Making of the 2019 London Real Gong by Matt Nolan Custom

Short film documenting the making of a 32 inch Matt Nolan Custom Gong for Brian Rose of London Real. London Real is a video talk show featuring some of the most fascinating people in the world. londonreal.tv/ (Headphones or full-range speakers recommended)

[@DemetrioAlbidrez]

Great work - manship & skills required for this Cymbal , made by a Great Cymbal Maker !!

[@TheSterven]

This is amazing Matt! It is always such a pleasure to see you work and so helpful to see how you work the nickel silver. Thank you for sharing your process. I have a few questions regarding the video but will watch it over a few times before I ask. Thanks again Matt

[@maxbdrummer]

Hi Matt, you work is incredible, amazing work, and the cymbals that you make are great sound

[@rickyvecchio7774]

Excellent!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!

[@michaelbrown3128]

Amazing sound!

[@kaori-3882]

Hi, Love your channel! Would love your help, I'm looking for information about the points I can drill to hang a gong, without interfering with the sound? And also information about the ratio examples of thicknesses of different gongs sizes. Do you know of a online forum for these subjects that I can ask these questions? Thank you!

[@TafrinaDubois]

A true labour of love (and probably also blood, sweat and tears)....amazing. I'm so fascinated to know whether you have an idea of the tone you're going to get before the finished product? Or is it all in the hands of the gong gods? Also how do you know where to beat the metal? Wow, anyway it's amazing to see.

[@MattNolanCustom]

Thank you! It is a combination of guiding the metal and being guided by the metal.

[@Asdfbedffhdsxe345]

Incredible

[@childofdesert]

Woaw.

[@miguelabundez7266]

That's an amazing job!! Where i can find that kind of nickel silver blank one?

[@Philtoid]

Perfection

[@klangbewusstsein]

much love from Germany

[@jerredchouseman]

Does anyone know where to buy sheets of bronze like this?

[@butziporsche8646]

Alaskan Copper and Brass

[@alejandrocavaliere1687]

I´m humbled

[@alanb2803]

Hi Matt love your work what do you use to blacken the Tam Tam

[@MattNolanCustom]

In this case it was one of the "Gun Blue" solutions that says on the bottle "will not work with non-ferrous metals" - ha! Surface preparation is vital before putting the solution on there.

[@vajnazsombor9397]

Amazing work! What is the track in the video?

[@MattNolanCustom]

It is a track which was created just for this video by a great friend of mine under the name RR Traxx

[@matthewpaluch777]

Outstanding craftsmanship Matt! What size is it?

[@MattNolanCustom]

32 inches. I will add that to the description

[@xavierchoubouch5288]

Hi, excellent job ! Just can you explain me why are you burning the metal ? Is it just for the color, or is there another reason ?

[@MattNolanCustom]

Torching the edge to red heat at the beginning is to soften the metal so that it can take the more extreme shape forming. The gentle torching of the whole gong later is for stress-relief purposes. It makes the metal sing again after being worked.

[@Pilzwelten369]

I watched this viedo so many times wich is the yellow hammer you using . Can you please tell me all the best .

[@MattNolanCustom]

It was a 4lb sledge-hammer that I cut and re-shaped the head of to make it more suitable for gong rims

[@13indiakate]

This is bomb! What metals are you working with?

[@MattNolanCustom]

I make most of my gongs from Phosphor Bronze or Nickel Silver. Occasionally in other Bronze alloys, Stainless Steel and Titanium. This one is Nickel Silver.

[@1peradventure]

This video is so good! I bought a sheet of 90 percent copper, 10 percent tin bronze to attempt making a 24 inch symphonic gong from. I've never done this before, but I just couldn't get the idea out of my head. Your video is closest I've found to any sort of at least visual of some of the work that goes into it, and I mean no disrespect or suggestion that I could replicate with zero experience what is clearly your passion and skill set... but I appreciate this video and am going to have a go at it. Any tips you could provide to point me in the right direction would be much appreciated. I'm guessing the piece you start with is already hardened and tempered, and that you then bring the edge to a dull cherry color with the torch to anneal it so you can hammer it out. When you later torch the whole surface, is that to change the temper, or to bring it just hot enough to get a slight color change out of the surface? Do you heat treat the entire gong or any part of it after you've finished hammering and shaping it? Again, anything you can offer would be much appreciated.

[@MattNolanCustom]

Thank you for your kind words. The heating at the end is very light. Just a mild stress relieve, not to change the temper. With this Nickel Silver material, it will stress relieve itself in a few days, but I can accelerate the process. With CuSn10, you may wait a long time for the sound to blossom without the gentle heating.

[@1peradventure]

@@MattNolanCustom Thank you so much! I'll let you know how it goes.

[@butziporsche8646]

What is the wall thickness on this gong? Is the heating for color as it doesn’t appear to be hot enough to stress relieve. Besides, isn’t the character imparted by the stresses?

[@MattNolanCustom]

The thickness is around 1.6mm. The heating is for partial stress relieving and for this material it is quite hot enough. Some metal crystal grain boundaries need to be healed after the work. Over-heating would not be a good idea, as you rightly point out.

[@juancarlosgarzon8719]

good evening ... excellent job .. I would like to know what gauge is the sheet and the diameter of how many inches.

[@MattNolanCustom]

Hi Juan Carlos. The finished gong is 32" diameter, the initial disc was a little larger. Around 1.6 to 1.7mm thick.

[@user-mm5df7sk6d]

Hello Matt. Could you please share info where you are buying Nickel Silver sheets. I can't find any suppliers...

[@MattNolanCustom]

Wieland in Ulm. You'll have to buy quite a lot in one go.

[@user-mm5df7sk6d]

@@MattNolanCustom thank you thank you

[@jeremygagnon3183]

Hey man that gong look amazing! I was wondering what is it made of?

[@MattNolanCustom]

Thank you. It is made from Nickel Silver, which is an alloy of Copper, Nickel and Zinc

[@jeremygagnon3183]

Cool! Are most gong made out of this alloy?

[@MattNolanCustom]

@@jeremygagnon3183 traditional gongs from Asia are made from Bronze (usually 20 to 23% Tin, the rest almost completely Copper). "European" style gongs are mostly made from this Nickel Silver, sometimes also from Phosphor Bronze with Tin% around 8 or less. They each have their sound

[@alessioantona1982]

Wow

[@adamhorner3950]

What is this gongs thickness and metal type? Thank you.

[@teethrecordings]

Nickel Silver, about 1.7mm thickness

[@adamhorner3950]

@@teethrecordings Brilliant, thank you very much! :)

[@danivc9878]

did you used stainless still or which kind of steel?

[@MattNolanCustom]

This gong is made from Nickel Silver alloy

[@teddycordova4145]

Ok amazing, expensive?

[@MattNolanCustom]

Thank you. Not much more expensive than a more run-of-the-mill gong

[@Sc0ttPrian]

I hear The Ultimate Doom sfx.. :D

[@sanggye74]

But everybody star from the plate, the question is, HOW TO MAKE THE PLATE????

[@MattNolanCustom]

Well, first you need a big bang, then wait around for a while until you get some stellar nucleosynthesis, wait a bit longer until you have had enough supernovae for decent amounts of Copper, Nickel and Zinc to form, wait a little longer for a spot of abiogenesis ... I'm going to skip a few steps else this will get too long ... put it through the rolling mill a few times, circle shear and pickle it and there you go.

[@grandartsdesign]

I made a Gong from a Wok👍

[@MattNolanCustom]

Very resourceful. Do you have a video of it?