Old LP bongos

[yeeman]

I'm going to fix the cracks in these bongos for a buddy of mine & try to get the duct tape residue off the shells if I can....the tape was probably on for MANY years.....any ideas for getting the residue off ?
Also, these LP's were from the '60's ? '70's ?
What kind of wood are these & are the heads around 7-1/4 " and 8-1/4" if I measured accurately.....looking to put Remo Nuskyn tucked heads on them if possible.

[Anonimo]

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[yeeman]

Hey, Leedy2:
Thanx for the reply. I wasn't really planning to re-finish these...just try to get the glue off & apply a little
clear polyurethane at best. Maybe a little light sanding with paper or steel wool ? That residue is like hard glue
right now.

[Anonimo]

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[Joseph]

WD-40 and some fine steel wool.
The solvents in the WD-40 will soften up the duct tape adhesive, and the steel wool will scrub it off.
If the adhesive is really hard and dry, it will take several WD sessions and some elbow grease, but it will soften up.
Mineral spirits will work as well.
It shouldn't affect the finish....
...but try a test patch first.

[yeeman]

Thanx, guys !!!!

[No.2-1820]

Take care as you work with those, they are very desirable bongos!

[Omelenko1]

Yeeman,

You got a gem in your hands. LP Zebra wood bongos. In the late 80's Martin Cohen was a guest in my radio show at WDNA Miami. During the interview I took a 1964 Maywood NJ pair of bongos that I owned at the time, but what he remarked about were the Zebra woods. He stated he had gotten the wood during the Vietnam confilct, around 1967, and stated than only a few were made between 1967 and 1970. When the supply of wood ran out he couldn't make any more, probably aound 100 were made, this was his statement.
I have one similar to yours with the old style center piece (circa 67/69), but what's spectacular about mine is that they have the original LP Cuban style bottoms instead of the heavy cast iron that I don't like. Here are photos of mine. Do like Cuco said and put animal heads on them, avoid Remo.

Dario

[yeeman]

Nice pics, Dario....thanx !!!

[yeeman]

OK...I finished cleaning up those Zebra wood bongos & had a hell of a time trying to stop the shells from splitting
each time I tried to tighten the Remo heads on them. Even though I glued & hose clamped the shell at the top & bottom, the pressure on the shell kept opening up the cracks, so I nailed about 20 staples into the wood to hold the frickin' shell together. It may look like hell inside the shell, but it sounds fine. The 2 pieces of wood between the bongo's were not the right size, so I had to slip a piece of hard rubber betwwen the lower block to space the shells properly.....if they were my bongo's I would have made a whole new block to connect them. Whatever....I gave them back to my buddy & he was thrilled.

[Anonimo]

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[yeeman]

Those 2 blocks of wood were just about the same size !!
I use good wood glue & hose clamp the shells for 48 hours.( I needed to connect 2 hose clamps together
in order to have one big enough ) I know that I had to clamp BOTH the top & bottom of the shell & not
just one side, because the pressure would start splitting the un-clamped side.....damn !!
My friend is 77 year old now....he use to play hand percussion in the late '60's/early '70's,
with the likes of Dave Liebman,Chick Corea,Herbie Mann, Steve Gadd, among many others.
He doesn't play much at all now because of serious health problems.....I'm very happy I could
put a smile on his face by making his bongo's usable now.
I guess if I really wanted too, I could rip out all the staples ( these are the kind you have to hammer in )
& try to re-glue the shell....the shell almost split into 3 pieces !!!!
They're good enough for him to use right now.
* BTW, the staples were hammered to the INSIDE of the shell....I may be brain-damaged, but I'm not STUPID !!!!

[Anonimo]

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[roberthelpus]

Well at least you didn't permanently alter the blocks. I would take Leedy2 up on his offer, and bring him a bottle (or two) of ron.

[Psych1]

Just in case someone new comes to this board to learn how to fix bongos -

Please do not hammer staples into the shells!!! Wood glue works best when gluing 2 pieces of wood together. It doesn't work well when trying to glue old glue that hasn't been taken off. With good glue, properly used, the connection will be stronger than the wood. Sometimes other staves separate. Thats OK, it just means a little more glue work.

Look for Mike's old thread about how he repaired his old LP bongo. DO NOT DO WHAT WAS DONE HERE!!!!