congaplace.com

Hi everybody!
After three nasty weeks of waiting and getting annoyed by its arrogant ebay seller, I finally got this red LP Palisades Park fiberglass quinto.

It came without skin and foot ring (I knew that). The hardware is pretty rusty, the crown is a bit bent at the ears, and not all tuning lugs work properly.
This more than 30-year-old beauty has proudly received some serious scratches and it reeks of tobacco. It has certainly been around...
But otherwise it is fine, the scratches are are not too deep. the bearing edge is perfect, it is not out of round.

Here are some pics of it right out of the box.The crown and hoop need to be bent in shape again.

I will definitely have to do some cleaning. The lugs are effed up, I will have to see to the threads.

Her are some more impressions:And that is the skin that will go with it - import from Cuba!

Now I hope I can handle all this

That is all for today.

More pics to follow as soon as I have the time to lay my hands on this beauty...

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SalseroBoricua71 wrote:Hey Mike,

Nice vintage lp Quinto..Im curious as to how you plan on rounding out the crown & hoop??

I made an attempt at doing that once and i came out a complete failure.Depending on how bad the bends are,(I cant tell from the photos) Would'nt it make more sense to just go ahead, and replace the rim & tuning lugz at the same time?

Are these replacement items costly in your neck of the woods??


Steven

Hey Steven,

I knew you were the first one to reply
BTW this is my first fiberglass conga ever, I am very open to any kind of help.
Thank God I do not have to perform such a hard job like you had to to do on your glass tubs

Well, my plan is - theoretically - to leave all original parts on it.
Bending the crown into shape does not look too difficult to me - I will ask my neighbour/friend
who is a metalworker. Maybe he can do some thread-cutting on the lugs. What about the hoop?
I don´t know yet how to bend it

Yeah, you got me with the money aspect - I have just spent hundreds of Euros on decent skins
and other percussion equipment - family need some Christmas presents too
Plus I cannot tell if the original hoop and crown are not different from today´s LP size?

Anyway, any input or suggestion is greatly appreciated!

Cheers, Mike

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SalseroBoricua71 wrote:Theres nothing more infuriating in life than going through all of that work, and to see the end result in that the drums rim is tilted to one side when you're done!Not only that, But the fact also that you'll never achieve even head tuning all around ever!

Yep, you have a point there. I will really take my time considering all of it.
But again, do U think today´s crown and hoop will fit? Is reshaping completely impossible?
I just ask these questions as a complete beginner in this specific field, as I haven´t dealt with this
vintage issue before.

And thank you very much for the polishing tips. BTW will Nev´r Dull do the job as well?

Gracias for your quick posting anyway, amigo
Mike

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OK, I´ll check it out.
Do you possibly know an online source for these products?

Well, I will surely look into LP´s replacement parts catalogue first.
Could be very pricey for me here in Germany, but the drum is definitley worth some decent
treatment..

Cool Mike! I used to have one just like that.
I would recommend keeping that hoop. Just cut it, wrap it around something round like the drum
and then have your buddy weld it. Or even use it as is.
On one of my old fiberglass drums as old as yours the flesh hoop broke when I took the old skin
off. All I did was wrap it together with duct tape and it held fine with the new skin.
I think trying to fix the rim is worth a shot as well.

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bongosnotbombs wrote:Cool Mike! I used to have one just like that.
I would recommend keeping that hoop. Just cut it, wrap it around something round like the drum
and then have your buddy weld it. Or even use it as is.

Hi BnB!
I know your former trio of red, white and black Palisades

I tend to stay with the hoop, which looks stable at least. I can´t find it on LP´s replacement part list anyway

As to bending or making it perfect again: I will ask my buddie indeed and let you know.

Thanks for the input so far.

OK, guys, here are some more hardware details:
The crown is pretty straight, the flesh hoop not. My neighbour said he could try to hammer it into shape
again by putting it on an even surface and hammering carefully step by step on the adjacent side of the bent area. It´s worth a try I guess.

The threads of the lugs are not as bad as it looked first. One tuning lug is not straight though. Perhaps careful hammering might help too, as the bend is not in the thread area.

This ear of the crown seems problematic as well. I wonder how much hammering they can take
Anyway, before I order a new crown and have to pay as much as as I paid for the whole drum for it, I will take this chance first.
I like playing the archeologist

BTW I DO appreciate your tips very much , Steven!
I dig the way you Conga bros help out