JCR MAHOGANY CUBAN BONGOS

[salcero1]

Spoke to Mr. Rivera today. We agreed in principal to swap the repaired bongos when he receives a new shipment of solid wood shells he is in negotiations to purchase. I told him the sound of the drums are great but to put himself in my shoes and would he pay outright for damaged goods? He agreed and said he wants me to leave his shop as a happy buyer that's when we hammered out the details of the swap. For the meantime I have them in my possesion. I will inquire every month from here on out until he gets the shells in. He will grow tired of hearing from me but so be it. It just may ignite a flame under him to move along the negotiatons of the sale of the new shells so that he can complete my order. He seems to want my business but has a way of changing the subject at hand. I was consistant with my wishes and he seems to be willing to comply. Time will tell. In the meantime I still have Jay Bereck working on a set of black walnut bongos which will be a welcome change of paste.

[Anonimo]

POST REMOVED BY THE AUTHOR

[salcero1]

Today I took apart the JCR bongos Mr. Rivera sold to me without telling me about the extensive cracks and repairs made on the shells of his so called "solid wood shell" that he crafted, what a croc! It seemed that he applied an awful lot of dark staining compounds and clear laquer varnish to cover up all of the cracked flaws on both the Hembra and the Macho shells. What I don't get is how people claim he's a straight up guy and I was there with him when we made the deal and he made the statement that he didn't know what was going on. To put the blame on his wife of handling the entire sale negotiations is a low blow and a made up story in trying to protect his ass. All the poor woman did was make out a receipt for me and he double checked it before he left on an business related issue that same day. Any attacks on this thread to further back this man's reputation which may have been impeccable in the past is nothing short of shoddy and downright bait and switch BS practice present day. I apologize to my fellow registered users of this forum but I just had to vent my frustrations. I will try to give this flawed set of bongos a facelift of sorts by removing all of the stain and varnish, sanding it smoothly and reapplying some stain, clear laquer and wood paste wax to bring the wounded warrior back to life. Does anyone have a suggestion of what sort of stain is proper for mahogany wood? Home depot sells walnut, red mahogany, cherry and I believe mahogany stains by MINWAX but I'm not sure. Holla at me, anyone Thank you.
By the way here is a picture of the shells with most of the old varnish and staining partially removed. Can you see the cracks go the full length of the shell vertically on the Hembra? Do you think the man sold me junk or what? I haven't sanded it yet either. Do they merit a new stain job or just a laquer and paste wax application, your thoughts and suggestions will be seriously considered. I'm considering selling them.Thanks again.

[Psych1]

I just read this thread through from the beginning and am confused. Even more confused by how you plan to repair this bongo shell. Either it had a crack in the shell, that went all the way through, and was repaired, with glue, or it didn't. Removing finish and sanding and putting on a new finish doesn't change that. After you remove the finish but before you refinish, how about posting some better pictures so we can see what this is all about. If Cali really sold you a flawed bongo, for big bucks, and now is giving you a runaround, then I'm sure everyone here will be on your side with this. But, from what I see and read here, I'm not sure.

[salcero1]

Good Evening Psych,
I wasn't implying on repairing the crack just a "facelift" by removing the amatuerish laquer and stain finish Mr. Rivera or his wood worker slapped together shodily on this damaged set of bongos. It doesn't even seem he will return a courtesy call to give me an update on when and if he will ever obtain new solid hardwood shells. Fair warning to those who want bongos or any other drums from him in the future. His metal work may be his only forte nowadays but drum making or putting beads on shells isn't something a future purchaser should consider. This is just from a personal up close in person face to face business transaction that went sour very quickly with me. Peace Psych.
P.S. The other pictures I've posted is after a drying period using Citristrip from Home Depot.As you can see the stripping agent seeped deep into the cracks making them more visible to the eye (the cracks that were & weren't even fixed). The first 2 is the macho the remaining 3 of the Hembra the worst of the two shells. Notice how deep the gouge cracks are located near the mounting holes for the center block. Go figure.

[RitmoBoricua]

That's beyond a raw deal and the the dude has the balls to blame it on his wife. Are you getting your money back or another set made?

Those shells seems to be mahogany. I would go with red mahogany stain and top coated with a gloss varnish. Sherwin Williams sales this fast drying varnish that is pretty good also you can with polyurethane. Now that I think about it Watco Danish Oil has a Red Mahogany that to me works better thant the stain and top with varnish or polyurethane no problem.

The shells look really rough. Make sure you sand them down real good. I would start like with 150 grit, then 180 grit, then 220 grit and finally 320 grit. Get that surface real smooth before you stain and top coat. Take care.

[salcero1]

As to your question I'm not dealing with that dude anymore. He's history in my book. Interesting take you have on the procedure to help with the minor touchups on sanding and varnishing. I will consider them. As of the present I spoke with a home improvement contractor who does decorative work on houses in Queens and he will give me an estimate on the minor crack repairs and overhaul of the shells from sanding to final polishing. If his estimate is within my budget I'll go with him with the advice you have given me on the type of stain I would need. Yes the shells do look rough but as in the Peanuts cartoon when that little tree was given a little love it turned out to be a beautiful display. I'm hoping the same for the shells I have. If this doesn't work out I'll pick up the necessary items myself and take my time with the project without worrying about down time for I own two other sets of bongoces with 2 more on the way. Gracias RitmoBoriqua

[Psych1]

OK - Looks like flaws and glue repairs in the shell to me. Not what you paid for. I'd take them back - as they are right now,

[pcastag]

Looks like he really screwed you. That sucks! Wouldn't even live up to it. For a guy who seems to sell a lot of bells and has a decent business you'd think he's want to take care of it. Especially in this day and age where the internet can make word of mouth a pretty big place.
PC

[salcero1]

I guess with all that I've written about this episode with him it will get back to him somehow but he derserves it. Treat people as you would like to be treated I was raised to go by. That surely works for me. Cali to me is a con artist nowadays. It does tarnish what could have been an impeccable legendary career in Latin Music percussion instrument circles. Doesn't matter I just spoke to Adolpho Rocha, Hector Rocha's son of El Piernas Percussion and he will obtain for me a brand new model of his father's set of bongoces seen here in the pictures I've posted. It will arrive with a cowbell and carrying case for the price of about $250 US dollars. It has the cuban style steel hardware not the bulky aluminum cast bottoms that seem to bend out of shape over time which would eliminate some of the heaviness that was described on earlier threads discussing the HR El Piernas product line of bongosces. Delivered right to my apartment door personally by Adolpho. His sister and himself for that matter are very nice people. Good people take care of good people. I'll post pictures de todos mi jugetes with their accompanying cases and accessory equipment in the future. Con todo el Hierro y Saoco. Suerte Pcastag