Beater Drum Project

[docarroyo]

I glad to see your project going well, i has progressed nicely. A trick I use when doing repairs on guitars and congas is using a portable steamer to loosen and remove wood glue. Most of the artisan conga makers have big steamers and they place wood to be bent in them, makes wood flexible. But also for repairs they place drums or parts of them in the steamers to loosen the slates apart for rejoining with better glue and cleaner surfaces. Luthiers use steam to loosen neck joints and fret boards for resets and repairs. Check your local thrift store or eBay for an inexpensive one or check with your friends and neighbors and try to borrow one. You will be amazed at how well it works on the glue. Here's a photo of mine good luck.

[KidCuba]

Well I fixed the remaining cracks as best I could. Some areas were filled with a mixture of sand dust and glue. I then sanded the drum down with 150 girt

As for a finish, I decided to go with a low gloss danish oil. So far I finished the top portion of the drum. I went with out a poly, just in case I have to fix some cracks in the near future.

Still don't know what I am going to do for hardware. I will try to soak the original in vinegar for a few days and see if it helps get some of the "crud' off.