Refinishing a drum

[Oso]

Has anyone ever done this to a chinese drum?

yu shan generously gifted me with his older drum (thanks!!!!!)

it seems as if it is constructed like a barrel with separate staves bound together.

there is a whicker wrapping about 1/4 of the way from the bottom and a double row of brass(?) tacks holding the head on.

there is what seems to be a separate layer of thin wood laminated over the barrel staves and this is what is painted and decorated. some of these pieces are falling off and there are also gaps between the staves.

I think that what I can do is pull the laminated pieces off, fill the gaps in the body and then paint it over with a nice laquer finish.

but, i don't want to eff it up so if anyone has any advice, i'd appreciate it.

a couple of pics attached

[Pork Chop]

i'd just paint that one board.
the drum barrels i've used have always looked a bit worse for wear, didn't seem to make any difference on the sound.
if you decide to reshape the skin, i hear to use water to stretch it and use a blow drier or a heat lamp to tighten it up once it's on, but be careful because too much and it can tear.

[Oso]

after a bit more inspection i figured out that the outer layer is actually just really thick paper. I'm definitely going to take it off.

also, there are some springs on the inside...long stiff wire w/ coils on the ends.

seems like it would help damp the sound. they are screwed to the inside of the drum staves.

the sound is great, I think. I'm not going to dare mess with the skin...i'd definitely not want to mess that up.

I think I'm going to get some 1/2'' sisal rope and replace the binding at the bottom and the very top and repaint it red and not worry about filling the gaps.

thanks.

[David Jamieson]

You are not going to be able to properly refinish it without removing the skin.

It's not really worth it to redo these things beyond a superficial patch and paint job.

fully renoing one is going to be kind of a waste of time.

[ngokfei]

DO NOT REMOVE THE SKIN ... the drum will fall apart (I know from experience:o )

also filling in the gaps doesn't work either, they just fall out after a short time of usage.

what has worked is to

1. Get a palm sander and sand the exterior down to raw wood
2. use some art papaer (tissue/rice I used news papaer) and glue to the exterior.
(the more coats you add the better/worse the sound will get)
3. Then just paint it


for improving the skins sound
1. Lightly dampen the skin with a sponge
2. build a small fire on the ground and with a partner hold it over the flames for brief amounts of time.

There is a lion dance forum out there which has much more info on the subject.

[Oso]

wasn't going to remove the skin...it's only heald together at the top by the skin's tacks into the staves and a ring of bamboo on the inside top.

i've only been concerned with a cosmetic refinish.

what about a paintable silicone caulk in the cracks between the staves?

100% silicone remains flexible after curing

[yu shan]

Oso, the drum has an awesome sound to it, and I miss it. I trust you are not going to mess with the skin. I have heard that you can set the drum out in the sun to improve the sound on older drums, but this drum needs no change in the sound. It is well seasoned and responds well. Do not hold over a fire for petes sakes.

As for the looks, as those panels fell off I just painted. The sound of the drum only got better the more I played it. I say just paint the bad spots on the drum and paint the stand. Have someone in your area paint the Chinese characters of your school on the stand. Most important, practice your drumming, it is way more affecting, then the looks of an old seasoned drum. Drum like hell man, people will be drawn to you with good drumming!

[Oso]

Oso, the drum has an awesome sound to it, and I miss it. I trust you are not going to mess with the skin. I have heard that you can set the drum out in the sun to improve the sound on older drums, but this drum needs no change in the sound. It is well seasoned and responds well. Do not hold over a fire for petes sakes.

wasn't going to. just want to freshen the look up a bit. the sound is very good.

As for the looks, as those panels fell off I just painted. The sound of the drum only got better the more I played it. I say just paint the bad spots on the drum and paint the stand. Have someone in your area paint the Chinese characters of your school on the stand. Most important, practice your drumming, it is way more affecting, then the looks of an old seasoned drum. Drum like hell man, people will be drawn to you with good drumming!





trying, i just ain't got no rythm :(

[hungsingclf]

what's worked for me in the past is just taping it off with painters tape and adding several coats of primer. then i paint whatever color i want. check advance auto parts for metallic paint or sometimes home depot has a few as well. hope this helps....

[Oso]

thanks.

btw, i met a clf guy about a year ago at a tourney north of Charlotte, NC. I think he said he was in SC or maybe it was GA...I think maybe he was from Europe somewhere. You by any chance he or know who he is?

[hungsingclf]

oso,

no it's not me.

[brothernumber9]

by mentioning the gaps between the slats, if it is compromising the structure of the drum, something that may help is attaching another slightly smaller ring around the exterior, to pull the structure together toward the curve so to speak. I suppose you could only do that from the bottom, since removing the skin has been said a no-no.

I have never done it myself with a drum, but the structure is just like a barrel, and in old barrel making, that's what some would do. I suppose you may even be able to screw a winch strap to one spot on the drum, tighten it to close the gaps and then afix the ring(s).

[ngokfei]

yushan: I think you can let go of the apron strings, oso is a big boy now:p

Sound is one thing but if you are going to be doing public performances, a shoddy looking drum takes away from it.

The fire comment is correct. But make sure you've wet the skin down (yes don't want to burn it). The skin will tighten up when it dries.

[Oso]

i'm practicing my drumming tonight.

like a mad man ;)

well, that's not a very far reach.

my ears are ringing...and one basic fact still remains:

i have no rythm :(

[Oso]

bn9: thanks. I'm going to just try to reinforce the structure to prevent further shrinkage and warpage and caulk the gaps and repaint. the drum does sound good and I don't want to chance effing that up. thanks.


btw, Eric and hungsingclf, we're still sparring every saturday up here. everyone is welcome. we are basically working with san shou rules but are also doing a sort of freestyle including ground work.

[SevenStar]

yushan: I think you can let go of the apron strings, oso is a big boy now:p


from the pics I've seen, oso has probably been a big boy since he was like 6 months old.

[Oso]

from the pics I've seen, oso has probably been a big boy since he was like 6 months old.

:sniff:

are you calling me fat?:o

you'd be right at this point in time.:D

however, at the end of my senior year wrestling season, I was a skinny 167 pounder.

that was 90 pounds ago...

working on it...


finished up with drum about 8:30...played off and on for about 2 hours. watched some clips of yu shan (he's a very good drummer) that I have and some youtube clips...I think I *might* be starting to get the hand of the basic hok san rythm.

[mambi]

I guess to develop better rythm for any reason wether for Kung Fu or music, its good to absorb these things in different ways..Dont know what or how much music you listen to, (but you provably do that anyway) but Id expose myself to different varieties to eventualy wind up with your own rythmic style ( I surprise myself with such wisdom ! Cheapest thing in the world ? advise. everyone likes to give it away) " Rumble young man rumble . Float like a butterfly sting like a bee ! "