Last edited by Gretschhead 10-19-2009 at 09:57 AM. The glue they used on these old GBs wasn't the best, its pretty tough to find vintage gon bops without splits or previous repairs. Some cracks are easier than others, I've found that the mahogany gon bops are much much easier to repair than the oak models. Leave the ropes tensioned for atleast 2 days to dry. A syringe works good for getting the glue into the cracks. Ratchet straps are another good option, strap it around the drum and tighten it closed, check the rating on the straps though, don't chince out and go with cheapy ones because they will snap.
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Tie the ropes around the belly of the drum, make a loop around the pipe and twist it until the tension closes the crack. All you need is a couple of thick ropes, some Tightbond III wood glue, and a metal pipe or something to turn the ropes with. Repairing cracks is pretty simple though, you don't have to be a master woodworker to get it done.
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should be an adventure.I don't know anyone personally around that area, you might check out the congaplace board though, I know a few of those guys live down there. Next up, a set of 70's one off's from the Gon Bops factory. It was a fun project for both the owner and myself, and the drums are back to being more beautiful today than gel coated out of the shop. Dont think these drums should be dragged around to the local drum circle. Off they go to a life of house arrest! jaja. but we'll see if they stabilize.Īs for now, they are solid, without a hint of a hairline, and sound great. and may cause more problems than they fix. They will be kept in round, no doubt, but I believe it may prevent the shells from flexing, from morning to night, from winter to summer. They were very well made, and very well installed. I have a variety of conga drums for sale ranging from a variety of prices depending on name brand and conditions. These drums were retrofitted with almas top and bottom. You can tap on the shell with your hand, play the shell on the top, as if it had a skin, and the tone of the shell will tell you how structurally sound the shell is.
#CONGA REPAIR ORLANDO PROFESSIONAL#
Professional Percussionist, Drum Maker Latin. You can always tell if you have missed any major cracks, as the shell will not sing. The Conga Doctors Drum Restoration and Repair - Congas, Bongo, Bata. It came out really nice in the end, and they are virtually invisible. In this case, I couldnt take any more material off of the shell, so we had no choice but to match the repairs. The conga, a nice 11.5", thankfully without sidecuts on the inside, had three hairline cracks that I fixed up, matching up the repairs without having to refinish the drum, which sometimes can be rather challenging. Its quite traumatic to hear about, but these drums do usually stabilize with the weak points being strengthened.
#CONGA REPAIR ORLANDO CRACK#
requiring two additional crack fixing sessions, and 8-9 total cracks fixed on this one drum.
#CONGA REPAIR ORLANDO SERIES#
The prior work, combined with the clamping to fix the first series of splits on the quinto, created quite a 'crack chasing' episode. so we can fix them and get the shell sounding as good a possible. And after that fix, another two reared their ugly heads.
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but the quinto, after repairing four obvious cracks, showed three more hairline cracks not previously noticeable. So, the conga came together nicely,and played nice. The saving grace was the fact they had no internal sidecuts, like many Gon Bops of that era.Īfter a really nice job refinishing the drums, the shells started to crack, and came in with 7 hairlines that needed attention. Funny thing about thin shells, they sound even better to me, but are less stable. In the process of removing the stock gel coat, a bit too much material was taken off the shells, making them a bit thin. So, this particular restoration came in almost finished, but the process of refinishing with power tools created lots of vibration on the old shells. perhaps ZamGar from Mexico with the tackheads of the 60's might have sold more drums.but as far as for competent players, Gon Bops have it. Probably the most popular drum to own and play out of all the hand made drums in history. so the drums often have to be practically rebuilt.īut once together, the drums sound and look like no other. The glue Gon Bops used back in the 70's was not the best glue in the world, and has about a 40yr life span. So it tends to be less flexible than other woods. The material is hydro-phobic, staying very dry, and the reason it is a really nice ship building wood. It may be the most rewarding experience, it will just take a bit more commitment to make that happen. And owning an old set, often, is like adopting a special needs kid. These old Mahogany drums are some of the best sounding, and least stable drums around.