Starting with a new barrel I sink the head of drum to the desired depth,usually about 7 1/2 inches for a "C" tenor pan. Then I smooth the bowl using various steel and wooden mallets. Next I lay out the notes using magnetic templates. I mark the notes, remove the templates and start shaping the notes with pneumatic and hand hammers.

Once the notes are shaped, I smooth the area between all the notes with a smoothing hammer. At this point I groove the pan. This consists of taking a metal drift and hammer and etching the borders of the notes. Next I smooth the area between the notes again. At this point the pan is ready to burn. Using a propane torch I heat the entire playing surface to about 800 degrees and let it air cool. The last process is the tuning.