Chris Dodd - Posted - 03/28/2026:  06:43:15

Hello all, I have a 1920's Gibson banjolele that needs a new head (6") and my luthier is having trouble locating anything to work. He's tried making one from scratch with natural hide but I'm looking for someone who may have some experience? Any help is greatly appreciated! I'm located in Central Indiana and willing to travel a bit or possible ship the ring to a qualified person who is able to help with this.

Thanks,

Chris
765-461-4438

GrahamHawker - Posted - 03/28/2026:  06:54:54

Why did the luthier not get the skin head to work? That's what would be needed. I've only changed one skin head and it worked out fine.

Edited by - GrahamHawker on 03/28/2026 06:55:13

Chris Dodd - Posted - 03/28/2026:  07:07:58

The tolerances between the ring and frame are much tighter than the skin he was using and he struggled to get it thin enough. Once hydrated it expands and becomes too thick. Unless you've specifically done this on a 6 inch banjolele head I'm not sure you're experience would be helpful here but thank you for your comment.

Banner Blue - Posted - 03/28/2026:  07:52:22

Tight tolerances require very thin heads. A skin head sold as thin may not be thin enough. Thin heads sound great on banjo ukes, but they also need to be retensioned often.

Dan Gellert - Posted - 03/28/2026:  11:31:07

If only you could find a tension hoop that's like 1/16" oversize... (good luck!).

What I'd try is to string together enough hose clamps (the screw type, as used on car radiator hoses) to go around the rim, and use that as a temporary tension hoop. Might use 3-4 hooks to hold it in place while I get the hide leveled up like I want it, then tighten the clamp and remove the hooks. Once it's dry, I'd make sure the tension hoop will fit before trimming the excess hide. If it won't fit over two layers of (dry) hide, things will get tricky.... If the edge gets trimmed down to where it's not folded over and stuck to itself under the tension hoop, it's got to be attached to the flesh hoop somehow, so it doesn't slip off under tension. That's a lot easier if the flesh hoop is square (1/8" brass) rather than round-- a little hide glue will probably keep it together OK.