Andy Chase

I've never been crazy about the plastic veneer that came on the Remo drum I'm using as the pot for this banjo, so when I came across some 2"
wide maple veneer this weekend I jumped right on it... $6.99 for a 96
inch roll at the Woodcraft store in West Springfield, Mass. It's the
iron-on adhesive type, which in hindsight might not have been the best
idea. (more on that below.)

I was a little bit concerned about peeling the veneer off the drum,
not knowing exactly how the head is attached and whether I might
damage it somehow, but I needn't have worried... the tape around the
top and the veneer itself peeled right off, not even leaving any residue.

It turns out the head is just stapled on... very small staples very
close together all the way around the top.

At this point it occurred to me that pressing a hot iron against the
drum head material is probably not such a great idea... I expect it
would melt and/or shrivel. So, I will either need to trim the veneer
down a bit and find something else to cover the staples, or leave the
veneer at 2 inches wide and just not iron it at the top.