Vintage Gon Bops - a new project!

[windhorse]

Tony, aside from the drum work skills,
you're also getting really good with the photography!

Here's your drum which I'm loving!
after being in my clutches for a few weeks..

[congaDR]

Thanks for the kind words Wind!

I miss that drum!

Funny, how a drum becomes a part of you when you bring it back to life.

This 11.25 sounds so dang sweet with the new skin. This one will be hard to part with as well...

I detailed the skinning process on my blog, if anyone is interested in how i skin.

just google: "Tony's conga" and you will find me... http://congadr.blogspot.com/

Ill post a new topic with the address too,

Tony

[bongosnotbombs]

So this project still going on.

I had to wait for the finishes to arrive in the mail..

...and then I got laid off and had to find a new job
(don't worry guys I found a new one)

So this drum is getting the Tung oil treatment.
I found a company online that sells pure tung oil and they
had a "dark" tung oil too.

So I got some dark tung oil because I wanted this drum to have some patina, to match
it's hardware and age and stuff.

So the drum now has 3 coats of the dark tung oil, next it's going to get 4 more coats of regular
tung oil to finish her off. It's as dark as I want it. This stuff takes about 24-48 hours to dry, but
very easy to apply. Just rub it on with a rag then lightly sand with steel wool when dry. Tung oil is 100% natural
and non-toxic. This is going to be a very green recycled instrument!

After that I have a new head from Fat Congas, gonna put new lugs on her and then install a leather handle
like for trunks and stuff.

My intention is to be able to keep this drum in my new architecture firm and practice during lunch
in Union Square, which is only a block away, give the shoppers something to listen too.

So a few more weeks and she'll be done!

[Chupacabra]

I've been toying with the idea of using tung oil on some of the various projects that I have in the works. I can get some for cheaper that dirt (free, actually) and I have to act on it soon. I wonder how well it will work on the Western Red Cedar that I'm using to make my bongos with? That's another really sweet looking shell you have there, by the way! Where the heck do you find all these beautiful fixer-uppers?

[bongosnotbombs]

This is the same drum I started with, the one at the beginning of the thread,
I am just starting to add the finishes, the other drum belonged to Tony, he's
done already.

I think the tung oil would work fine with the bongo shells you are talking about,
can't see why it would'nt........

[congaDR]

[bongosnotbombs]

Well this project will be finished this week.

I have applied the last coat of Tung Oil, I think 8 coats now, so many I lost track.
Here it is drying and I spent part of the day polishing the metal peices which cleaned
up really nicely.

The original lugs are kind of beat, so I ordered lugs from Latin Rhythm traders last week.
I already have a skin, so as soon as those lugs come in this things done.

That tung oil takes a lot of time, it's really cool but you have to put on like 6 coats
and then wait 1, 2 or even 3 days if its cold for the stuff to dry, sand and repeat!

I guess I started this thread almost 4 months ago? Dang, well I've had slower projects.

[bongosnotbombs]

Almost done, just waiting for new lugs to arrive in the mail.

[Tonio]

BNB, it lost the sheen? It must be from the sanding. I didn't catch the specifics of the tung oil. Is it really oil or more of a paste?
What grit are you using for in between coats?
T

[bongosnotbombs]

100% tung oil gives a matt finish. For sanding in between coats I started with
steel wool, then moved onto 320 grit wet sanding. The sheen was when the
oil was wet. I'm not putting any wax or anything, I want this drum to still have a patina of age.

It really is an oil, comes in a bottle, not paste like at all.

I used a dark tung oil for the first coats, I wanted to highlight the deep
gouges, not hide them. This old warrior has a few scars.

[windhorse]

Geordie, you mounted the brackets before having the lugs?
I'm a little concerned,, but I'm sure it's just fine..

I'll be out your way next week for Kosmos on Thursday,
Then in San Fran the following Mon. or Tues.
I'm staying with Mark as far as I know.
I'll have Gon Bop Quinto with me!

Dave

[bongosnotbombs]

Geordie, you mounted the brackets before having the lugs?
I'm a little concerned,, but I'm sure it's just fine..

When I took the brackets off I numbered them and numbered
their locations on the inside of the shell, so they are in the same
places as original, I still have the original lugs, but those are really
hammered so I'm replacing them.

[bongosnotbombs]

I'll have Gon Bop Quinto with me!

Dave

Sweet, like a quinto reunion.

[GonBoper]

Bongosnotbombs
Nice job. Your taking your time and the job shows it. I too used Tung oil when I refinished my Gon Bops.
Is the 100% oil take longer to dry than the more readily available oils(Formbees etc.) on the market?
Also How do you put the Bands on? Can you get stainless bands after-Market?


Peace
Bops

[bongosnotbombs]

The 100% tung takes longer, that's why they make that other stuff, it's
usually heated or mixed with something else to make it dry faster. I wanted
a 100% natural finish. Why? I don't know, because I could I guess. 100% Tung oil is used to treat cutting
boards and is edible. It looks really good too.

Yeah, bands, thats a hard one. As far as I know you have to get bands made
for you by someone, or make them yourself, and it's tricky and usually not worth the expense.
There are 2 kinds of bands, those that are welded into a kind of circle,
and those that are more like straps and are tacked at the ends. Mine are
welded into a circle. The strap would be hard to get tight enough.

The hard part about bands is they have to have an angle to them to fit
to the sides of the drum

You can see in the pictures at the beginning of this thread that my drum and
Tony's came with these brass bands someone put on these drums at some time
or another. Tony and I only reused the bottom band.

I put this band on and then I slammed the drum on my carpet a couple of times to get it
on nice and tight.

I've heard a good trick for getting bands on the body of the drum nice and tight is to use chalk dust
to keep one side from slipping up as you push the other one down.

I personally don't think bands do all that much. Most of them are for decoration. Drums with bands
still crack. The bottom band is good because it keeps the drum from getting messed up by the ground.