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Here is the new banjo head. What? You say its getting all
wet? Well, good! You see, first of all you will need a new banjo head.
Don't skimp, though. A good quality head sill cost a bit of change,
but will be worth it not only for the quality of the end result, but for
the easy of mounting the thing.
You will need to purchase a banjo head that is at least 2 inches
(preferably larger) than your banjo pot diameter. This means if you
have a banjo that excepts an 11" head, you will want to get a minimum of
a 13" banjo head. 16" heads are great as they give you a bit more room
to work with. You'll see why soon enough.
Let the new head soak in luke warm water for only a few
minutes. 15 may be too long but that depends on a few things like the
density and quality of the head you purchased and even the relative humidity
on the day you change it. At any rate, you do not want the banjo head
to soak to the point that it starts to swell. This will make it difficult
to work with. On the other hand you don't want it wet on the surface
only. There is a point of mild pliability that is best to work with
and that is difficult to explain. You just have to see for yourself,
I'm afraid.
Now we will place the new, already soaked for the proper amount of time,
banjo head onto the rim. Then, as seen in the photo below and left,
the flesh hoop goes on next. Don't worry about the moisture at this
point. This went on for years before plastic banjo heads came along and banjos survived just
fine. After the flesh hoop, the tension hoop (sometimes called the
stretcher band) goes on. This step is a set up only as you will see
in the next few photos.
Here is the real tricky part. The flesh hoop is the device the head
material wraps around in order for the tension hoop to do it's job. This
is also the most difficult part of the job of changing the skin head. In
the photo below and to the left, yo can see I have the whole thing started
in one place off to the right of the photo. Now, the real fun begins.
I keep a few cloths pins handy while I hold the flesh hoop with the
index finger of my right hand while pulling the skin head up through the
underside of the tension hoop then securing the excess head material to the
tension hoop with the cloths pins Notice the flesh hoop is not a solid
piece. Most are not and this adds a bit more adventure to this already
very adventurous task. Try to keep the flesh hoop from slipping inside
the rim. This will cause you to have to start over.
If you don't get it on the first try its okay. Even if you don't get
it the first hour or so the head can be soaked again and the whole process
started over if need be. The total working time with the banjo head
varies depending on the temperature and humidity.
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