congaplace.com

Posted: **Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:14 pm**

First, I'll apologize for using the "U" and the "2" in the title. I couldn't get it to fit in the box otherwise.

I have seen some slight out-of-roundness starting on a couple of my cheaper drums, and so I thought I'd ask you guys:
Is there a technique that I could use to nip this in the bud so it doesn't get worse? Or better yet, to reverse it and straighten the drums back to round?

Posted: **Wed Aug 15, 2007 9:32 pm**

Why are they getting out of round? Not detuning? Just a guess.

Johnny Conga recommended putting a layer of epoxy on the inside of the drum.

I would look for that techniques somewhere in the "out of round, out of bounds" thread.

other options might be putting a layer of fiberglass, or getting an alma installed.

I don't know if you can make them round again though, maybe someone else will.

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:00 am**

I always detune. These are some of my cheaper drums, so who knows. Maybe they were never round to begin with.

I was wondering if I can influence the roundness during the tuning/detuning process. Maybe "leaning" on a particular lug a little more, or something.

I would think that it might cost a bit to have someone install an alma? And what conga shops in the Los Angeles area can do this, anyway? Isla? Timba? Or who?

Or, is it really a simple chore for a non-fabricator, something I could do? And if so, how?

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:50 am**

You could go to a metal shop and have them make a ring, but you would need to know the exact size.

But if its allready out of round, wouldn't it be superfluous?
Or does it just go out when you tune it up? If its about 1/4" difference on one side when tuned, it might be worth an alma, otherwise you probably need to start over.
I could be wrong, but I have never heard of out of round recovery other than seperating the staves.

T

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2007 4:57 am**

Whopbamboom wrote:I always detune. These are some of my cheaper drums, so who knows. Maybe they were never round to begin with.

I was wondering if I can influence the roundness during the tuning/detuning process. Maybe "leaning" on a particular lug a little more, or something.

I would think that it might cost a bit to have someone install an alma? And what conga shops in the Los Angeles area can do this, anyway? Isla? Timba? Or who?

Or, is it really a simple chore for a non-fabricator, something I could do? And if so, how?

What type of drum are they?
It is curious that they have gone out of round and that you always detune. I thought detuning was suppose to prevent going out of round, as we've discussed before.

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2007 3:08 pm**

What Farach,an old Cuban artisan that used to make timbales in Havana and repaired congas,bongos,timbales and drums in Miami for about 35 yrs. did was to get a piece of 2 x 4 wood and cut it to the circumference of the conga. He would then wet the conga head (top) for about 2 hrs. to soften the wood somewhat, he would then introduce the 2 x4 inside to conga top and rotate it with a hammer by tapping it all around the inside of the head. He would then leave the 2x4 inside the head for a couple of days, by then the conga head (top) was completely dried and in perfect roundness. He did this procedure for many congas in the So. Florida area and it did the trick. I have tried it in an old Gon Bops bongo' that I had and it worked for me.
Saludos, Dario.

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:01 pm**

Bongo, these happen to be those cheapie South American Bomba's that I picked up. Looks like maybe 1/4" out of round on a couple of them.

Omelenko, sounds like a neat trick--thanks for sharing! But wouldn't the use of water damage the finish? I'd imagine the drums might have to get refinished after that?

Posted: **Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:55 pm**

Damn, I fixed it ... oops!

I had a one year old high quality solid stave quinto. One day I looked down at it and it was out of round. Musta crept up on me ... slow and sly. So I freaked ... called a few conga players, they said chill ... it's the sound man. Nonetheless, I was worried. But, I didn't think I could fix it ... so I just put it out of my mind.

I did, however, stop abusing the drum. From then on, to this day, I detune when not playing ... I bring every bolt to full loose. I keep the drum in a bag when not in use. A bag helps control moisture fluctuations ... I live in an area where humidity is quite variable and I don't AC my home much. I switched the heads of all the congas in my collection to very uniform samples. I got to looking at the original skin on the out of round quinto and saw it was thick on one side and thin on another side. I threw that crap away. I tune by sound ... not by tension ... not by torque ... not by counting turns. A non-uniform skin causes non-uniform forces around the drum if you tune by sound, if you can tune by sound at all. Also, playing two drums of very different construction side-by-side can tempt one to overtighten one or the other to try to match the sound. I now play matched drums ... construction wise ... material/ring-configuration/height etc. I mean, I have several matched pairs, but I play them in those matched pairs. I don't play a Toca and an LP together as a pair. I don't have enough bags to go around ... so I keep my best pair in bags (nope, not Toca, not LP ... Mopercs baby!). I rotate the heads and the hardware rings relative to the shells for all congas once every few months. I rotate by two bolt positions ... so for six-bolt drums, that's 120 degrees.

Then one day ... a year or so after I saw the drum was out of round ... it was fixed. It just became round again after I started treating it right. I was surprised and pleased. The thing is round as round now. The wood just recovered once I stopped the abuse. Go figure. Oops! I wasn't trying to fix it ... but it's round again.

I don't have any congas with almas. I'd like to see an alma loose from a drum. I'm skeptical about almas. How thick are they? How are they secured? Are almas actually strong enough to do anything? Are y'all sure they don't cause more problems than they solve for wood conga shells? I mean, let's say the drum expands and contracts slightly with temperature and humidity ... is a steel alma likely to expand and contract in any exactly corresponding fashion? ... I'm skeptical. What about with a fiberglass shell ... more stable under humidity fluctuations than wood, but what about temperature and age? I'm skeptical about bonding together any two dissimilar materials in a construction that experiences temperature and humidity fluctuations. I've heard of almas coming loose and being removed by the owner ... that news doesn't surprise me. I've never seen any real critical discussions of the pro's and con's of almas ... have I missed it? Is now the time to start it?

I'm skeptical about the bands on the outside of congas as well. Maybe they once were needed ... like on rum barrels ... but are they needed now? I know one quality conga maker that says you can take 'em or leave 'em when you buy his drums ... your purchase, your choice ... they're just for show. They do look cool though. Do they make those drum bands actually strong enough to do anything anymore?

As far as goes rounding an out-of-round drum, I would never apply any point-specific force on a drum to bring it back in round. I've heard of plywood-circle-jig ideas and read the above tactic of soaking the drum and hammering in a 2-by-4 but ... aye-yaye-yaye ... I'd never do any of that ... I'd rather the drum stay out of round than risk cracking it.

Am I the only one skeptical about almas and bands?

Cheers
BMac

Posted: **Thu Apr 24, 2008 11:52 pm**

You also need to keep an eye on the shape of the rim. I've had to ask myself many times since I got the refurbished 50's Gon Bop Mahog from Tony, "Is that warp in the ring new, or is it from before it was shipped?" The drum looks perfectly round under the warped rim.. It's a new concept for my eyes.. But the drum sounds WONDERFUL!! Whhooooofff! And BTW the warp is a small one, so I'm not complaining about the fine job done on it. The drum was put together very tightly.

Dave

Posted: **Fri Apr 25, 2008 4:34 am**

Posted: **Fri Apr 25, 2008 12:55 pm**

That's right Tony,, should have called it the "crown". No worries,, it doesn't affect the sound any,, and it is really old, so stuff like that is expected.. It's just that I didn't notice it when it arrived.
You'll see me and the drum soon enough.. I'll be out there at the beginning of July.
Dave

Posted: **Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:03 pm**

Hey Dave,

Yea, cool.

We can easily fix that crown when you're out here.

peace,

Tony

Posted: **Fri Apr 25, 2008 3:18 pm**

Hey Tony, are you coming down to Berkeley / Oakland any time soon, my Valje quinto is slightly out of round, I'd love to try that to fix it. Perhaps you could give it a look over to see if it's a good candidate for that method, I could get a nice thick skin for it from you. We're way over due meeting anyway !

I've actually been wanting to put a thicker skin on it for a while but was concerned that doing so might take it more out of round.

Talk soon, Barrie

Posted: **Fri Apr 25, 2008 7:57 pm**

Hey Tony how do you fix a warped crown? Hammer/anvil? I have both , but have never tried to fix a crown. Only messed with skin hoops.

PLs advise :mrgreen:

T

congaDR wrote:Hey Dave,

Yea, cool.

We can easily fix that crown when you're out here.

peace,

Tony

Posted: **Fri Apr 25, 2008 8:35 pm**

Hope that helps,

Tony

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How 2 Reverse out of round when U start to see it?

Re: How 2 Reverse out of round when U start to see it?

Re: How 2 Reverse out of round when U start to see it?

Re: How 2 Reverse out of round when U start to see it?

Re: How 2 Reverse out of round when U start to see it?

Re: How 2 Reverse out of round when U start to see it?

Re: How 2 Reverse out of round when U start to see it?

Re: How 2 Reverse out of round when U start to see it?

Re: How 2 Reverse out of round when U start to see it?