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I'm currently in the process of bringing this rather flawed creation sold to me by Mr.Rivera to a decent level of looks and fortify what I can to the shell structure. I had a home improvement contractor quote me for the repair job I just spoke of and he laid a $240 price tag on me. None doing. Went to the Home Depot & picked up most of the essentials to do the job slowly with a lot of TLC and patience. Need a few minor tools to complete the job but will get this done and if the finish is to my liking it will be a keeper of mine. Onile gave me some great tips as well as a thread I read from Leedy2 on repairing stave bongos, and some staining and type of sanding grits to use from RitmoBoriqua,all very helpful. What I've posted is the drums when they first arrived, the state they are in presently, and a similar end product I wish to achieve (via Onile's photo) on my set of bongos. Onile's staining was a blend of Red Mahogany and Cherry. My stain blend will be a wee bit darker-American Chestnut and Bomby Mahogany Polyglades by Minwax (a polyurethane and stain blend). My progression will be slow but meticulous none the less. Con la ayuda de Dios y mis manos voy a comensar este trabajo. I'll post some pics of my progression. Adios Rumberos.
P.S. My cost of materials came in about $80. with a very few more items to purchase such as extra fine steel wool pads 000 grade and some disposable rags.

Oye pana, buena suerte...That was shady how Cali sold those damage shells...I hope they come out 10x better then when you received them...siempre pa lante

Me lo dice. No hay ninguna razon porque me trato tan mal. El no me ves mas nunca en su vida. Gracias por su apoyo hermano.

I am noticing the wood block separator does not fit correctly and the Macho side is slanted. You could shim the block w/ leather until the 2 shells are level.

Update: This will be a slow transformation but with patience and careful lnspection with proper steps it should turn out well. I've posted a couple of pictures in a different location with better lighting so that all of the cracks and gouges were visible and then filled with wood hardener & a filler putty type of substance. Out of 4 types of grits of sandpaper I've used 2 types (150 & 180) & 2 sheets each, inside & out, with 2 more grades to apply. After sanding comes the stain blend I described on the earlier thread. Next update won't be for a while Mid February perhaps when I have the funds to continue my progression. Upon further & closer inspection of the shells they may not be both of mahogany wood. The macho seems to resemble an ash wood which wouldn't surprise me of the bait and switch overall tactic that was pulled on me on this travesty of a sale from you know who.

This is what Caoba Mohagany should look like.
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dam, cali definitley did u dirty bro, that sux...
the facelift is gonna look sweet tho..

I'm sure they will look great when you are done Salcero1. It's a shame you have to even go through doing the work....

It definitely sucks to hear of these issues more and more. I own a pair of his bongos from '08, an older conga and tumba, several bells, and I have been nothing but satisfied. I specifically examined my bongos inside and out and I can't find any visible imperfections.

Most if not all of us work hard for our money, and it's disheartening to hear about all these nightmare situations.

Update: Today I started to gather my tools and finishes to complete the "Facelift" on the JCR's. The first picture shows what I used and will use to finish the job. The second picture is of the shells after I applied a tack cloth to remove the fine sawdust particles and any dust that landed on the shells after such a long inactivity period, great product by the way. The third is after applying 1 coat of a combination stain of American Chestnut and Bombay Mahogany Polyshades 2 in 1 stain/finish. Currently the shells have a second coat (after removing any rough spots with 000 grade extrafine steel wool) and are drying (8 hours total dry time after the first coat-second coat dry period will be overnight). I will post more pictures tomorrow, before I do I shall inspect the shells for uniformity and correct any areas of concern to achieve an overall even staining. The foam brush applicators I used worked great but one has to be careful because they load up quickly with a good amount of the stain. I only dipped the brush 1/4 of the way down and that was more than enough to cover the outside of 1 of the shells. I've also stained the inner shells in the same manner. So far the color blend is beautiful and the second coat enhanced the first with a richer deeper hue. Next update tomorrow, wish me luck, Thank you.

So far so good, i am liking that color of the stain you used. Should be real nice once you hit it with that second coat...

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Gracia Cuco for the tips on the final finishes. I really don't think that a 3rd coat of stain is necessary at this point as you can see in this photo of just 2 applications of stain. It's plenty dark and the wood grains are still visible. Another shade of stain would obliterate the visible wood grain totally. I will use your technique for the hardening of the final finish. Thank you for your input.-Jorge.

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jorge, they look sweet bro, ur keeping those suckers right?

I will have to see and make a decision. It all depends on my other inventory arriving this year. It may be a decision made by year's end. In the meantime they will reside with me.