Reheading question

[Ronen]

Hi All,

After a grueling day reheading with a male super thick skin I was very dissappointed to find the skin split down the centre half an hour after finishing and wanted to find out if its my technique or a bad skin.

The question I wanted to ask is whether you undo the rope that is threaded round the edge of the skin at the end of pulling the verts super tight or after hand pulling or somewhere in between.

I left mine tight until I pulled it real tight as I wanted the skin folded over the rings and getting that level of tension with a skin fold is hard.

What do you guys think ?

Thanks.

R.

[michi]

Sounds like you may have overdone things during the wet pull. After the wet pull, with the top of the knots set level or just below the playing surface, when I press in the middle of the wet skin, I get about 5mm of give.

Once the skin dries and shrinks (before the dry pull), I get maybe 3mm of give in the center. That level of tension is usually just right to have the top ring settle maybe 8-10 mm below the playing surface after the dry pull.

Cheers,

Michi.

[Ronen]

Thanks michi.

I think you are right and I over did the wet pull trying to get it all done too fast. It's worked for me before though but this drum has 42 vert pairs or cradle knots so was trying to avoid the dry pull and get onto pulling threes to tune it up.

Just out of curiosity. If you are doing a skin fold, how and where do you clamp the rope on the dry pull after trimming the skin when it's hugging the verge ?

Thanks again.

Ronen

[bubudi]

The question I wanted to ask is whether you undo the rope that is threaded round the edge of the skin at the end of pulling the verts super tight or after hand pulling or somewhere in between.

I left mine tight until I pulled it real tight as I wanted the skin folded over the rings and getting that level of tension with a skin fold is hard.

this rope around the excess skin can be taken off any time after the skin is completely dry (it should be completely hard). you trim the excess skin in a straight line at this time with a pair of scissors or with a stanley knife (carefully so you don't cut into the vertical ropes).

this has no effect whatsoever on whether your skin will break or not. the most likely explanation for that is that you overdid the wet pull.

this drum has 42 vert pairs or cradle knots so was trying to avoid the dry pull and get onto pulling threes to tune it up.

you cannot avoid the dry pull. you can reduce it, but at some risk.

Just out of curiosity. If you are doing a skin fold, how and where do you clamp the rope on the dry pull after trimming the skin when it's hugging the verge ?

no difference to how it would be clamped if the skin is trimmed just above the top ring.

[Ronen]

Hi Bubudi,

Thanks for the reply but I think there is a slight confusion

When I asked about when to undo the rope threaded through the edge of the skin, what I meant was as follows -

The rope is pulled so that the skin bunches up and forms a "pancake". Then the top ring is put on and the verts pulled by hand. Do you leave it pulled tight on top of the drum untill the end of the wet pull or do you tend to slaken it off before pulling hard so that the rings can go down easier ?

What I did was to leave it tied up on top until the end of the wet pull and after that I brought it donw over the verts and applied a second set of verts to pull the fold tight over the cradle knots.

[bubudi]

ahuh, gotcha. you can usually leave the lacing along the edge of the skin until you're done pulling the verts on the wet pull, as you did. the main effect of this is to keep the rings high, as well as add a little straightening to the excess skin flap. if this causes enough pressure on the skin, this will cause tearing along the holes you used to interlace along the edge. therefore it's unlikely to have contributed much to the tearing of your skin. having said that, i've eased off the interlacing a bit before i was done to allow the rings to go down lower. i like having the top edge of the top ring (on the highest points) flush with the bearing edge at the end of the wet pull. some people go down an extra 1/4 to 3/8 inch. it boils down to personal preference and tuning. i have found that if i'm going to crank the drum up high on the dry pull, this will bring the rings down the right amount from being flush with the bearing edge.

[Ronen]

Thanks for the reply bubudi.

I got the rings down to 3/4 inch below the bearing edge so must have over done it on the wet pull for sure.

One thing I am still not 100% clear on even having acheived it numerous times is the dry pull / setting the rings for a folded skin flap over the cradle knots and that is wrapped snugly to the verts.

If the rings are set flush or 1/4 inch from the bearing edge, then how do you :-

1 - access the loops on the top ring for clamping on the dry pull - I'd have thought it necessary to get the rings set prior to the fold due to clamping access ?

2- keep the skin fold snug to the verts after having done the dry pull.

End product to look like these =

[bubudi]

those have used a wide rubber band placed just below the loops. most likely they've also woven the rope around the edge (when it is downwards) and applied verticals along that joined to a ring slipped over the foot of the drum. that can further minimise wrinkles until the skin is dry.

in the first picture (looks like a drumskull piece) the skin fold is trimmed lower (longer) than the second, giving the illusion of a snugger, straighter skin fold. using a pulling stand for the dry pull will help keep the excess snug, since that causes a force that is more downward, and less outward. you can clamp your vice grips down the bottom loop, too.

[Ronen]

Yep. I'm already familiar with the technique of making the fold as done it many times but the thing that was confusing me was the dry with flap.

I had always gotten away with setting the rings on the wet pull and after drying I just pull diamonds to get it to solo drum pitch.

This time is the first time I ripped a skin so began to question my technique.

I ran out of thick goat so next time will either use calf or female goat and will try the dry pull.

Thank you.

Rinen

[Ronen]

I just thought I'd come back and share the result of this rehead.

No 100% but not too bad either.

The drum sounds much better than the old skin it had on.

Thanks for all your input. I was overdoing the wet pull.

[michi]

Looks like a very clean job!

Cheers,

Michi.

[Ronen]

Thank you michi.

She is sounding nice too. This djembe was bought from femi kuti's djembe player after a gig and means alot to me. My first real axe.

[McLellan-djembetoula]

Looks like a pro reskin to me.
I do this shrinkwrap thing on most of the drums I do.
I use the second set of verticals on the outside after I get the rings where I want them.
I release the tie in rope if the rings don't come down enough wet.
I use a rope ring tied on to the bottom of the bowl to pull the excess flap down with the extra verticals made from 6 ft pieces of scrap rope (who cares what they look like, they are only on for a day).
I use a packing rubber band around the wet skin just below the knots to pull the skin in just a little more and to keep the skin under the band damp for longer (so that it keeps stretching).
I remove all the extra verticals and rubber band and trim the skin 24 hours after I skin it. It will not be dry yet under the rubber band, but nearly so everywhere else. Trimming the excess 24 hours after skinning lets the skin 'set' over the knots, but not under the rubber band. The skin under the rubber band has been stretched down for 24 hours and after release and trimming, while still fairly damp, it will now shrink AROUND (side to side) and you will get a super tight wrap without losing the tight fit on the knots.
Doing it this way greatly reduces any chance of slippage and I think looks super pro. I am told however that this is coming out of style in Ivory Coast and is considered amaturish. I am told that they consider a trimmed djembe to be more professional perhaps because it is actually a little harder to pull off without there being any slippage. Anybody else hear anything about this?
As for the pulling of verticals after it is dry and before the knots, check out my post on the drum stand puller table thing thread. Because I do this shrink wrap thing so much, I had to figure out a way around this. No vise grips needed. Less damage to rope. More even tension. Super fast and easy to tune. Check it out, let me know what you think.