Put the goat skin in a recipient, fill with clear water and let it rest for about 2 days. The longer the skin is in the water, the easier it is to remove the hairs after, though if you wait too long the skin gets bald. Don't panic about the smell, you get used to it after two days ;o)

Put the skin on a table and cam the hairs

Put the biggest top ring in the middle of the skin, center it with the goats back, the tail side of the skin is often thicker and stronger. Be aware that there aren't holes in the skin, those would burst the skin when you put tension on it.

Cut a circle around the ring, 10-15 cm must be enough to have a border. Don't make it too small, the skin would skip between the two rings when you tighten the ropes.

Use a special tool to cut little holes in the skin, this makes assembling the rings easier.

Make holes on the edge of the skin every 10-15 cm.

Put a string through the holes, skip side every time you pass a hole.

Tighten the string, and look if the skin is still centered. Look if the skin is even spread over the ring, all bumps should be even. Once the string is tightened, use the string that's left to tighten all sides of the skin, like the way they tighten snow chains on tires.

Wax the top of the djembe with a candle.

Put all the rings on the djembe, and check if the rings are properly placed (not all rings are perfect circles), tie the bottom ring to the skin (the holes we made with the special tool) with little wires; to center the skin and keep it in place.

Tighten the little side ropes to keep the skin in place, for this djembe I only used four wires, for larger djembe's you better use some more.

To put the vertical ropes on a djembe you have to have a start, there are different ways to start, I use this one because this way the rope keeps in place. Make a flat knot, follow the picture it's hard to explain you better see.

This is the finishing of the flat knot.

Make a second knot.

The second knot. When tightening the vertical ropes the second knot is pulled together to the first knot, a very strong knot is the result.

Then start pulling the ropes through the loops of the top and bottom ring.

Keep your attention to the job, it's easy to miss, and when you're at the end it is no fun to start allover again when you missed somewhere in between.

When you putted all the verticals, you can start tighten the ropes. Attention that you keep the top ring centered and horizontal. Tighten your djembe with the same strength, and keep your eye on the top ring, and make adjustments if needed to keep it all centered.

I use a own made tool to tighten the verticals, it is a kind of lever so you can put more pressure on it. If you don't have it, you just have to use your own force.

Untie the top of the skin, and spread the skin over the djembe. Use a razor to remove the hairs, go along with the hairs otherwise you cut into the skin. Before we use the razor, we shaved it with a electronic razor, this speeds it up, the finishing touch is still with the old fashion razor. No soap is needed, just water and patience.

After it is shaved, use waterproof sandpaper to cleanup the skin. Use a lot of water, and don't be afraid to use strength.

A nice close-up, pity I can't put the smell online  ;o)

When the shaving is finished, tighten the border together so it can dry and keep it's position. The shaving on the edges don't have to be 100%, when pulling the ropes, some more hairs will appear. Those can be shaved later, though be precious because the skin isn't wet anymore.

Let the djembe dry for about a week, then you can start tightening the verticals to the maximum tension.

This is the end of the demonstration. How to put the horizontals, will be added later if I get some pictures. I putted some links to other sites, where you can find illustrations.

COUNTRY

CITY

NAME

CONTACT

Belgium

Antwerp

JAN BEKAERT

e-mail / website

djembe / skins / workshop reskinning /etc.