The missing link's

[Bongobilly]

Hello my Congaplace people. I just purchase 2 oak Gon Bop's to complete my other two Gon Bop's They will need new skin's and a refinishing on the shell's so i have been looking into how to refinish the gel coating. Maybe in the surfboard area where they do that Finnish? Or boat repair. I went to Tap plastic's here in San Jose and they don't have a clear gel coat. For sure this is the only way the Gon Bop's survived so long. Also what do you guys think about the Minny leg's on them? I remember seeing them in there catalogs a long time ago (I wish i had kept them) Any info would help Thanks.

[Miguel7]

That's the coolest little "stand" I've ever seen. It allows for a little more bass (since the air gets out from under the drum as you play it) but it's not a lot of effort to set it up or carry it with you. It has its limitations, of course, but I think that's a good way to fly. I hope they make more liket that, to be honest with you.

Now about the finish, I'm no expert on that but I think if you talk to someone who knows how to do that sort of thing, say at a hardware store or maybe a hobbyist carpenter, you could find out a lot about how to get that taken care of. I don't know what kind of "gel" you're talking about, but if it preserves wood that nicely I'm sure either it's still in use or they've developed something better. I think the best advice I can give at this point is just to be careful with them... Gon Bops are pretty much a classic these days.

[Madlatin]

Hey Bongobilly, congratulations on finding the set. there is a old instrument store here in Tucson that has 6 of those legs for congas. I didn't buy them because I need them for four drums. Take a closer pic of them to verify that they are the same. I can check them out next time I go there. They are brand new. Let me know if you are interested.

Madlatin

[KING CONGA]

Bongobilly that's one sweeeeeet looking set of Bops you got there for sure, congratulations.
any Idea on their age? With all due respect, I know those little feet have their advantages, little better base, more stability but I would go without them, I just think that the drums look much more appealing without them, sorry, just my opinion, awesome drums dough.

[Bongobilly]

Thank's guy's: i don't want to add legs to the other congas and yeah i was thinking of taking them off. The quinto was brought new by me at the end of the 70s. The requinto has different hardware on it and has those Valjay cuts on the inside. What year? The conga and the tumba look to be late 70's? Those feet saved the buttom of the drum from being trashed. Some one put L.P. brackets for mounting it on a stand so i gotta think about keeping it on or not. Tell you one thing though when i put Bill Confer heads on the quinto & Requinto they just sing. I never like the original head on the quinto when i brought it new.

[Bongobilly]

Picture of legs

[Jerry Bembe]

Billy,

Nice set. I almost got into the bidding on these in the last few weeks on ole' Ebay. I find these "Teardrop" models to be the most appealing. My favorite is the "Mahogony" but the Oak is pretty sweet too. I am glad that these found a good home with someone who will value them. Also it is good to see it has completed your set. These vintage Gon Bops are among some of the best mass produced drums ever made.

Please let us know what you find out about Gell coating. From my research there are 2 opitions. One is gell that is best with many thin coats not thick coats. These can be built up. I have a Casa Cubana that is very simaliar to the Gon Bops "Teardrop" but the Gell coat is nearly 1/8" thick!

The second option is epoxy. There are types of epoxy that allow for vertical application. This was my concern and it seems that this would be like boat building.

I plan to epoxy or gell coat all of my vintage and high end congas. The Casa Cubana looks amazing and it is pre 1980! There are NO MARKS on the shell due to to the thick gell coat. Unfortunately when I removed the head it craked in 4-5 spots dispite the alma and gell coat. The oak was VERY DRY and it will need to be restored.

Thank you for sharing this,

Keep it fun

Jerry

[Bongobilly]

Jerry : Thank's for the info about the Finnish on these Gon Bop's. For sure the finish has kept these congas from being destroyed . Did Gon Bops used this on all of there conga's? I wonder how this was done cause it looks like it was dip in at the bottom and top of drum. Sorry to here about your conga splitting, makes me wonder about theses congas cause they look kind of dry on the inside.

[Jerry Bembe]

Thanks Billy,

I take this all in stride now. The Casa Cubana was made by a hand builder in New York pre 1980 and is totally repairable.
I am not complaining but this is a risk that is taken with vintage equipment.

The gell coating for Gon Bops was only on their "Teardrop" line (I believe) and there is external fiberglass base with gell coat over this base. This was done for both the Oak and "Mahogony" lines. This "Teardrop" line is the most durable of all of the Gon Bops line that I am aware of and is the top of the line.

I have both but different combinations of congas of each. I would love to have a "Mahogony" "Teardrop" IQ 9 3/4" and any of the of larger tumbas ITL 12 1/4", ITXL 13 1/4" and ITXXL 14 1/4". I have several Gon Bops but not one ITXXL (must be very rare).

I have several Gon Bops and I have repaired cracks in close to half of them. It is a price I pay for the sound and living in the Chicagoland area. The cold and low humidity really does a number on these congas. I have tokeep my humidifier going or I would have greater problems. I prefer the REMO heads due to their stablitiy in our climate.

I have found REMO heads in odd sizes to fit Gon Bops on the web. It just takes some searching.

I really love Gon Bops, Valje and Resolution vintage equipment. I even like the low end Zim Gar and Playa Azul. I think something happens with the wood as it seaons and settles. I used to be a construction worker and the old timers told me that their tools were more experienced than mine. Well I almost feel that these old congas bring their history and experience with them through the years. I have one wild restoration project I recently purchased off Ebay that was a pair of old tack heads that were converted to hardware back in the day. I even plan to convert some tack heads myself. I plan to convert a 8" x 27" steam bent tackhead into a super duper requinto.

This old stuff can not be reproduced and for a special owner it will give special rewards. (Also some special challenges too)

I strongly suggest gell coating or epoxy finishing for these congas. They will be better preserved by this effort.

Keep it fun.

Jerry

[Jerry Bembe]

Oh I also forgot to suggest to use Tung oil on the interior of your dry congas. I Tung oil all of my congas and I think my congas thank me for it. I like to to think that this feds the wood and helps to reduce cracking of the wood and makes the stress less on the glue joints. My wood working store guys are really helpful with suggestions on how to preserve older wood. I highly suggest using these old cabinet makers as a resource. They really know their wood. There are specific instructions for different types of wood.

[roberthelpus]

These may have gel coat but they aren't fiberglassed. While I am sure that the gel coat (or epoxy for that matter) has some strength, it's the combination of the gel coat and the fiberglass mat matrix combined that really has the strength. You can see the mat on my pic. But damn those look in great condition. Mine are pretty beat up, but that's why I got the pair for $250 shipped to my door off of ebay.

I have some of those legs in the attic that came off of mine. I can't remember how many I have and they are in the same condition as the rest of my hardware. I took them off and oak doweled the holes. I use LP's rubber conga feet and think that they are the best thing since cheese in a spray can. If anybody is interested I'll dig them out and take pics. I'd let them go cheap.

It's semantics and I know what you are saying but you cant feed wood that's dead

[Jerry Bembe]

I thought these "Teardrop" models had a fiberglass mesh due to the grid pattern under the finish. Thank yoy, I stand corrected here.

I agree with you robert about the rubber feet from LP I have several and plan to get more. I plan to splitup some of these feet for my larger bottom congas so that they will have 5 or 6 rubber feet. I am often moving my congas around and I am concerned about the shifting of these feet. I figure with 5 or 6 feet this will help prevent tipping over.

I like the cheeze wiz analogy.

Jerry

[Mike]

I use LP's rubber conga feet and think that they are the best thing since cheese in a spray can.

Yuck - since when is cheese in a spray can an achievement?

LP´s rubberfeet are not bad, but not good either, as they have the tendency to wobble.
I found them a nuisance when I wanted to move the drums.
Someone here on this forum once invented some gizmo that installed those LP feet permanently.

Alright, enough off-topic.

[roberthelpus]

Well Homer Simpson thinks it's one of the greatest inventions in history

I have no problem with the LP feet wobbling and that's all the way up to an LP Classic tumba. As far as moving them is concerned you just step on the rope and pull up on the drum rim and they are off.

Back to the original post. Why do you think that they need refinishing? They look fine to me. They'd have to be at least 25 years old (right?) and are in amazing shape considering that.

[bongosnotbombs]

The tear drops Gon Bops do have a fiberglass coat. It is fiberglass resin with fiberglass cloth. Fiberglass resin when applied by itself without cloth is often referred to as a gel coat. Fiberglass has good tensile strength, but very poor compressive strength.