How to Make a Skin for a Bongo Drum

Skin the animal of your choice. Goat, deer, elk and buffalo all work if properly tanned right after the animal is skinned. Use a large enough piece of hide for your drum. The hide is typically the toughest part and will last the longest.

Lay the hide hair down on a flat surface. Sprinkle clean salt over the flesh side, using a pound of salt for each pound of hide.

Let the hide sit for several days until the salt removes all moisture. Scrape off the salt and reapply another layer to let it sit once again and finish the process. Tilt the hide so it can drain, if possible.

Soak the skin in a barrel of cool water. Once its softened, scrape off any remaining flesh with a metal file. Place the hide in warm water with an ounce of baking soda added for each gallon of water. Remove the hide and use a knife to take off any final pieces of debris.

Make a solution of hydrated lime and water; a quart of lime for each gallon of water works best. Let the hide soak for a week or two. Remove the hide and pull out the hair with your hand. Remove any stubborn pieces by scraping with a knife.

Soak the hide in water. Run the file along both sides of the skin to clean. Soak the hide again in a solution of one pint vinegar and 10 gallons of water. This will clean the lime from the hide after 24 hours.

Create a mixture of a pint (16 oz.) of wood alcohol and a pint of turpentine. Soak the hide in the solution inside a container with a lid. Shake the solution at regular intervals. Allow a week to pass, then soak the skin in water and enough dish soap to make the water sudsy. Squeeze out the excess water and set the skin on a flat, dry surface.

Use another solution for finishing the hide with oil. Create a fat liquor oil mixture with 3 1/2 oz. of sulfated neatsfoot oil, 3 1/2 oz. warm water and 1 oz. standard ammonia. Coat the skin in this oil while it is still damp from the water. Let it dry over night. Stretch the skin to its limit and smooth it out with a sanding block.