First, THOSE ARE SOME THICK SKINS!! I just reskined a conga and saw first-hand the expansion and shortening of a skin when mounting from water soaked flats to dry, snug fitting heads. By the looks of it, these pics:
Were they done drying? If not, how much more space was available in the intersection between flesh hoop and lug "hanger" after a few more days?
The white coloration from the skin around the bearing edge is very similar to that of the flesh wrapped around the flesh hoop. Can you explain to the readers of the forum how to limit/eliminate this efect?
What is the length from top surface of the drum to the top surface of you traditional rim? I mounted my skin, equalized distance by "eye", then let dry with Shea butter for a few days before taking a transparent ruler, and finally measuring my 5 lugs to 1cm for the final days.
Although my tumbadoras are beaters, for now, the technique is the same and much can be learned and acquired in every mounting of a soaked flat skin onto a bearing edge, wrapped around a flesh hoop, and countered by a tensioned rim.
