 collection... |
 Another customer: Taiko drum production by school pupils |
 The tanner checking drumskins for size |
Carbisdale Highland Stag drumskins are suitable for bodhran drums and other traditional instruments. They are made from the hides of red deer stags which are culled on the hills every year to keep numbers at a sustainable level. The hides are unhaired, limed, scraped and stretched following an ancient technique. When dried they are treated with pumice and chalk, then rolled ready for despatch.
The drum-maker or repairer simply soaks back the drumskins for 48 hours in slightly salted water and when they are soft, stretches them over the drum frame.
The whole hide, measuring on average 52 to 53 inches long by 36 to 40 inches wide, is capable of covering two large bodhran drums or many smaller types. A circle of 30 inches can usually easily be made out of each, with lots left over.
 Sanding a drumskin |
 Whole drumskins showing the varying sizes |