Interesing advice people, thanks

Maybe I should go with split leather with a grain (white), it`s thinner. I`m think`n since it wont be adhered it might not trasnsfer vibrations as much. I got room under the top flange and would have to hem the bottom cuz they`re concert toms. Everything is gonna stay origonal except the lug screws. I found longer ones in stainless at the hardware store, and vinyl washers too. It`s just and idea I`m toy`n with !! One of my weekend side jobs would easily cover the costs...but I can`t tell the wife !!..Yet !!

AZBill,...Naaaah, I`d be afraid they`d catch fleas !!

Oh yah,..Kevins,..you`re not far off there guy,....I`m gonna cover the badges so I would prolly put the lolly pops on the fronts and branding aint a bad idea !!

Son, it ain't the fleas you'll need to be mindin', it'll be all them derned flies! Perhaps you can play this kit with fly-swatters (?).

Kidding aside, will you be opting for some calf skins for this doggie? (Ok, I am kidding.) Seems I've seen a kit done up like this, somewhere. Anyway, good luck with your idea and please post after pics and sound observations.

Raw Hide!!

Well I just had to jump on the band wagon here! LOL Are you talking about hair-on cow hide? If this is the case i can tell you a few things about it. The hides will cost anywhere from $150-$225 or so. hides come in various sizes. Depends on how big the cow was. You might be able to get it out of 2 hides. The head definatly wont fit over the hide. You would have to trim them back about 3/8" from the edge of the shell. Stitching it together is gonna be pretty tuff too. if you have a commercial upholstery machine and sewed a seam it would cause a huge lump where the seam is, and the hair on the hide would look funny there. You could glue a piece of canvas or something behind the seam. Contact adhesive will work for that. After you get it all done, the drums would sound meffled I bet. You can find fake or foux cowhide at a fabric store, At least you can here in Texas. I have a chair in my living room I covered in hair-on cowhide. Dogs love to sniff it. lol Heres some examples. 1st pic is my chair, 2nd pic is a bench I made with the fake stuff. 3rd pic is my footstool I made from a kids saddle.

One more thing I forgot to mention. Vinyl has come a long way over the years. There are all sorts of cool vinyls out these days. ostritch, gator, tooled leather look, snake skin, sting ray, animal prints etc........

Now hair this,

I have no intentions of leave`n hair, eyes, ears, or anything else on the leather. From the sound of things, ..it`s look`n like I might use what my friend says is split leather. Commercial industries use split leather with a filler in between to give thickness, kind of like a sandwich. It make a hide go a long way. It`s real thin, rolled soft, and a grain is put into it. I have no clue as to how one would split a hide three times !! But anyway,..I want it in grain , white, softened. It wont be sewn,....I will stich it with white leather lace, and pull it tight around the drum, no lap, then let it shrink on even tighter. The seam will be on the side with the tom mounts, like the wrap. He also suggested a hem at the bottom of the concert toms to give it a more finished look. He said all the drums can be done in one piece, and yes I`ll have to make an angled cut at the top to allow it to go under the flange, but not the head.

I`ll be useing only one layer,...not the sandwich material. I`ll put it on the drms, then after it shrinks, I`ll drill and cut from the inside the holes and cut-outs. That way I can`t miss. The only issue I can think of is needing longer screws for the lugs. I`ll save the origonal ones.

If anyone sees somthing I`m not ,..please chime in. I don`t wanna change the tone of these cannons much, if at all. But I know nothing about that.

If anyone has heard or seen drums wrapped in thick material, like someone mentioned,...do tell !!

I have been thinking of this for about a year now and wanna do it at the end of the next summer. My friend needs three skylites replaced on his slate roof and some wood gutters and pipes on the back as well. This will be a trade, I`ll do the work, plus he will buy the skylights and stock..and like the old days, he`ll come up with the leather. I`ve seen a few samples in black but I want white !! I can get it whole, split in half, or split three times,..three times is the thinest, but might tear,..so I may do the half !!

If I pull it off,..I`ll post the photos !!

I just need any and all input first !!

Why do I keep spell`n original wrong ??

OK I hair ya!

Split leather doesn't mean they split it in two and have 2 pieces to use. Split leather is when they split away the top layer of the leather and its called suede. Side leather is the opposite. The bottom layer has been split away to leave the top layer (smooth part) intact. Its rather thin. Top grain leather is like side leather but thicker. This is what we use in the upholstery business. In other words, they sorta scrape that top half off for split leather and scrape the bottom off for side leather. Then they emboss the grain into it with a high pressure roller machine.In your original post you mentioned you weren't gonna use split leather like they they make boots out of.

You can buy a hand leather splitter at tandy leather company. With This handy little tool you can scrape thickness off of the back of the leather. You can scrape about 3/8"-1/2" from the edge to go under the head. In other words the leather is thicker except for the edge that goes under the head.