DRUMMER CAFE

Brought home a new conga skin from African Rhythm Traders, nice $22 Pakistan cow hide, medium thin, brown and white patterned, the skin has character.  It was oversized, 26 inch in diameter, plenty of room for my 9 ¾” Gon Bop quinto. I have found it pays to use a larger skin, makes it easier.

This is only the third drum I have skinned in my life and I’m no expert. In the past I have sweated bullets, cursed and cried. This time I proceeded hopefully into the project … but it proved to take hours.

I have come to the conclusion there are two diabolically opposed actions in skinning a conga drum: The one where you pull the skin up to make it tight around the ring, the other where you pull the skin down to give room between the bearing edge and drum rim. To solve this I used a carpet needle and heavy thread to sew the ring in place. This held it down while I used pliers to pull the slack out from around the ring. I pulled the thread out later like a doctor does with sutures from a wound.

Another problem was I took the head off after it had dried for a day. My thinking was it would dry faster off the drum, but when I took it off I had to tap it with a hammer, it did not want to come off the shell. I should have taken that as a warning sign, cause then it did not want to go back on, it had shrunk. I had to soak it again to get it back on the drum. I’m now leaving it on the drum to completely dry.

Does anyone know how the pros do it at the manufacturing shops? Do they have a machine??

Sheldon,
Could you give more detail on what you saw Akbar do?
bongo

So Bongo it sounds like you eventually got the skin mounted properly? I've had my best results when the skin was closer in dia. to the drum I've found too much extra gets in the way. So for a 10" drum I would use a 16" skin. Needle nose plyers are a must. It can be a wrestling match, and Gon bops can be hard with thick skin as the tolerences are so close.  I've wondered how the large factories mount their skins.

Yes, it is looking good, but still drying. It has been a couple of days, but I can see the skin is still thick with moisture, it was thinner before I soaked it. I suppose the skin thickness will be a gauge of when it is completely dried and has reached it final playing tone quality.

Something that I found that helped is I 'extend' the hook length by using loops of rope to pull/hold the crown (rim) down. Before you have pulled the excess wrinkles out from around the ring, the excess skin interfers with the hooks from reaching the crown, so the loops of rope help to hold the crown down while you pull up with the pilers. Once you got the excess skin out of the way, the hooks can fit normally.

You really have to start with a positive attitude, to mount a new skin is to become 'intimate' with your drum.  L.P. drums are easier as there is plenty of room between the hoop and drum body. I think rhythmweb has a description of the process. Let the head dry for at least 1 week after you mount it , even if it seems dry. I think the fat conga site has a good picture of a guy pulling the skin with plyers.  also for future reference Bauer 11" heads fit L.P. 11" and to my taste they are the best premounted cowskins though expensive.  (available from espirito drums). best of luck.

check this link for reskining conga
http://www.volcanopercussion.com/html/tucking_skins.html

Guess I got the discount price.  
The website lists discount pricing for quanity buyers, but even though I only bought two, the fellow gave me a break.

My head is still drying, it looks dry and feels dry, but I see the edges are still thick, which must mean they still have moisture. I am going to give it a while more before I crank it down, it is only 5 days since I re-wetted and re-set the skin after prematurely pulling it off the drum.

I checked the website out at vocanopercussion.com. There is nothing better than pictures and I think it shows the skinning process well. Couple of steps in there though that may give you more trouble than they make out.

Hey there "skin changing amigos" here is another link for changing heads:
http://www.rhythmweb.com/head.htm

And I have a question.... In the steps I copied bellow... they assemble hoops and skin on the flat surface... Do you think it's better then doing it on the drum... or is it not much difference? I can try flat surface first I guess... just wanted to see if you guys see any potential problems.  

2. Lay the skin on a flat surface, and place the center wire atop the skin.
3. Gather the skin around the skin wire, and place the counterhoop (the rim) atop, as in the second image..fix the head so as to come up inside the counterhoop.
4. Once the skin is tucked in all the way around, place the assembly of skin, skin wire, and counterhoop over the drum. Attach the lugs. Check for evenness.


Hey bongo, did your skin dry, how does it sound?

You should assemble it right on the drum. I think maybe they left out a small explanation there that you want the ring to be centered. So, obviously you want to first place the ring in the middle to eye the center (perhaps on a flat surface),, but then, put it on the drum.
It will wrestle itself lose, if you try to wrap the leather around the ring off of the drum.

OldGuyAl,  I think that part of bongo problem is that he oversoaked the skins, and as he said it's not dry yet. See part of instructions bellow. I don't know for sure but just a thought.  I am waiting for my skins from Isaac too but I mostly play at home so I don't have same situation as you.  

I wish bongo's report was more reassuring though...   I still can't wait to try it.... at least I know now that I won't be ready with new skins for next week recording, I guess old ones will have to do.

Bongo, thanks for your feedback, I hope you have better expirience when/if you try it agan.

"1. Soak the skin in lukewarm water, until pliable, but not long enough to let it get thick and flabby. (Around 2 hours for a bongo skin and up to 8 hours for a thick conga skin)"