There are many safe moisturisers you can use and it is best to avoid those with too many chemicals. The skin will only need any of these if it becomes dry, like looking after your hands. Silcox is the base for moisturisers with nothing added. It will make the skin as smooth as silk. Rub it on the outside of the skin. Vasaline petroleum jelly; usually if you can use...
It has been mentioned to me, and also I have noticed it on a few online discussion boards, people claiming that some bodhráns don't last too long, or "die" to use a more dramatic term. I have had a number of bodhráns in for re-skinning because the player claims that the skin has gone too soft, I must say that I did not make these drums but usually this just happens when the...
People often buy tuneable bodhrans without knowing the advantages of being able to adjust the tension of the skin. Obviously they learn eventually but, if you're not sure have a look at the video I made below, I have tried to cover everything in it. Basically the goatskin is suseptable to humidity and as such the tension can vary. If the humidity is too high the skin gets loose. If...
To cure a goatskin a solution of garden lime mixed with water is used. The skin is left soaking in the mix for six or seven days until the skin is soft enough to wash the hair off in a barrel of water. The back of the skin must then be scraped of all membrane and fat so that the skin does not smell when dried. The skin must then be soaked in a pickle...
