Stretching the skin with Ring-zilla

[alifaa]

This is sorta related to the "show my axe" thread, but figured it might get lost there.....

I took Michi's idea of stretching the skin, and rather than looping through the bottom ring loops, or around another ring (difficult to get one that will fit over the base of some drums, and not come too far up), and created Ring-zilla!!

I included some extra supports in the middle so it would sit snugly on the pole on my tuning rig, but you could get by without this.

Feel free to copy.

[michi]

That is a really nice idea! This would make lacing up the temporary verticals to stretch down the skin flap a lot easier.

Hmmm... I wonder whether it would be possible to come up with some contraption that would fit around the foot below the bowl, rather than going below the foot. That way, you'd need less rope to lace up the temporary verts, and there would be less bending down. Only problem is that you'd have to have something that comes apart in two halves and clamps together somehow around the foot.

I think this idea is worth exploring. Basically, when I re-skin a drum, what hurts isn't the materials, but the time it takes to get the job done, so anything that saves time and makes the process more efficient is worthwhile.

Thanks for posting that idea, this really is a great improvement!

Cheers,

Michi.

[alifaa]

You're welcome Michi. I put this on my tuning rig, as I have a broken back, and that puts it at about hip height, so putting both of my constructions together makes it mega easy for me to do a skin.

[bubudi]

that's a good idea. what i did is make a ring a little bigger than the foot of my drum. it goes part of the way up the bowl, but that doesn't matter because you just need to stretch the skin against something a little way below - even an inch would do, but there is definitely a lot more than that between the skin flap and the makeshift ring.

since you are so handy with metal, i'm sure you can make one from rolled steel, but for those who can't roll or weld a ring of this thickness, you can just get some fencing wire and wrap it around itself several times to make a similar thickness ring. that's how i made mine.

[Djembe-nerd]

I haven;t done the fold over look yet, but I wanted to try it on my next rehead.

- I was thinking of a thicker and stiffer rope ring, I think that should work too.
- I was also thinking of putting some thin padding inside the fold to make it smooth and roundy instead of the ring rope projecting at the folded portion.
- How do you guys put the locking pliers inside when you have to tighten the verticals on a folded skin.


Any suggestions !!

[michi]

- I was thinking of a thicker and stiffer rope ring, I think that should work too.

That actually might be simpler. Take a thick (about 1cm) rope and tie a loop around the foot, wider than the foot and smaller than the edge of the bowl. Then thread the temporary verts around that. That would make it very easy to remove the temporary verts again too.

- I was also thinking of putting some thin padding inside the fold to make it smooth and roundy instead of the ring rope projecting at the folded portion.

The rope loop doesn't really project. Instead, it sits in the groove between the side of the bowl and the crown ring. The rope also prevents the skin flap from being pulled down in between the knots, so you get a more even finish.

- How do you guys put the locking pliers inside when you have to tighten the verticals on a folded skin.

Trim off the excess skin and leave about a 1cm overhang below the horizontal part of the crown ring loops. To clamp off, use the locking pliers and lock them as close to parallel to the vertical as possible. That way, when the pliers take up the tension, they get pulled up with their tips against the underside of the flesh ring and stop the vertical from slipping back. If you clamp them close to parallel to the vertical, the pliers won't tear the skin flap.

Clamping off verticals underneath skin flap

Clamp.jpg (130.15 KiB) Viewed 506 times

Cheers,

Michi.

[Djembe-nerd]

Thanks Michi,

Thats looks a little more complicated than tightening the non-fold over case. But I will try it one time anyway.

I wonder how do these drummakers do it cos their skins are more than an inch below the ring. They might have some crooked locking pliers

[Mauibeat]

I
-
- I was also thinking of putting some thin padding inside the fold to make it smooth and roundy instead of the ring rope projecting at the folded portion.



Any suggestions !!

I always replace the ring rope with 1/2" flat tubular webbing. If the rings are lose you might need to resize then a bit smaller, because the flat tubular webbing takes up much less space then round rope. The end results is a much smoother and more comfortable rim on the head of your djembe.

[Mauibeat]

Aloha Aliffa,

Great idea! I've been thinking about pre stretching skins before heading. Thanks for thinking outside the box. I'll give it a try before I do the next drum head. Mahalo, Al

[bubudi]

hi al, i've seen that done on a few drums. it does the job well, but to me is not as aesthetically pleasing.

The end results is a much smoother and more comfortable rim on the head of your djembe.

it might turn out a little smoother (the extra rope ring in the gap takes care of that, though) but it shouldn't make a difference to comfort, given the rings aren't sitting too high and you're using proper technique.

[Mauibeat]

hi al, i've seen that done on a few drums. it does the job well, but to me is not as aesthetically pleasing.

The end results is a much smoother and more comfortable rim on the head of your djembe.

it might turn out a little smoother (the extra rope ring in the gap takes care of that, though) but it shouldn't make a difference to comfort, given the rings aren't sitting too high and you're using proper technique.

Thanks Bubudi,

I got turned on to using flat tubular webbing when I first started drumming several years ago. And I'm sure my technique was very poor in the beginning, because I remember my hands getting sore as he'll. I hope my technique has improved some over the years, but since I've put flat 1/2" tubular webbing on every djembe I've ever owned, I just really notice the feel of rope on the top ring when ever I've played someone elses drum.

Since I also use the 2 ring system with the hide folded over hair on, the worst feel to me was someone's djembe had the hide trimmed off at the top ring, with all the cloth worn off the ring, and to boot, the top ring was 3/8" rusty old rebar. Yuck!

Thanks again for the shout out Bubudi, and I guess you can tell that I highly recommend using flat tubular webbing on the top ring. Aloha, Al

[Trog]

Mauibeat. Can you post a picture of this webbing you use? I have no idea what it is you are talking about.

[Mauibeat]

Mauibeat. Can you post a picture of this webbing you use? I have no idea what it is you are talking about.

If you go to strapworks.com[u][/u], and click on webbing, then click nylon tubular webbing, you'll find the 1/2" tubular webbing I use.

I'll try to post a picture of my dununs, as they have exposed tubular webbing on the rings. But if you don't see a picture, then you know I'm techiquely challenged!

[Mauibeat]

Hey Trog,

I tried putting some 4mm rope and some flat tubular webbing on a ring, and taking a picture of it for you. Don't know how well the picture will show the difference, but when you feel the difference the ring side with the blue webbing feels very smooth, and the ring side with the green rope feels very bumppy. Aloha

[shortypalmer]

ring zilla is an interesting concept, i think that using an inter tube in place of rope will get it tight on the rings better but if you want to it looks to me as if you could substitute a piece of 3/4 plywood with holes instead of steel for those who can not weld