Made a Palito today! - ...or bamboo crafts at home

[Tonio]

Hey , good job BNB!!
Hows the holes vs a slit situation?
As far as a stand/mount, you could get big u bolts or something and rubberize them. Home depot sell s a liquid for rubberizing handles, pliers etc. Maybe get a simple weld job to attach to a stand.

T

[bongosnotbombs]

I know some people play these things on stands and that's all good, I'm
planning on using these between the legs, but who knows I may change..

anyways, here's the bunch of them, I'm gonna spread them around to some other players, a kind of beta-testing, see how they work out.

I'm really envious of you guys with garages and shops and power tools and all that, I made these with a electric hand drill, a hand saw and some sandpaper.

next batch I'll worry a bit more about my craftsmanship, you know, even saw cuts, hole spacing and all that, these are just prototypes. That line that looks like a crack is just the guide I drew on there.



Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1194845020

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... CF8473.JPG

[bongosnotbombs]

guagua (gwa’-gwa, wa’-wa) n.(Span.) 1. (Caribbean) bus or multi-passenger van for public transport. 2. (S.Amer.) baby, infant, toddler. 3. (Cuba) percussion instrument made of hollow bamboo, played with sticks.

[Isaac]

I was introduced to it in Havana as a "Gua gua" (means a box I think )
I saw some big bamboo ones, but mostly simple
wooden boxes about 8x5" x 2.5" high, mounted to a stand.
a Bus in Cuba is also called a Guagua.
The palitos are the sticks.

ISAAC

ps. your drums look very cool in the photo

[bongosnotbombs]

Yeah you should know Isaac that black one used to be yours! I'm using it as a tumba.

The red quinto in the first photo is also from a congaplace member, I got it from congalero here in SF.

he's got some JCR's too, actually I can't think of a conga maker he does'nt have.

I call the set my "Lego" set, because they are all different colors and sizes and because I assembled the set myself.



Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1194993655

[Chupacabra]

Hey BNB,
I'm glad I found this forum! For about the past 6 months I've had a length of bamboo up in my storage locker that I have been meaning to get to work on. Originally it was, and still could be, intended to be used for making a stand for my bugarabous. I'm sure there will be enough for both. What I would like to find out is if you drilled through the membrane at each end of your cut, or are the ends blocked off?
Looks like I have another balcony project on the way!

[bongosnotbombs]

I did not drill though the ends, they are whole, and have a bit of the adjoining section left on, as you can see...

the only holes are what you see in the pic. A sharp drill bit is best and a saw that is wide enough to get all the way through the bamboo in one cut.

I've been playing palito on these guagua with good results, I ended up keeping two and coated one with linseed oil, which worked out well but took forever to dry.

good luck and show pics of the results.

[blango]

Nice work James!! Very cool one. looks just like Enrique's used at La Pena, i love that sound. Looks like a good thickness as well. Are you going to make a stand for it?

I tied two strips of wet hide around the ends, just inside the 'knuckle', and when they dried, they hold the cata together, as they tend to crack where the holes are drilled. Works well for me.

Where did you get such a nice piece of Bamboo?? Feel like parting with a section for me??

Yea, people will say - you! play Paila, meaning the rhythm or the instument. Most Cubans around here call it a Cata. Or, they may call someone who always playes cata Pailitos, as a kind of joke about penis size and level of experience. ???

I love the fact that the basis of Rumba is played on very ancient instuments, a log drum of sorts - cata, and two sticks - clave. Gotta love it.

Tony

[blango]

Has anyone seen the very old pictuer of an ancient log drum in Rebecca's book. Its such a cool pic, i cant find it online, but hope someone can post it.

I love the idea of rudimentary instruments.

Once i was playing a cajon and a udu on the street in SF. Some young african girl came by to listen and she said to me, and i will alway remember it:

Whacho doin? ....makin music outa nothin??

I thought to myself... yea, exactly.

Tony



Edited By blango on 1196968448

[bongosnotbombs]

Tony,
I got this bamboo from a hardware store in Japantown called Soko.
I've used up the whole pole, sorry. I kept two for myself, I suppose I could give you one for that killer deal on those skins you gave me, it's the one with 4 holes in my previous picture.
I'm not making stands, just hold it between my legs like I see everyone around here doing..
Didn't that guagua at La Pena finally meet its end a few weeks back?
btw James is Taikonoatama, I'm his friend Geordie, I got those skins and agogo from you a few weeks back.

[blango]

Geordie!

Sorry bout that, should have recognized the skins in the picture!!! (somehow thought James started the thred)

Nice work on the Cata brother, looks like it will sound great.

Yea, mostly played between the legs, but its really nice to have a stand (come hour two of the Rumba!)

anyway, thanks for the offer for the cata. That was nice of you, but ill just have to make a treck to Japan town. Thanks for the info.

Glad to hear the skins are working for you.

Peace

[blango]

Check out the Cata at the start of this video. Now thats a Cata!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqpZt3RvvC0&feature=related

:;):

Tony

[Chupacabra]

Here are the cata/guagua that I made. They're coated with linseed oil/turpentine mix and were actually done a couple of weeks ago but I'm just posting them now. When they are played on their own they don't really do very much but when you add them to the bell, clave and drums, look out! It really adds another dimension to the guaguanco. I'll ride that bus anytime!

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... 7_copy.jpg

[bongosnotbombs]

Hey Chupacabra,
Those look brilliant, that one with the holes looks just like mine, I think it's easier than cutting a slit.
I know what you mean about playing guagua, it just helps everyone to lock in better.
I find the rhythms to be deceptively simple, easy enough to play but sometimes difficult to get the right feel.
Sometimes I feel like playing pallitos more than the congas.

I also coated mine with linseed oil, inside and out, but didn't use the turpentine, it took forever for the inside to dry, next time I'm using a mix.
I ended up giving 3 of mine away, and just have the one left.

Excellent job man!

[Chupacabra]

That bamboo sure smells narsty when you cut it with a chopsaw, doesn't it?