banjonz - Posted - 12/04/2011:  21:08:08

I was having lunch with a friend who makes banjos ( out of anything) and we were discussing the old Rogers hide heads. He stated that the reason they were so fine and thin was that they separated each of the layers of animal skin with a machine, hence the thinness. Can anyone shed any light on this at all?

Pickin furry paws - Posted - 12/04/2011:  21:21:55

Thanks for asking this. I have been wondering myself.

Ditto.

BDCA - Posted - 12/04/2011:  22:33:04

I used to make bodhrans out of freshly alum tanned goat skins that were still wet. The skin is run through a machine that cuts it to a desired thickness, like a thicness planer. The skin was white and around 1/4 inch thick when wet, but dried paper thin and almost transparent.. I assume Rogers probably cured and processed their own skins with a similar machine. Once the skin has dried the first time, it's never the same.

Cya!

Bob

Edited by - BDCA on 12/04/2011 22:34:30

jbalch - Posted - 12/05/2011:  04:36:22

This book contains a good bit of detail about the Rogers drum and banjo head business;  amazon.com/Rogers-Book-Rob-Coo...888408049

I have not read the whole thing.  But I did read several pages about the hide processing in an online preview.  The writer indicated that the quality of Rogers heads was due to the use of very select skins and processing - by hand.  It was said that very skilled workers scraped the hides to the ideal thickness  - by hand .  In that regard, I don't think anyone makes similar heads today.

Maybe someone who has read the book can comment further....

BTW:  Jeff Stern at Stern tanning sterntanning.com/percussion.htm bought the equipment aand business of the United Rawhide Co. of Chicago, IL.  Jeff machine processes hides using the same equipment and in the same manner as United did for Ludwig, Slingerland and other Chicago drum makers.  Stern tanning hides are the closest I've found to the quality of the old heads.

Edited by - jbalch on 12/05/2011 04:41:17

jbalch - Posted - 12/05/2011:  04:47:45

See the details on pages 7 and 8 of the preview here:  books.google.com/books?id=Snb5...p;f=false

It was all done by hand and using natural processes. 

Edited by - jbalch on 12/05/2011 04:50:56

tdennis - Posted - 12/05/2011:  06:46:57

Rogers also claimed that his skins were superior because they were open air dried,  & naturally sun bleached, & that other companies used chemical bleaching  ( sulphuric acid & hydrogen or sodium peroxide) which made their product less durable.