Old Cuban Quinto

[blavonski]

Let’s try this again, after unintentionally deleting the whole Post…

I haven't been on here for quite some time and was curious to see if anyone here can give any information about this
10 1/2" Quinto, which I recently purchased for 25, 00 Euros.

The painted hardware is Chrome plated. The lugs were originally chrome plated as well, but the chrome on most of them is almost eroded away. The four white shell hoops/bands are Aluminum; the bottom band is Chromplated steel. The Photos show the condition very well so no need to elaborate on it. I have removed the paint and plan to disassemble the entire Shell, which is Mahogany, (Caoba). It has, I think, a very nice form, and I was surprised at how parallel the Bearing edges are around the whole top rim, and it isn’t egged shaped or deformed at all.

The woman I bought it from said that it once belonged to the Conga player from Los Van Van. She brought it back from Cuba over 20 Years ago and had it in her basement most of that time. Whether this is true or not, who can say and for me not so important, as am going to keep it and play it. At any rate, would be pleasing to get some thoughts and possible info from the Conga Cognoscente here related to this old war horse.

Many Thanks!!

[Mike]

To me that looks like a cheapo tourist conga with questionable hardware,
but I am pretty sure you might be turn it into a very nice conga with
manual dexterity and some extra cash.

[blavonski]

Hello Mike,
yeah that may be the case, I don't know.
However, the Drum was originally very well constructed out of Mahogony, with some attention to grain pattern. And the Chrome Hardware welds are all clean and solid. The flesh hoop is 5mm thick and isn't warped at all, sits relatively flat, doesn't wobble. And it had very thick Skin on it, ( 3mm thick after stretching thickness ). Whether tourist item or early produced drum for orchestras, It's no doubt an old one. How old, who made it, played it.
I hope to have finished by late spring at the latest.
Here, some update Fotos.

[Mike]

Whoa, you start from scratch when you reassemble it, respect, that will be quite some work.
But you are right, yes, the wood itself looks good.
Good to hear that the hardware is fine.

I am wondering why do you put the staves into a vinegar bath ?
Removing the paint?

Anyway, enjoy your project, it looks like a lot of work but also fun,
I am sure one fine day you will be able to enjoy the fruits of labor

[blavonski]

I put the Shell in a Vinegar bath to soften the glue between the staves in order to get them apart.
The vinegar and water mix works on the glue til it becomes like a jelly substance and then you can laterally push and pull at single staves at both ends until it slides apart. It's a long process, that requires patience, but it's worth it. I have them all apart at the moment and that was the most difficult step in this process.
I may even have them finished before I thought. Til then...

[Barryabko]

An extensive rebuild blavonski. Nice!

My guess is that's not the original paint and "Cuba" graphic (which a high quality quinto would probably not have and does make it look more like a tourist item). If it was original, the paint would be under the hardware as well. The shell was probably painted black with the lugs in place and then the whitish accents and Cuba graphic were added later. It does look like a home made paint job.
Barry

[blavonski]

You're right Barryabko,
good observation, no doubt from experience. Yes, the paint job was done with lugs and nuts in place.
And each lug had five (5/8") nuts as spacers above the original tuning nut and they were all painted black.
I believe also, that it was a home made paint job and they primed the shell, so there were two layers to remove.
Another reason that lends me to think that it wasn't a tourist item, is that the Shell has a pronounced lean to it. And my uneducated guess is, that this is the result of it being tilted forward while being played for what appears to have been many decades.

[Barryabko]

You're right Barryabko,
good observation, no doubt from experience. Yes, the paint job was done with lugs and nuts in place.
And each lug had five (5/8") nuts as spacers above the original tuning nut and they were all painted black.
I believe also, that it was a home made paint job and they primed the shell, so there were two layers to remove.
Another reason that lends me to think that it wasn't a tourist item, is that the Shell has a pronounced lean to it. And my uneducated guess is, that this is the result of it being tilted forward while being played for what appears to have been many decades.

Thanks for your reply Mr. Blavonski,

At least they took the head off before they painted it!

I'm new to congas so please pardon my ignorance but I have two questions: What is the woven basket material around the bottom edge - is that to protect the shell from the player's shoes, etc.? Also, what is the black substance shown on the bottom edge of the staves? Is that just many years of accumulated dirt or is it a sealant intentionally applied to protect from moisture, etc.?

Barry

[blavonski]

Hello Barry,

The woven skirt on the bottum of the drum may have been applied for a couple of reasons. However, because about two inches was broken off of one of the staves in that area, and because the part of the skirt that covered the space from the missing piece was reinforced with thick tape; my assumption is that it was there to hide the hole. But, it could have been there before the stave lost a piece and then someone applied tape to that area. Just guessing here, but it's a clever and atractive solution that obviously raises questions and gives it unambiguous down home flavor.
The Black stuff on the underside of the staves is simply paint.

Blavonski

[MACHO123]

Any progress or updates on this awesome project. I wish I was a part of it. There's something about bringing something back to life. Especially a Tumbadora. It's a spiritual thing. You develop a spiritual connection with the spirit within that wood. It will always have a voice. So long as it can sing. I love the instrament. I cherish it. Nothing fulfills me more than refinishing a Tumbadora, fixing her broken exterior, mending her broken soul. Bringing her back to life and hearing her sing is an experience beyond description. In one word, INEXPLICABLE. yes, Inexplicable; to me that's what it is. It's Conga Crack. Lol.
Updates, please. If you need help, don't be afraid to reach out to me.

[blavonski]

Hello MACHO123,
thanks for your impassioned and inspirational post.
Aside from repairing various cracks in the individual staves, I haven't had much time over the past two weeks to do much more on it.
I was interupted by having two Tuning rods on my existing conga and Tumba acually slip off the hoop ears while tuning. and then subsequently noticed that they were all stretched and that four out of ten had hairline cracks. They had obviously been creeping, (stretching) on me since I mounted new 2mm thick Steer skins almost a year and a half ago. As an experiment, I reformed the six that showed no crack to see how long they would last and they all broke during tuning. So, that meant I had to make ten new tuning lugs.
The ones I made are modified to counteract what I reasoned to be the cause of them malfunctioning.
A number facters actually play a role here I think:
The hardware not intended for such thick rugged skins.
The lugs being made of slightly inferior low alloy steel.
And lastly, that the ears on the flesh hoops are round rod and not flat sock; therefore the lug hook , when under extreme tension has the ability to roll back over the ears to a point where the inside radius of the hook is opened further and as it is further stretched through tightening, the cracks occur from the molecules being pulled in the opposite direction. I noticed that the hook inside radius was widening a bit a few months ago and let it do its thing to see what would happen. But of course, I never gave it much thought over that time while playing until they slipped off. If interested I can post a pic of the ones I made.

So, that's my excuse for not making much progress on the old Cuban Tumbadora.
Incidentally, I will have to make new lugs for this drum as well, due to the fact of the threads not being metric. I wanted to avoid that, because they are old, but the threads are in good shape and also the radious is smaller on them to accomodate the 3mm flatstock Hoop ears. They were also probably formed with eat, a process I prefer, but not having had the bread to buy an Oxi/Acetylene hook up yet, I have to bend them cold. However cold bending has its advantages as well...
If I have questions during this process, I'll be sure to consult you.

Blavonski

[blavonski]

Saludos Forum Members,
here are a few Update Fotos of my Cuban Tumbadora restoration.
The glue up was for lack of a better term quite a spiritual experience, in that due to these old staves having a good amount of residual tension in them as well as not being perfectly cut to shape, and along with them being different thicknesses and the because of how warn and dry it was here; the glue began setting sooner than I wanted , it demanded an ascetic like focus... We have now bonded!

I'm pleased with how it's coming along. The foto of it after the glue up was taken after I removed the remaining glue fron the seems.
I'll soon clean up the bearing edge and bottum and give it an oil/wax finish, hopefully this weekend.

Til then,

[MACHO123]

WOW BLAV;
I have to say that I'm incredibly impressed! And that's putting it lightly. Again, I wish I were present during this incredible process. This Tumbadora will last another 50 years easily with your restoration. can't wait to see the finished product. I would wish you luck but at this point you don't need it, you're just about done. The hardest work is behind you. Congrats on obtaining and restoring this precious piece.

[KING CONGA]

Amazing Job blavonski!!! congratulations.
I would like to take this oportunity and invite all of you to visit and join my Vintage Conga Drum forum on Facebook. Many of the members here are already part of it and are enjoying great content and great photographs.
Take care evryone.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/657966647623440/

[Mike]

Saludos Forum Members,
here are a few Update Fotos of my Cuban Tumbadora restoration.
The glue up was for lack of a better term quite a spiritual experience, in that due to these old staves having a good amount of residual tension in them as well as not being perfectly cut to shape, and along with them being different thicknesses and the because of how warn and dry it was here; the glue began setting sooner than I wanted , it demanded an ascetic like focus... We have now bonded!

That is why you should always use Titebond

Excellent job, amazing drum for sure.