All stave drums are built with grain running vertically, that's what makes them stave drums.Any drum built out of blocks of wood that is built with horizontal grain is a segmented shell, not a stave shell.
Not quite. Segmented shells are made of "rings" of blocks, usually staggered for strength.
A stave usually has the grain running vertically for better glue joints. End grain is not the best for strength. However, I have seen stave drums with horizontal grain. The reason a segmented drum can get away with the end grain joints is because of the rings and staggering, like a brick house.
Father Time your pic is one of my shells. The shell was made for JR Baker (RIP). It also took second place in a drum build off that year. JR sent me pics of the drum and they had what looked like finger prints all over it. I told him he could have at least cleaned the finger prints off. He replied, "Those aren't finger prints, that's drool!"
Here is how that drum turned out….
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