Ash congas

[GuruPimpi]

Congalou!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!!! You da man!
You and your craftsmanship and my brushing and painting old wooden chairs made me thinking again of going to sand down and repaint my cuban caoba conga... Courage level of that is rising!!!

Keep posting!
PimpS

[roberthelpus]

Hello guys !!!

Thanks for all advices !!

The Gon bops with fiberglass outside hasn't got varnish or layer inside ???

Just turned my quinto upside down and shined a flashlight in it and found nothing but bare wood, some dirt and dust, and some old spider webs Glue between the staves pf course.

Stainless steel
10mm Hook
Plates : 6mm of thickness, the "U" is 30mm per 4mm of thickness.

It will works for hundred and hundred years !!!!

Wow, that's crazy thick. More pictures of bending jigs and tools please.

[congalou]

After a lot of work this summer I can working on my drums !

It's pretty difficult to find stainless steel in France, I have to make cutting it and it's very expensive....

I decide to make some hardware in normal steel, at least for these ones. Because I want to hear them quick !!!

Let it rust and maybe paint or varnish it.

Little cut on the plate to keep the lug at the right place...

[buckoh]

Lou, you can polish the steel however you like and then coat them with Renaissance Wax which is a microcrystalline and not really a wax. It is a petroleum product and could possibly come from Britain. It is used in museum quality preservation of everything from paper documents to outside bronze statues. It is about 24.00 USD for a small container that would make a nice shaker when empty! A little bit goes a long way. Good luck, Buck

[roberthelpus]

What kind of welding do you use. MIG, TIG, Arc? I miss not having my stick welder

[congalou]

Hi Buckoh !

I will search about that product, is it resistant enough you think ?

Roberthelpus, I'm welding with Arc.

G.

[akdom]

Lou, you are the man !!!!

You are the next reference for european conga makers !

I'm so impressed.

D

[congalou]

Yeah B !!!!

I hope make you try my drums one day, if you come in Paris, tell me. We will make some music !!!

Galou.

[congalou]

Some fresh news !!!

Plates, inside plates,

Drilling (with a special tool I have just made for a perfect positioning of the plate),

Choice of the skin : Beautiful Brown Bull skin, not too thick : 2,5mm for the Conga, 3mm for the Tumba.

NICE !!!!!!!!!

Galou.

[congalou]

Again.

[Mike]

Hey Congalou,
those shell look fantastic - and the skins also!
Congrats, a piece of art is going to be ready soon I believe.

[vinnieL]

Any update on these beautiful drums?

[buckoh]

Lou, I did use Renaissance Wax on a Ritmo 13.5 tumba I got from Matt. I buffed the rim and bands and coated them I originally thought they were steel because they were dull. I later found out that they are stainless. They still look good! It was highly recommended when I attended a workshop on antique restoration in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. We were privileged to go behind the scenes where the restoration and investigation of historically important antiques was conducted. They use it and a presenter from the Smithsonian also recommended it. I have used it on furniture with linseed oil finishes and on top of shellac. I would think that an occasional application on steel fittings would block rust. Hope this helps. Buck

[congalou]

Hello guys !!

Thanks Buck for theses infos !! but I have rust the hardware with acid (very efficient, one night outside with acid look like one year outside rust...) and varnish it. The varnish is drying for the moment, I will take photos maybe tomorow. I think it will be well dry at the end of the week.

Galou.

[congalou]

Hardware rust and varnish, here is the final aspect :

G.