I just made old heads as good as new!

Concrete Pete

Senior Member
Hey Crew,

If this has been posted here before, or is an old trick, just ignore this post, but it's something I just discovered, and works great.

I'm on a limited budget since the economy in in the crapper, and save money wherever I can. That in mind, I needed to change out my dimpled and cratered drum heads (snare and toms) as they were getting to the point that they sounded "thuddy" from all the damage.

Long story short, I removed my smallest tom head and took a clothes iron to it, putting the head rim-up on a towel on my hardwood table, with a thin pillowcase over it, so as not to overheat it. After about 20 or so passes with heavy pressure on the iron- VOILA! The head looked brand new, and when mounted back on the shell sounded about 95% better. I did the same process with my other tom heads, and my snare, too- all with the same results. I just saved myself the cost of 4 new heads, and am amazed that such a simple trick works.

Rock on,
C. P.
 
I have used this trick to fix a distorted looking port hole on a front bass drum head. It worked like a charm.
 
Tight budget... know that one! I'm refurbishing an old set of Ludwigs and they'll need all new heads. I've got some hydraulics I might try your iron trip on. However, I found 'Starlite' heads and I've never heard of them. They're very cheap at about six buck each. Anyone ever try them? Bad I bet. Please reply if you know of their quality.
 
Concrete Pete....Genius....I'm mad that it never occurred to me...but then again I never dent drumheads...but sometimes others do that for me when my kit gets used at the open mic nights. Again, genius. The world needs minds like yours.
 
That trick has been around for some time now. I think people dismiss it because it sounds so bizzare. It works.
 
It's been around for some time eh? Wow I don't know how I missed that one. I swear that's the first I ever saw it mentioned anywhere. Thanks again to Concrete Pete and Bernhard, you guys rock man.
 
Does it work for two-ply heads?
Just wondering because I don't was to completely destroy my g2's...
But THIS IDEA ROCKS
I was thinking I needed new heads....
But again I haven't tried it. I too never heard of this "trick".
Save me some bucks..thats what happens when you play drums..money money money lol
 
It will work on any head. Just follow the directions given in the first post. I just used this trick to reform an old Remo ing back into shape. I use one on my snare from time to time. Somehow it nearly got folded in half so that put a nasty crease in it and it wouldn't lat flay on the head. I put the ring on my kitchen counter and out a tee shirt over it. I fired up the iron and after 10 minutes of working with the iron, the ring is nearly perfect..
 
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yea i had that problem also with a 16" pinstripe. after i ironed it, it went really wrinkly on the outside and rly rly tight on the inside. I can still use it, but only if i hit in the VERY center.
 
This is fun to play around with, but keep in mind when you heat mylar the molecular structure is changed forever. Mylar is stretched from the impact of playing, there's nothing you can do to get it back to its original state.

The lighter flame under the dimples stuff works visually, but strike the spot with a stick where the dimple originally was and dimple will come back instantly.

Compare a 'heat treated' head to a new one. You might get lucky with heating one, but it'll only sound good in a very limited tuning range, ie not usable.
 
I tried this on an old head and totally warped it. I assume I used too much heat. What setting did you use for the iron?
 
Tried this with my old heads, took an iron to it, and not only did the heads flatten like new. Which makes the head sound as good as new but I was blown away to see the coating actually reappear on the drum head. If I were to hold the old and the new coated drum head side by side you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. So, now I'll just buy 10 year old heads and bring them back to life and sell them for a huge profit. Wow!










Not! sorry but I had to. This thread is just too ridiculous.
Really there is no harm in trying but I wouldn't expect any positive results.
Check your technique because you shouldn't be puting craters and dimples on your heads.
The only thing you can do to extend the life of a head somewhat is as it begins to lose its tone
when tuned lower, start tuning it a bit higher to get a decent tone out of it. Basically, though once
they're gone there gone for good.
 
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Did you factor in the cost of the electricity that your iron used to further weaken your worn heads? I have worked with similar plastics in the auto repair industry for over thirty years. Heating plastic materials will shrink them, But it always weakens them. The polymers in plastic materials break down when they are heated after their initial heating during the manufacturing and forming process. When plastics are recycled, only a small amount of used plastic can be added to the new product because of this fact. Aluminum is the only material that I know of that can be repeatedly heated, melted, and recycled over and over.
 
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