REPLACING TAMBOURINE HEADS
Michael Udow
Materials needed:
• Tambourine,
• A Double lye kip tambourine head is ideal. Heads may be ordered through Steve Weiss
Music or directly from Stearns Tanning in Sheboygan, WI. 7–10 mil thick vellums (at
least 3-4 inches in dia. wider than the OD of the tambourine shell. I save broken BD or
Tenor Dr. heads if they in good condition),
• small screw driver,
• pliers,
• thumb tacks or carpet tacks with nails shorter than the thickness of the tambourine shell
(if they are longer, you’ll also need metal snips or nippers),
• yellow glue,
• 3 large rubber bands 1/2" -3/4" thick that can be stretched and fit around the shell (can be
found at office supply stores - take the tambourine with you to check that the size is
correct; also, a used bicycle inner-tube cut and tied to the correct diameter or
bungee/shock cord will work),
• tack hammer,
• vice or a 12" -14" x 3/4" dia. dowel curved at one end,
• moist paper towel or cloth,
• polyurethane (shellac will also work, but is more susceptible to humidity)
1 • 1/2" brush,
• mineral spirits (and a can to clean the brush if needed),
• rosined bee's wax (or Brand Name surf board product: “Sex Wax” or 000 or very fine 10”
square emery cloth paper,
• 10" sheet of moleskin
• pencil
• scissors.
1. Before preparing the shell:
A. Make certain that your replacement head is ca. 3 -4 inches larger than the outside diameter of the shell. This will give you 1.5 - 2 inch of overhang on opposite sides of the head to facilitate mounting.
B. Hold the head up towards a light to inspect it for any unusual thin spots from when the skin was scrapped or for any unusually large hair follicle holes in the head. If the head is unsatisfactory, send it back. Also, use your thumb and index finger placed on opposite sides of the head to feel if the overall thickness is even. If the head is inconsistent, send it back.
C. Soak the head in mild-warm (luke-cool) water (not hot, as the natural resins in the head will be lost) for about 10–15 minutes. While the head is soaking go on to #2 - #6 as these steps shouldn't take longer than twenty minutes.
2. If there are tacks through the old head into the shell:
A. Use a very small screw driver to partially pry up each tack; avoid digging into shell. Keep your opposite hand away from the specific working area as the screw driver can slip.
B. With a pliers, pull each tack out. If the tac’s nail is straight, save it.
2 3. Take a warm wet cloth that is at least 2" in diameter bigger than the shell and place it over the head wrapping it around and close to the shell, moistening the head completely for about ten minutes or until the head is beginning to separate from the shell. Do not submerge the shell in a sink with water as, depending on the manufacturer, the wooden laminate could unglue.
4. Using the pliers, slowly peel the edges of the head back away from the shell continuing clockwise around the shell until the head is completely separated from the shell.
5. After the shell is dry, with medium-fine sand paper lightly sand off any glue and/or rough edges on the shell. Then go over the same surface with fine sandpaper.
If you are not using tacks, go on to step #13:
6. Take a tack, holding the bottom face of the tack at the shell to check if the point of the tack will protrude beyond the inside edge of the shell. If it does, then take snips and shorten the length of the nail by snipping it at a 45-degree angle, thus keeping a point on the tack. Repeat for as many tacks as you are going to use. (Usually, I don’t use tacks, but in some climates, or for extremely loud passages with many repeat performances, I have used as many as 6 – 12 tacks).
7. Place the shell on the big metal rounded vice handle so that the diameter of the shell is perpendicular to the floor and the shell is resting on the handle. If you don't have a vice, place the inside of the shell at any point on the rounded surface of the dowel which in turn is held lengthwise upright on a solid surface. Then stabilize the tambourine and dowel with one hand.
8. Carefully overlap the edge of the new head (which was soaking) over the outside edge of the tambourine ca. 1" or so that an equal overhang of the head would occur at the opposite side of the tambourine from where you are working.
3 9). Making certain that the tack is below the edge of the tambourine but not too close to the edge of the vellum, partially push a tack through the head into the shell.
10). with the tack hammer, tap the thumb tack securely into the shell. With the vice under the shell or the rounded dowel will prevent the shell from cracking when you use the hammer.
11). Rotate the tambourine 180 degrees and while pulling/stretching the head, (repeat steps # 7 -
#10 for as many tacks as you are going to use).
12). If the first two tacks are at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock respectively, then continue to put tacks into the shell at 9 & 3, 1 & 7, 5 & 11, 4 & 10, and 2 & 8 repeating steps #7 -#10.
13). Drizzle a thin bead of glue around the top surface of the shell which will be covered by the head. Then with your finger smooth out the glue to cover the top surface and down over the outside edges of the shell - ca. 3/4".
14). This step is easier with two people. One person stretches two rubber bands or the inner-tube rubber over the top edges of the tambourine so that it is tight against the head around the outside of the shell. You should have the third band just in case one breaks while the other person holds the head on and over the shell on opposite sides of the tambourine. Then snuggly, holding the head at opposite positions (12 and 6 o’clock) pull the edges of the head downward as tightly as possible in all directions.
15). with a moist paper towel or cloth, wipe off any excess glue from the edges of the head.
16). Keep your hand that is not holding the knife away from the cutting direction, behind the hand holding the knife! With an exacto or matt knife, smoothly, slowly and very carefully, trim off any excess head below the thumb tack. The knife can slip so you don’t want your opposite hand anywhere near the direction you are cutting. Cut only deep enough to cut through the head do not gauge the shell, thereby compromising its strength.
4 17). in a warm dry area, place the tambourine head surface up. Place a clean most cloth or small
3" diameter sponge on the center of the head. As the tambourine dries make certain that the cloth in the center of the head remains moist. (This is very important as it is critical that the head under the rubber bands which is against the shell is completely dry before you remove the damp cloth. Otherwise, because of the air surface around the rest of the head, that area would dry up first and literally pull the head, tacks and all, away from the head). Let the rim and outside edge which laps over the shell to the edges of the vellum completely dry for eight to twenty for hours, depending on the humidity. The complete edge of the must be fully dry including the areas under the rubber bands.
18). Then, after the rim area is dry, remove the rubber bands and cloth and let the remainder of the head tighten up as it dries.
19). Place the tambourine head down on newspaper and brush a light coating of polyurethane against the bottom of the head covering the surface completely.
20). Wait about ten minutes until the polyurethane is not going to drip and then turn the tambourine over with the head up and then polyurethane the top of the head including the outside area around the rim of the shell.
21). After both surfaces are completely dry, repeat steps #19 and #20 two more times so that you have three thin layers of polyurethane on each side of the head. This will make the head less apt to slacken in humid conditions.
22). don’t forget to immediately clean your brush in a can of mineral spirits and then dispose of the spirits in an ecological manner.
23). on the playing surface, rub the rosined bee's wax (or sex wax or cello rosin) starting 2" in from any edge of the tambourine toward the edge. Continue this process around the tambourine
5 except for where your thumb would naturally lay on the top surface of the head. This will help you produce smooth thumb rolls. OR
24). For a tambourine that you intend to use fairly exclusively for thumb rolls: Put the emery cloth ruff surface down, place the tambourine head down on the smooth back side of the emery cloth with the top edge of the tambourine (opposite the area of the shell where you will be holding the instrument) flush with the edge of the cloth. With a pencil, trace a line around the outside edge of the shell onto the cloth. For a 10” tambourine, at the very bottom of the shell, the cloth will run out such that the pencil line will not completely encircle the shell; that’s okay.
25). with a scissors, cut the outside end of the line leaving a complete solid circle of emery cloth.
26). On the smooth back side of the cloth draw another circle (free hand is okay if you don’t have a compass or an 8” bowl to trace) ca. 2” inside the outside edge of the cloth.
27). Cut around that line, thus leaving a smaller solid circle and a 2” wide banded-circle.
28). Using yellow glue on the smooth backside of the cloth, apply a bead of clue down the center of the band all the way around. Then with a finger smooth out the glue to both edges of the band.
29). carefully place the glue side (smooth cloth side) of the emery paper down onto the shell with the bottom open end of the banded-circle positioned where the tambourine will be held.
30) Place the tambourine head down on a smooth surface and stack aprox. 6 heavy books with at least the bottom book that will be placed on the shell, larger than the diameter of the shell and let the glue fully dry.
31). Trim the edges of the moleskin so that it will fit on the inside of the tambourine. Then peal off the backing and carefully and smoothly press it against the bottom of the head. This takes
6 out the ring of the head (as the musical goal is to emphasize the jingles and the clarity of the jingle rhythm rather that the head tone).
~ Happy Playing!! MU
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