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This is also time to check the sizing of the flesh ring. With the tensioning
rods in place you will likely find that the ring will not fit well. Remember
that the rings are slightly oblong. Turn it inside the rods to see if there is a
place that it will fit nicely. If not, now is the time to correct it. It must go
down flat against the retaining ring.
This is the time to paint the metal parts of the drum. If you can, powder
coating is extremely nice. I have done this in the past and it makes a very
professional looking drum. I didn’t have this option available for this
tutorial, so we will be painting the parts with black paint. I prefer a paint
that leaves a shiny “hammered” looking finish. The texture hides some of the
imperfections a little.
After this we start working with the goatskin.
When the goatskin comes it is dried and stiff. In order to get it ready to
mount it needs to be soaked and shaved. I soak them for several hours in water.
I have recently started adding bleach to help sanitize it a bit. When you get a
hairy goatskin is has a funky smell. LOL It smells like a goat! What else would
you expect? After it has soaked I wash it a bit to remove any sand or dirt from
hair… I have received them in various states of cleanness.
After the soaking and washing it is now time to shave the goatskin. Much
stress and concern is made over this step, but in truth it is fairly simple. The
shaving of the hide can be done before or after mounting the drumhead. I prefer
before, because I do not like to leave the hair on the drum. I have seen Kete
drums made this way but most are not. Most Djembe drums are made with the hair
still on. Not my style! But if you want to it is still simple. Just put these
steps in a different order.
To shave the skin I prepare 4-5 Bic razors by breaking off the blade guard
with pliers and I sand the corners, so that there are no harsh points that could
gouge the hide. Then I lay the hide across a very flat surface. It cannot have
bumps underneath because these may cause you to accidentally cut the hide and
ruin it for the purpose of a drumhead. It must be as flat as possible. Skins for
drums are too hard to come by to be wasted, so carefully clear the area
underneath.
Then with smooth strokes with the handle parallel with the hide begin to cut
through hair down to the skin. Once there, you be amazed at how smoothly the
hair comes off. I use the Flesh ring as a guide for how much I need to shave. I
leave about 6 inches or shaved hide around the outside of the ring as such…
I shaved this much area in about 5-10 minutes. Now this doesn’t leave the
hide perfectly cleanly shaved. The hair roots are still there and will need to
be dealt with later after the skin has dried on the drum. Now with scissors I
cut the hide into a rough circle remembering to leave plenty of extra room…
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