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John Croft, Glan Tanat, Llanyblodwel, Oswestry, Shropshire, SY10 8NQ, England. Tel: (44) 01691 - 828850.
E-Mail: theukuleleman@hotmail.com
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Next, make sure that your sink is clean then fill it up with warm water. If you clean your sink before doing this, make absolutely certain that all traces of detergent or any other cleaning agent is COMPLETELY REMOVED prior to filling the sink with warm water. Don’t use hot water, just water that is reasonably warm to the touch. Take your old vellum, place it into the water and leave it for 5 to 10 minutes (Photo 7). Vellums absorb water quickly, and as they do so their texture changes from that of thin cardboard to something approaching that of wet blotting paper. Take it out of the water and you should be easily able to tear the old vellum away from its flesh ring (Photo 8). Throw the old vellum away, but keep the flesh ring (Photo 9). You will now have the three main parts of your instrument that you need in order to fit a new vellum; the hoop, the flesh ring, and the bezel (Photo 10).
However, before you start to fit a new vellum it is very important to prepare the instrument properly. First of all look at the top of the hoop where the new vellum will stretched over. It should be super smooth, so if it isn’t, remove any grime VERY GENTLY. If the top of the hoop is bare wood as is the case with this particular instrument, you can use a very fine grade of carbon paper (such as ‘P 180’ grade) to smooth off the top. When you have done this, give the top of the hoop a good dose of wax polish and allow it to penetrate the wood for a few minutes before polishing it to a shine. Indeed, taking an instrument to pieces for whatever reason is always a good excuse to thoroughly clean it and polish it everywhere prior to re-assembly.
If the metal parts are showing signs of deterioration and are rather rusty may it may also be a good opportunity to get all the metal parts re-plated (in Nickel) if necessary. This is especially true of the bezel which is made of iron (to be able to absorb the enormous tensions upon it) and plated. Rust, on the bezel or on the flesh ring is a menace because vellums have an amazing capacity to absorb tiny amounts of rust (iron) in seconds. Once the rust is absorbed into the vellum it will gradually oxidise out, a process which also oxidises (and completely eats away) your vellum over a period of time. Some flesh rings are also made of iron so if you have one of these you MUST ensure that all the rust is removed prior to fitting a new vellum. Better still, get a brass one made, they don’t rust.
Old bezel’s and flesh ring’s are often in need of a really good clean. Get some fairly rough carbon paper or sandpaper plus some good metal polish and you can remove the grime from the flesh ring and polish it up to a brilliant shine (Photo 11). Don’t use abrasives on the bezel, but simply polish that up to a shine inside and out (Photo 12) with a strong metal cleaner. But beware when you do this because some metal cleaners are abrasive and will ruin the finish on the plating of the bezel if you use the wrong sort.
Take time over this cleaning process - it really is worth it, so that with everything looking like new, you’re now almost ready to fit a new vellum.
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