A berimbau is a brazillian instrument used to create rhythm in a capoeira roda. It is made by stretching a wire (animal sinew was used back in the day) between the two ends of a stick (the biriba tree, which grows in Brazil, is the traditional wood). A gourd is attached with a string to the bottom end. A small rock, or other hard object, a shorter, thin stick, and a caxixi complete the berimbau.
Step One: Selecting the stick
A berimbau stick should be somewhere between 3/4" and 1 1/4" in diameter, depending on whether you are making a gunga (big), medio (medium), or viola (small). It should be about 5' long and should be as straight as possible, with as few smaller branches coming from it as possible.
Step Two: Preparing the stick for drying
Cut the stick from the tree (make sure you have permission first if it isn't your tree - also, dead wood tends to be too brittle). Cut off any smaller branches about 1/8" from the main stick. Peel all of the bark off of the stick, being careful not to cut into the stick itself. A pocket knife works well. Using sandpaper, sand down any stumps from the smaller branches until the area is flush with the natural curve of the branch. Now it's time to sit back and wait.
Step Three: Drying the stick
Place the stick in a dry, warm place, laying on a flat surface. The berimbau is curved when finished, and some curving or bending of even the straightest stick is inevitable when the stick dries out, but leaning the stick up against a wall will produce too much of a bend. Good spots for stick drying are out in the sun on the sidewalk or driveway, as long as you are sure it won't rain, on or near a heat register in your house, or on the floor near a window, so the sun will shine on the stick (good if it's winter or raining). It will take 4-6 weeks for the stick to fully dry out. If it is in the sun, turn it over every few days or so to ensure even cooking. :)
Step Four: Finishing touches on the stick
On the smaller end of the stick you will need to attach a piece of leather, cut in a circle the same size as the stick's end, using two nails. Use very small nails to keep the end of the stick from splitting. You may even want to pre-drill holes and/or blunt the point of the nail with a hammer before nailing on the leather circle if you experience problems with splitting. If a split occurs, use glue and wrap the end tightly with string to keep it from splitting further. By the time the stick finishes drying it should have acquired a natural bend. To determine where to place the nails, hold the stick up in front of you as if it were a bow (like you use in archery). The ends should be towards you, with the middle of the stick being the furthest away from you. Held in this position, the two nails would go on the right and left of the stick, going straight into the end of the stick. If you look at the end of the stick, the nails would go at about 3 and 9 o'clock. This way, the wire, which will go over the leather, won't be rubbing on the nails, which can eventually cause it to break.
After you get the leather nailed on, take a knife and trim down the other end (the big end) of the stick. What you want to do is to cut away the outside "layer" of the stick for about 3/4" at the end of the stick. This will leave you with the end looking like a stick of smaller diameter protruding out from the end of the larger stick. To accomplish this, make a cut about 1/16" deep in a line all the way around the stick, 3/4" from the big end. Then, take the knife and, placing the edge on the end of the stick, fairly close to the edge, slice down towards the cut you previously made, slicing off a sliver of the stick. When the knife reaches the first cut, pry the sliver off with the knife. Do this all the way around the end of the stick, until you have peeled off the outside of the end of the stick. Then deepen the cut that goes all the way around the stick a little more, and peel off another layer. Do this until you have removed about 1/8" all the way around the end. This creates a notch for the wire to go around. Now sand down the entire stick to remove any roughness left from the bark. Take a fire (a stove unit works too) and burn the stick slightly up and down the entire length, all the way around. Be careful not to burn into the wood, but just to darken the outside until it is a dark brown. Then sand off the browned part and repeat once or twice more. This gives the stick a nice finish. You can also burn designs onto the stick using a pattern or mask. Other finishes you can put on the stick are a polish or glaze, oil or stain, paint (endless possibilities there), or you can leave it plain. When the berimbau is complete, you can also tie colored string or ribbons onto it (or attach a sharpened sickle to the end, but this is not recommended unless you are a mestre).
Step Five: The wire
Wire can be obtained from... a car tire. You can find tires on most automobiles, but so as to avoid possible legal repercussions, it is best to use an old tire that nobody wants. Take a knife you don't care much about and cut away the edge of the tire that touches the wheel rim. (You will need a tire that is no longer attached to the rim.) A little ways in you will see the gleam of your wire. Find the end and start pulling the wire out (requires some muscle) until you get several yards
