My 70+ year old Cuban bongo (Project)
Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 10:45 pmIf only these bongos could talk - what stories they could tell!
What I know: They are one piece Cuban walnut made in the 1930's. They belonged to The Nacional. They haven"t been played since the last owner died in 1969. Macho 6", Hembra 7 3/8". They are tall, 7 1/2". They were tackheads but along the way someone drilled holes in the shells and fitted them with cheap hardware.
The macho is in good shape. The hembra was split and had a lot of vertical stress cracks, most following the grain. I have repaired all the cracks but I don't believe this old hembra can take the stress of modern hardware now. I considered, then rejected, the idea of reinforcing the inside with fiberglass. Now I'm thinking about gluing 6 or 8 spruce struts spaced vertically around the inside of the shell - something I saw in one of the old conga threads.
At some point I'll probably send it off to one of the pros to make hardware for it but I have some more work to do first. One of these days she will sing again!!!
What I know: They are one piece Cuban walnut made in the 1930's. They belonged to The Nacional. They haven"t been played since the last owner died in 1969. Macho 6", Hembra 7 3/8". They are tall, 7 1/2". They were tackheads but along the way someone drilled holes in the shells and fitted them with cheap hardware.
The macho is in good shape. The hembra was split and had a lot of vertical stress cracks, most following the grain. I have repaired all the cracks but I don't believe this old hembra can take the stress of modern hardware now. I considered, then rejected, the idea of reinforcing the inside with fiberglass. Now I'm thinking about gluing 6 or 8 spruce struts spaced vertically around the inside of the shell - something I saw in one of the old conga threads.
At some point I'll probably send it off to one of the pros to make hardware for it but I have some more work to do first. One of these days she will sing again!!!