Can you attach a small table top panel with glue?

+1 gluing the middle panel will cause issues due size.

+1 Phil's comment: Drum needs certain tonal quality.
What is the required size of the drum box?

Could you build a small box under the drum head, and then use normal table top attachment technique?
The project post you reference describes using a resonance box, so maybe ask Steve how he did it.

I could imagine making the drum head/box a separate assembly, attached with screws underneath table top, making it removable and giving wood room to move.

Regardless of how you make it, need to use the shrinkulator to estimate the wood movement during normal 4-8% ambient moisture changes, and carefully pick your grain direction .vs. width of panels.

Cheers!

Thanks for the responses everyone. I had a feeling that this was probably too wide to ignore wood movement, but kept second-guessing. I guess if I attach it with mechanical connectors, I could always go back and glue it down later if I'm not happy with the acoustics.

To answer a couple questions in the thread: I'm located in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region, so the humidity does swing about quite a bit-humid (if not gulf coast humid) in the summer, quite dry in the winter. I have been making a point of storing my lumber in the house when I'm not actively working on it out in my garage shop, but seasonal variation could still get me.

I don't have room to add a separate resonator box as in the example I linked to-my apron is only 2.5" thick, and since the table is going to have a shelf underneath, I don't really want to have an extra box hanging down below the apron. As it is, the total internal volume of the resonator compartment will be about 430 cubic inches, which I would describe as medium for a tongue drum; I've made a couple discrete drums with internal volume 540 in^3 or more.

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I'm a strong believer in building furniture pieces to allow for seasonal movement. I agree with the above that it i a good idea to use online guides to calculate how much movement you can expect given your wood species and the expected climatic conditions. Having said that, here are a few other things to consider:
- As you said, you can start out with the top screwed down and see what happens. You can always glue it later.
- If you have an issue with vibrations, you could try to add a cushioning material like felt, foam rubber, etc. along with the screws.
- If it comes down to using glue, Try to first glue just the center 4" or so along the cross grain runs and use screws allowing for movement elsewhere.
- If none of that works and it needs to be totally glued, first try using silicone such as used to assemble fish tanks or some other elastomeric material.

That should be a very interesting piece. When you have it completed, I hope you will share it with us and tell us what fastening method you ended up with.

One last point: allowing for seasonal movement is important, but in today's fully climate controlled homes, it is less so. As long as the table stays under climate controlled conditions, you may not have any issues. You can choose to take that chance. However, well made furniture often becomes a family heirloom and, in the transition, you never know where it will end up. How far into the future do you want to plan?