Tighten (goat?) skin bongo drum

[Marijn]

How do you tighten the skin on a drum? There's no tighteners, screws, strings or anything. I was wondering if wetting it would make it tauter?

[saxy_jag]

I'm assuming, if there's no visible form of tautening the skin, that it's nailed on somehow?

You could try wetting it, but unless you have it professionally reheaded, it's unlikely to make a significant difference.

Is it a tourist/decorative piece, or did it come from proper music shop? If the former, then you're not likely to be able to do much with it, I'm afraid.

[Marijn]

Thank you. It has wooden pegs shaped like corks pushed through the hairy skin at the sides into the holes in the thick wooden base. Some of the hairy skin has torn away from the peg, so it's drumming surface is a little loose. Do you think the hairy skin at the side would adhere to the wood using super glue? I bought it at a charity shop for £4 :-)

[Answerprancer]

If it was a djembe I could help you (I teach/perform using these drums).
The sort of drum you describe is most likely to be a 'tourist' piece and there's not much you can do to tighten it unless you're willing to do quite a lot of DIY.
If you are interested in learning African drumming and have the money to buy one which is serviceable, let me know and I'll give you some further info.

[Marijn]

Thank you Answerprancer. I think I'll put the skin taut and try nailing it into place.

[ZakFlying]

Where there is a will, there is a way. Of course there is something you can do easily. Do not listen to these people here.
Here is what you do. Ready? Okay. Take the animal skin off by wetting the skin with water. Soak the head by turning the drum upside down in a pan for an hour in salty warm water but do not get the pegs wet. There should only be water level up about an inch. Add 3 teaspoons salt per liter. Do not get the pegs wet. Put two drops of olive oil at each peg where the pegs connect to the wood of the drum as it is upside down. This will help you slide out the pegs later.
Come back after half an hour and gently twist the pegs off using a pair of visegrip pliers that has its jaws nicely padded by a cotton towel.
Now gently pull off the animal skin from the head of the drum. Careful. Set the wood drum she'll in the sun and let it dry for a day.
Then gently and briefly sand the rim of the drum so that it is a litter smooth if it was not smooth before. Next do a light cross hatch sanding with slightly rougher sand paper. This will make the wooden more likely to bond with some polyester resin the you are about to put on top of the rim.
Next, paint rim of the drum with a freshly mixed up layer of polyester resin. Not too thick only thick enough to where it barely wants to run down the side of the drum. Let it dry for a day. Sand it a litttle bit with 200 grit sand paper and do that whole thing again again two more times. A total of three times. This process will hopefully raise the height of the rim about 2 or 3 millimeters, right? You will have raised the height of the drum by 2 or 3 millimeters. Let it the resin job dry and cure another day. Sand it it a little bit to make it pretty.
Next, soak the head it warm salty water with five drips of olive oil for only a little while
With the head still wet flip it to fling off excess water and then put it back on the head. Use the same loops at the same holes using the same pegs that were at those holes. Next let the drum dry in the sun for a day. When it dries , the skin will tighten itself.
You will have a very nice sounding drum.