personally i'v never come across 'melting' it through the head! that sounds nuts to me.

are you planning to put a bass drum 'o' or porthole ring in once you've cut the head? if so they come with a reinforcing circle to stop the head splitting, so you can just cut out the hole with a stanley knife or even better one of these....

http://www.amazon.com/Ba...-Standard/dp/B0007KVR82

i have one and have used it hundereds of times and ...touch wood... it has never split a drum head yet. just select what size hole you want then stick the point in the middle of where you want the porthole to be, pop the blade through then simply drag it round to get a perfect circle everytime.

for the sake of a few bucks there definately worth it!

not sure about the tama logo heads coming with a port but i know evens.etc make heads with pre-made port's in. normally about 5" i think.

let us know what you decide to do/get! cheers.

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tama starclassic b/b lava glass glitter
24"x 18", 13"x 6.5", 16"x 16", 18"x 16".
tama starclassic performer birch red sparkle fade
22"x 18", 10"x 8", 12"x 9", 14"x 14", 16"x 14"
dw edge 14"x7" snare. OCDP 14"x6" vented. tama 10"x6" 'pop' snare.
paiste 2002 15hh,24r,20c x2,zildjian z custom 20c,k custom 16c, 16china,meinl mb20 20c.
all dw hardware.