

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

I gave it away

[@allannguyen4738]

Did the veneer make a difference to the sound?

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

No idea, I do not know how it would have sounded without veneer.

[@miguelcanlas1504]

will it work even without the wood wallpaper?

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

yes

[@michaelwillcutt2619]

Hard to see getting a perfect cut from a scroll saw

[@joemusic2882]

I make cajon drums and never ever use veneer

[@jomate9174]

😂😂 No se dice "cajonito", sería en todo caso "CAJONCITO".