How to Repair Your Broken Drum
Note: To avoid having to repair your drum, please read both our standard drum care and extreme weather drum care instructions.
When exposed to excessive dryness or heat, your drum can break. The hide will continue to tighten, and the hoop does not, so something eventually has to give. Under many circumstances, you can repair the drum yourself.
You will need:
Sharp scissors
Needle-nose pliers
A tub or other container large enough to soak your drum
Instructions for reassembly. These vary based on the style of your drum (See below for downloadable instructions).
1. Examine your drum closely. The most common breaks are the holes in the drum head, the lacing itself, or the hoop. Frequently the hoop will break at the tang (overlap), as this is the weakest part of the hoop.
If you do not find any breaks but the head is loose and the sound muffled, your drum is wet (not broken) and just needs to be dried. See the drum care instructions for details on how to do this.
If your drum has ripped across the surface of the head or if the hoop has broken in any other place than the joint, you will need to replace the broken head or hoop.
For all types of breaks:
2. Remove the suede handle wrap or anything you have added to the drum (feathers, etc.)
3. Soak the drum in cool water, handle side down, for 3-6 hours, depending on the thickness of your drum hide (deer & horse will be quicker, elk and buffalo may take longer)
4. The end of the lacing is tucked into the handle from underneath the center. It is helpful at this point to look at the end of the assembly instructions to see how it is wrapped. When you have found it, pull it out.. A needle-nose pliers is helpful. If you can't get it to pull, soak the drum longer.
5. Unlace the drum. If this is difficult, soak the drum a bit longer.
6. Pull the head off the hoop. If this is difficult, dip it into water for a few minutes. Be careful, if your hoop is broken, it will spring outward when the head is removed.
To Repair a Broken Hoop
You will need:
Wood glue (Titebond 3 recommended)
2-3 bar clamps (we like DeWalt DWHT83158)
Liberally apply the wood glue to the broken joint. You do not need to sand or clean it first. Clamp the joint into place with 2-3 bar clamps (as many as will fit), tighten them down hard. Glue should squeeze out from the joint all around, you can clean it off with a slightly dampened paper towel (this is to be sure you get a solid and complete joint). Let dry 24-48 hours, longer is better.
Remaking Your Drum
Soak your head and lacing in cool water overnight, then follow the instructions you downloaded earlier. There are directions for repairing both a torn hole and a torn lacing in the instructions.
