 | SoundsGoodToMe says:
10/22/2013 11:45:39 AM
Hi Marinie. I don't have video, but I can give a fair description of what we did. Other people might do it differently, so it's worth reading through as many posts as you can.
Preparing the gourd: I f it's already cut, not much to do here, just sand lightly around the outside of the cut to roughen the surface so the glue can adhere a bit better. Maybe trim the inside of the cut a bit if there are irregularities than might muffle or rattle against the skin.
Preparing the skin: Make sure the skin is wider than the cut side of the gourd by 2-3 inches on both sides because you'll need room to hold it firmly on both sides and still be able to get the tacks in. Soak it in room-temperature water to make it expand. We soaked it maybe half an hour, I've heard longer and shorter periods from other builders, and also that they can get a bit slimy and nasty if they soak too long, so it might be a good idea to gather a bit more info than I have. When you're ready to go, pad the extra water off the skin with a towel so it isn't slippery.
Stretching and tacking the skin was a two-person job, one to stretch and hold the skin and one to push in the tacks. There wasn't any kind of measurable precision to the tightness; the teacher just advised stretching the skin against the cut as hard as you can without crushing the gourd. I know that's not very helpful, but no one managed to crush their gourd so they must have been sturdier than they looked.
Anyway, have a steady flat surface that's a good height to work on, glue, plenty of tacks, and a strong helper ready. Set the gourd on the work surface where both people can easily reach it without crossing each other up. Spread a generous line of woodworking glue on the outside of the gourd around the cut maybe 1/2"-3/4" wide, but not right on the flat of the cut itself where it would immobilize the vibrating surface of the skin. Work pretty quickly so the skin won't dry out and the glue won't harden before you're done. Have the stretcher grab the skin at opposite edges, lay it over the cut side of the gourd centered as well as it can be, and stretch down hard while the tacker gets the tacks in on each side near the stretcher's hands. Expect to have to push pretty hard on the tacks, gourds are hard. Put the tacks in maybe 1/2" or a little more below the cut edge. I think we did two tacks on each side of the stretch about an inch apart to distribute the force a bit and help get rid of wrinkles on the head. Then turn the gourd ninety degrees, stretch again perpendicular to the first stretch, tack again, turn it to split the difference between the first two stretches, stretch and tack again, and keep doing it to fill in the gaps until you run out of gaps to fill. The head area should end up nice and smooth, and there will be excess skin flapping around below the tacks. I never was able to get every last little wrinkle out of the excess, but that doesn't really matter unless you're really into wrinkle-free-ness. We cut off the excess later after it was dry.
Then just leave alone a day or two to dry and it'll tighten itself up as the skin shrinks. It's possible that the gourd will crack as the skin tightens, but pretty unlikely as long as it was good to begin with.
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 | Marinie Toman says:
10/22/2013 2:04:21 PM
thank you very much guy's, that was fantastic Soundsgoodtome, i must get the wife to help, or maybe not,lol
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| SoundsGoodToMe says:
10/22/2013 3:35:15 PM
Glad to help. C Nyal's done this more than I have, it's good he can confirm that I didn't screw it up :)
Also, be aware of where the neck heel will end up. If you want to get the heel flush to the gourd, be careful not to get tacks in the way.
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