congaplace.com

My friends drum has a outer crack repair. It dose not go thru the inside, what's the best way to repair it?

Old post from Leedy: Thank's again for your help. To repair a small crack or stave separation on a Bongos or Conga drum this you need to start.
1) A small flat head screw driver
2) A good glue '''carpenters preferred'' not Elmer
3) A strap like what is shown below with adjust ment
4) razor blade ( single edge
5) a sponge
6) steel wool
7) spray lacquer
paste wax

know that you have all these items dismantle bongos or conga were you are intending to work. Remember this is for minor crack large cracks can be fixed also but take more time. With screw driver open crack so that glue can penetrate all the way in the affected area .then you are going to put strap on bongos or conga and tie tend as much as you can to bring wood together. Glue will gush out of cracked area ,with damp sponge clean excess glue most carpenters glue is water base. remove as much as you can. let sit for 24 to 48 hours till cure ( dry ). After that remove strap and with razor blade CAREFULLY shave of residue of glue that remained under strap .After removal of glue with steel wool take entire drum and removal of any shine and small glue residue from drum leaving drum smooth . Then spray drum with lacquer nice and even all around or affected area ( Let dry ) before applying 2ND coat if needed . After it drys take more steel wool and remove the shine from drum apply paste wax and buff out a shine the will look like new

leedy2

Lots of people here with lots of different ideas on repairs. Surprised you haven't heard from some others yet. I'll give it a try -

The crack you describe does not go all the way through YET. What you want to do first is to try to prevent the crack from opening to the inside of the shell. Therefore - prying it open with a screwdriver to force glue into the crack is exactly what you don't want to do unless the crack has already opened to the inside of the shell.

So, what I would do, is to make sure the crack is clean and put a bead of a good glue inside the crack. Using a good glue, with a bond of wood to wood on both sides, will give you a bonding that is stronger than the wood.

But, because the crack may in fact have begun to go through to the inside in one or more places I would use a penetrating glue. There are many but one I like is Titebond Premium Instant Bond Wood Adhesive It will set instantly and fill any small hairline cracks that may go through. If there are any openings inside the shell you will see bubbles forming on the inside as the glue penetrates and than seals the openings. The entire process should take about ten seconds. Then just fill the crack with filler and sand.

OK.. here we go.. many ideas.

I'm not an expert at conga repair, but I am an amateur woodworker and have fixed many such things over the years. If it was my drum, I would start by using a thin CA glue in an attempt to stop the progression of the crack. A little does it. Then I might follow up with a thick CA glue to attempt to level off the opening. I absolulety would not use a screw driver to pry it open. Plastic glues do not bridge gaps very well.. such as titebond, etc. They require that gaps be closed up to get max adhesion. The crack is probably the result of the wood drying out.. it's just a natural thing. I doubt you will be able to pull it back together again with a strap. I wouldn't even try. Even if you did, the stress would probably just recreate the crack anyway. If you use CA glue, go easy and don't use an excelerator because it could cause the glue to blush (whiten). Let it dry well. Then if you wanted to, you could sand easily and refinish with whatever you wanted to use ie; laquer.

Just my 2 cents, but I'm guessing you will get about a buck fifty of these!!

Mostly good advice here. As a professional woodworker, I'd stay away from CA (Cyanoacrylate) glues because they can't be reversed and are designed more for strength where shearing is encountered(i.e.; if you wanted to glue a cup holder to your bathroom tile). CA glues are brittle. PVA glue(Titebond) will dissolve with WHITE vinegar. So, if the repair didn't hold, you could remove the dried glue by wetting it thoroughly w/white vinegar. Also, a product called De-Glue Goo (www.de-gluegoo.com) is white vinegar in gel form. It will do the job too. PVA glues will hold their strength up to about a sixteenth of an inch in a crack. I would spread the crack from the inside with a knife and try to use a hypodermic needle to get full coverage. You can also fill the crack and then put tape over it and try to pull the glue through with a vacuum cleaner. Don't clamp so hard that you squeeze most of the glue out. A lot of joint failure is due to glue starvation. Also, remember that CA glues are highly carcinogenic and if you glue your fingers together it can be uncomfortable getting them apart. Larger gaps that won't pull together are best repaired with epoxy glue. Buck

When using the vacuum, are you pulling the glue from the outside shell or inner shell?

It's easier to put the vacuum on the outside and pull the glue from the inside.