In Reply to: wooden drums posted by vic on Wednesday, 4. March 2009 at 00:00 Bali Time:
I assume you're referring to the replica 'djembe' style drums that originated in West Africa (goblet shaped). Bongos are the little ones that come in pairs.
Yes, you can bring them into Oz BUT you will either have to have the drum (head) irradiated with gamma rays to kill any potential bugs in the skin or you will have to remove the head & discard on or before entry. The skin is the issue here because the heads are made from rawhide rather than tanned hide and can therefore harbour disease or bugs.
Generally the wood is good quality plantation mahogany but you should still check carefully for holes/borers before purchase. The cost of irradiation depends on the point of entry - it cost me $60 because there are no facilities to do this in ADL so they had to send it to MLB (freight). It took a couple of weeks before they sent it back for collection from the airport.
If the drum is just for 'show' then irradiation is fine, but if you intend to play it and are fussy about the tone, the irradiation will dry out the skin & it won't sound as good. In that case, remove the skin in Bali (keep the rope & rings & shell only) and re-skin it in Oz? You can order goat skins from www.drummergirl.com.au and do it yourself (plenty of instructions on the web).
I'm getting myself a shell & rings as well - in a couple of weeks yay!
Cheers, Fred....