keep wood congas from cracking?

[elcub...@my-deja.com]

Hi,

I am currently learning how to play congas with a couple of guys from
work. I have been practicing on a set of very old, beat up, fiberglass
CP congas that have been lent to me. I dont like how they feel or sound
very much at all.

I am saving up to purchase a set of LP congas within the next 2 months.
I would like to go with wood congas, but am concerned about them
cracking.

I have a friend that just bought a set of wood Matadors a week ago and
one of them is already cracked! Now on the other hand I have another
friend that has had a set of LP Patato (fiberglass) for 18 years with
no problems.

What does one do besides not dropping them and watching out for extreme
temperature changes to keep them from cracking?

I live in Miami, Florida so I wouldnt get the extreme temperature
changes I would if I lived up north. But I do keep my AC cranked that
when I walk outside my glasses get fogged. I would also be taking them
out most weekend to play in the park. So they would mostly be used
outdoors.

Any opinions?

Thanks,

Efrain

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

[Earl Jacksboro]

Ya know, it's actually humidity changes, not temperature, that causes
wood to crack. Slowing the migration of moisture in and out of wood is the
way to prevent this, and that is done by applying a vapor barrier.
In the scheme of things, a non-curing oil finish (e.g. olive oil) is
about the least amount of vapor barrier that can be applied to wood,
followed by a curing oil, such as linseed oil. Wax would follow, and then
paint & varnish. Of course, an oil or wax finish would be the easiest to
maintain and repair. Chipped varnish or enamel is almost impossible to
repair perfectly, on the other end of the spectrum. Each system has pros
and cons, depending on what you need out of the particular piece.
The drum culture abounds with old wives tales and voodoo-like
information about drum care. For example, a traditionalist may insist that
*only* shea butter will prevent a djembe from cracking and maintain proper
sound qualities, using some kinda of reasoning that the oldest methods are
somehow the "best." Nonsense. Those old methods were used because that was
all they had in those days, not because they are the "best," by any measure
other than tradition.
I haven't answered your question because I don't know how this
information translates to drum care, but I sure would like to see a modern
scientific approach to the answer, rather than another repetition of the
"virgin olive oil" myth.
<Earl>

<elcub...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:8oqtul$d84$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...

[Billy Hulting]

Hey,

Any of the higher quality drums shouldn't pose a problem.

The Matador congas are the "student" line and aren't as well built as the
other LPs.

Personally - I play Toca - they just sound and feel better to me. Plus -
with Toca you're less likely to get bad heads on the drums.

If you get one of the In article <8oqtul$d84$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
elcub...@my-deja.com wrote:

--
Billy Hulting

http://www.zerobpm.com/billy/

[Robert E Beatty Jr.]

A good set of cases or bags will slow the down changes in temperature or
humidity. Sudden environmental changes are what causes things to crack or
split.

--

******************************************
Bright Moments,
Robert E Beatty Jr.
Robert...@worldnet.att.net
******************************************

[elcub...@my-deja.com]

I wonder how many of the really expensive biscuit joined or steel pin
reinforced wood congas crack.. I dont think I could afford the Fat
Congas or the Sol Congas. I am looking at spending under $1000 for a
set of two and I think each of those are about that. My current
favorite seems to be the Valjes. But still my biggest fear is that I
invest that kind of money and it cracks. There is still something to be
said about fiberglass' ruggedness.

Efrain

In article <h6cs5.2$6U5...@news1.dnvrcoidc.firstworld.net>,

[Benjamin Jacoby]

elcub...@my-deja.com wrote:
> Hi,

> I am currently learning how to play congas with a couple of guys from
> work. I have been practicing on a set of very old, beat up, fiberglass
> CP congas that have been lent to me. I dont like how they feel or sound
> very much at all.

Usually true for most CP congas no matter what they are made of.

> I am saving up to purchase a set of LP congas within the next 2 months.
> I would like to go with wood congas, but am concerned about them
> cracking.

> I have a friend that just bought a set of wood Matadors a week ago and
> one of them is already cracked! Now on the other hand I have another
> friend that has had a set of LP Patato (fiberglass) for 18 years with
> no problems.

I have an LP patato conga and it's strong as a mack truck! But it's way
out of the CP class too. Cheap conga even when fiberglass can have
problems.

> What does one do besides not dropping them and watching out for extreme
> temperature changes to keep them from cracking?

> I live in Miami, Florida so I wouldnt get the extreme temperature
> changes I would if I lived up north. But I do keep my AC cranked that
> when I walk outside my glasses get fogged. I would also be taking them
> out most weekend to play in the park. So they would mostly be used
> outdoors.

My opinion is the first thing you can do to keep wood congas from
cracking is to buy expensive drums! Congas crack for a number of
reasons. One is that the wood used to make them wasn't cured enough.
So what happens is as the wood dries out (or absorbs moisture if it
was heat-cured) it begins to twist which can put tremendous strain
into the conga shell. This force can at times litterally rip the wood
apart making a crack.

Another thing that happens is that the glue joint was not properly
done and pulls apart. Cheap hand drums often have this problem.

Another thing that happens is that the conga has varish (finish)
on the outside but none on the inside. Moisture absorption or
loss can again create a differential expansion of the staves
which can split the shell.

And lastly, you can simply have defective wood which was already
starting to split before the conga was made and given any
of the above conditions, it just splits more along the natural
crack.

The obvious solution to all this is well-cured wood, properly glued,
and properly sealed (or not sealed at all as in cuban congas without
much finish inside or out). In other words...cash money! Expensive
well-made drums.

I'd say if a person bought matadors and they already cracked, assuming
they weren't subjected to physical abuse (dropping etc) I'd call
them defective and ship them back.

I'd say fiberglass could take far more physical abuse than wood,
but I see no reason for good wood drums to crack in normal use.

I had a set of CP bongos develop a large crack (which I just glued
and they were fine...well as fine as CP bongos can be) but my
Matador bongos have been subjected to far more abuse than the CPs
and they still have nary a crack.

That's my take on this.

Benj

--
SPAM-GUARD! Remove "user.", if present, from address to email me.

[elcub...@my-deja.com]

Benjamin,

From what I have seen and like I think the best conga I can afford
would be the LP Valjes. Any suggestions on other congas in that price
range that you would consider to be good?

Thanks,
Efrain

In article <8p4nr9$o0v$1...@news.netwalk.net>,

[Earl Jacksboro]

Yes, without a doubt, and they sound wonderful.
What I'd really like to do is get some real expensive wood congas (some
brand that seems to be immune to cracking) side by side with some less
expensive ones and compare the finish on both sides of the wood, or get the
dope straight from the makers. Getting the dope from the maker would be
preferred, because sometimes finishes are hard to detect and/or identify.
I suspect that those less prone to cracking have had varnish, or some
other good vapor barrier, applied to both the inside and the outside to
prevent differential expansion/contraction when the humidity quickly
changes.

More expensive brands of wood siding (for houses) is primed on *both*
sides by the maker, even though it will only be painted again on one side
(the weather side) for the same reason.
<Earl>

<snip!>

There is still something to be
> said about fiberglass' ruggedness.
>

<snip!>

[elcub...@my-deja.com]

Yeah,

The thing is to identify which are those congas that dont crack... Aby
suggestions? Maybe a few of us can take a moment out while visitng the
music store and inspect certain congas interior and report back? I
dont know, its going to be difficult to inspect those nicer custom
congas since they arent stocked at any of my local (Miami) music stores.

I will report any findings.

Efrain

In article <HWqt5.1$f16...@news1.dnvrcoidc.firstworld.net>,

[Robert E Beatty Jr.]

<elcub...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:8p5582$11t$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...

> Benjamin,
>
> From what I have seen and like I think the best conga I can afford
> would be the LP Valjes. Any suggestions on other congas in that price
> range that you would consider to be good?
>
> Thanks,
> Efrain
>

Those new Mienl Woodcraft look appetizing.

[Orlando Fiol]

elcub...@my-deja.com writes:
> I am saving up to purchase a set of LP congas within the next 2 months.
> I would like to go with wood congas, but am concerned about them
> cracking.

Save up a few more bucks and buy yourself some JCR or Skin On Skin
congas. They'll go years before they crack or before slats come loose.
the LP congas crack because they're made from pressboard wood and not
slats that are the proper shape for congas.

Orlando

[Orlando Fiol]

ef...@bigfoot.dot.com writes:
> What I'd really like to do is get some real expensive wood congas (some
> brand that seems to be immune to cracking) side by side with some less
> expensive ones and compare the finish on both sides of the wood, or get the
> dope straight from the makers. Getting the dope from the maker would be
> preferred, because sometimes finishes are hard to detect and/or identify.

You won't get any dope from LP manufacturers though. That's why I like
dealing with smaller and more thorough operations like JCR, Skin On Skin
or other private drum makers. These are people that you can call up and
ask how they make your drums and they'll also repair cracks for you with
the same materials they used to make the drums.

Orlando

[elcub...@my-deja.com]

So is it inevitable that all wood congas will crack?

Any idea what the URL's are for their sites? I did a couple of quick
searches on google but couldnt find anything related.

How much more are these brands than LP's?

Have you heard anything about Timba brand of congas they advertise on
Latin Beat magazine? I tried calling them but they dont answer their
phone.

Thanks,

Efrain

In article <MPG.1439e765...@news.earthlink.net>,

[robin]

Djembe's might be different... but here is my 2 cents worth.

Some African woods are hard and heavy and make tougher drums, but they dont
look as "pretty" and dont have as nice of a tone as some of the other woods
that are lighter in color, softer, easier to carve, but crack and split
easier.
Its not just what you pay, but what you pay for !!

Keeping wood oiled right helps keep it from drying out and cracking.

Ruarto
http://www.ruarto.com

"Paul Seelig" <pse...@mail.uni-mainz.de> wrote in message
news:87n1gxy...@dialin126.zdv.uni-mainz.de...

> elcub...@my-deja.com writes:
>
> > What does one do besides not dropping them and watching out for extreme
> > temperature changes to keep them from cracking?
> >

> I'm living in Germany/Europe and play some 10 year old unfinished Gon
> Bops wooden congas (mahogany) and have yet to complain about *any*
> cracks despite rough handling. I guess one gets what is paid for.