Steel Strapping Bands for Conga Project (vintage look)

[Callao]

Hello everybody ,Im new in this conga forum .

I want to put some stainless steel bands around my conga .I've already talk to a couple of conga makers (timba,isla perc,etc...) they say it's not an easy job to do and it is expensive...

Can someone please tell me where to buy Stainless Steel Straps so I can install them myself

Thank you in advance everybody.
Mike.

[taikonoatama]

Hello everybody ,Im new in this conga forum .

I want to put some stainless steel bands around my conga .I've already talk to a couple of conga makers (timba,isla perc,etc...) they say it's not an easy job to do and it is expensive...

Can someone please tell me where to buy Stainless Steel Straps so I can install them myself

From everything I remember reading on this here in the past, no one here ever came up with a good off-the-shelf answer for this. The reason was the same as given by the expert conga makers: "it's not an easy job to do."

Two problems:

1. Congas are conically tapered toward each end and this means that a flat/straight-cut strap of metal won't go around the drum and rest flat against the shell. The strap must be cut as a precise arc that matches the curvature of the shell where it'll be mounted. People have suggested wrapping a thin newspaper around the drum (in a way that it's perfectly flat against the shell), drawing in your strap around the drum, taking off the newspaper and cutting out the strap shape, putting it down flat against a big piece of thin sheet metal, cutting the shape to match and then using that, with small holes drilled in for tacks, a la old Gon Bops. Bending it to the right diameter could be a challenge, but the idea sounds plausible enough - haven't tried it myself.

2. If the purpose is more than decorative, substantial tightening must be done and special tools/materials/skills are required for this.

If you aren't overly concerned about how it'll look, you could try it with thinnish hose clamps, even stringing a couple together. Because they're cut flat and straight, though, you'd still have a problem with them not being flat against the shell and slippage toward the ends of the drums but you might be able to lock it down with some small nails.


Just a thought

Good luck,

James

[buckoh]

I just had Matthew Smith make me 2SS bands for my Gon Bops redo. The top one was up high, where the second band would be; just above the lug plates. The other was at the bottom. He charged me 15.00 each. What a deal! I had checked with a welder friend on the coast who makes stainless boat parts, and he was starting at 100.00 each. I called Matthew and he tried to tell me how to measure them and I got lost. So, I marked the side of the drum where I wanted the top of the band to be and carefully put masking tape around the pencil line. This piece of tape represented the dimension of the top of that band. The lower edge of the tape represented the actual dimension. I marked it as such and removed it and put more tape (sticky side to sticky side) on the underside of that tape. Then, I measured 3/4 inch down from the pencil line and drew another pencil line around the drum. Then I laid masking tape below that line, the top of the tape having the correct measurement for the bottom of the band. Then did the same as above, so the tape wouldn't stretch. The bottom band fit perfectly and the top one fit very well, not perfect. I was amazed at what a good job he did. I also bought a Bill Confer head from him. So, try to buy as much stuff from him as you can so atleast he can make a little money. I hope I didn't loose you! Good luck, Buckoh

[Tonio]

Bucko,
So you essentially made 2 mock ups- 1 for the upper portion, 1 for the lower portion of one band? I can see the angled one (top band) would be harder (obvious in this case), and the bottom one is almost no angle.

How do you measure from the mock ups is what I don't get.

I can see why Matt takes so long to make a drum with all this minor stuff interupting him. How does he prioritize correctly , even with the down time of drying(glue curing the shell) time etc?

T

[Callao]

Thanks guys for the great info, I'll contact matthew and see what happens