I have made a lot of calfskin heads in the last several years (Over 2000) and I have leaned a lot by doing that many heads so I am writing this thread in the hopes that it will help many of you on future projects. I know that a sticky there is already a sticky on tucking calfskin heads but I am hoping that this thread will cover these heads in a much broader discussion and hopefully answer a lot of the questions about care, maintanence etc. that I see pop up repeatedly in many different threads.
Tucking / cutting / soaking - When tucking heads I use maple flesh hoops and they are usually 1/4" thick or 3/8" thick. For the smaller 1/4" hoops I make sure to leave 2" of calfskin all the way around to ensure a good tuck so if you are making a 14" head you want an 18" calfskin round to start with. On the larger 3/8" flesh hoops which I use on all rope tension marching drums and bass drum heads you will want to leave 3" of calf all the way around because of the thicker hoop so if you are making a 20" head you will want a 26" calfskin round to start with.
When soaking the calfskin I soak it in cold water because warm water breaks down the skin fibers much faster than cold water and you can potentially risk damaging the head if you soak it for too long in warm water. I soak heads for different amount of times but it generally depends on the thickness of the skin. For my heads I use three different thicknesses that are custom shaved for my company. 9 mil. thickness for bass drum and other large drums, 6 mil. for standard batter heads and some tympani heads. and 3 mil. for resonant and snare side heads and some tympani. I try not to go over a 10 mil. max thickness because some thicker (medium weight skins) can be as thick as 14 mil. and even when wet these skins become very tough to tuck cleanly. You can expect to soak the thicker heads for 10 - 15 minutes at least and sometimes as little as 5 minutes for thinner 3 mil. heads but the best way to do it is to go by feel. Each head is different so two large 9 mil. 26" rounds may take different amounts of time before they are ready to cut and tuck.
I find that it is much easier and you run far less risk of damaging your skins if you soak and then cut. Once you soak the skin is easier to cut cleanly with a sharp Exacto knife if there is a need to trim down. A tucking spoon or other homemade tool can be used to tuck the skins around your flesh hoop and some people even just use their fingers. You will not need any glue because there is natural glue created when the skin dries around the wood hoop and will prevent the skin from slipping off for years to come.
Mounting - Once the head is tucked successfully onto the flesh hoop you can put it right on the drum and tighten the rims down just enough to form a slight collar on the drum. If it is a nice sunny and warm summer day (85 degrees or more) you can sit the drum with the head on it out in the sun and it will be dry and ready to play in a few hours. Damp or humid weather will cause the head to dry slower.
Playing and care - Many people think that calf skin heads are fragile and made only for low volume jazz or blues and need to played with a great deal of care. This is about as far from the truth as you can get. Yes, there are some things you have to be mindful of when using calf skin and they wouldn't be my choice for a metal gig, they will put up to a bit of a beating. Keep in mind that many fife and drum corps still play on calf skin heads today and are playing with stick that are 17"+ in length and up to 1" in diameter depending on the stick and weighing 100+ grams a piece in some cases. These drums are played up to 100 times a year between performances and practices and these heads will last for many years if cared for properly. If you are playing your calf skin heads on a regular basis then you will want to use a little bit of Shae butter or a NATURAL leather conditioner on your finger tips every 6 months and rub it gently into your heads. This will help to keep the natural oils in the heads which is important because without these natural oils the heads will become dry and brittle and will loose their warmth and bounce. Vintage heads look nice on vintage drums but they are basically brittle paper and won't feel or sound anything like a new head because they haven't been maintained and cared for. Remember, calfskin, like modern heads, were never meant to be played on for 50 years or more. Change them out once in a while.
This is the first of several posts I will put up in this thread dealing with different aspects of calf skin heads. If there are any specific questions you have that aren't answered by any of my posts or there is something specific you would like to see discussed please post it here and I will do my best to answer all questions.
