New Gon Bops Super Tumba needs a lot of work...

[Gretschhead]

So I made a trip this weekend to pick up a Gon Bops super tumba to finish off my set. I wasn't too happy with the condition it was in once I had driven 120 miles to look at it, but the price was right and I was already there so I picked it up anyways. On the plus side, the drum is in perfect round and sounds absolutely amazing.

The drum is mahogany as opposed to my current 3 which are all oak. The sound is very complimentary to the other 3 drums and has the same vintage warmth that I was expecting. The guy said the skin was mule, but I'm not sure, the top color looks right, but the underneath looks like cow to me. Either way the head is nicely worked in and sounds really nice.

The drum is severely road rashed although solid and not cracked or split anywehre. It will require a full strip/sand job and refinish. The thing that really upset me was a nickle sized hole in the side of the shell. Had the guy told me about the hole before I went down there I wouldn't have gone at all. I've never dealt with shell damage like this before and not really sure what I'm going to do about it. I'm hoping some of the pros on congaplace will be able to offer some suggestions for plugging it, if not I may just try to cover it with a badge or something.

So all in all, for $150 it was worth the trip to San Antonio. It will need a ton of work to get it looking as good as it sounds, but it should be a fun project. My set is finally complete and the restoration can begin!

[BongoCajon]

That looks so fun to retro old drums. Totally fun!

[luv4congas]

Man Gretschhead, you've got the whole set now, very cool! When it's time to restore it maybe you can drill the hole so it perfectly round, fill it with a glued dowel plug, a little wood putty, some sanding and staining and wala!
congrats Bro!
L4C

[kona]

Great find Gretschhead. It would be interesting to know the complete history of the drum - you never know where it's been.

With some thought and patient repair that drum will be a very nice addition to your drums.

Great drum, Great price and a fun restore project on the horizon!

Good one
Cheers,

Kona

[STICKSWIZZARDDRAGON]

So I made a trip this weekend to pick up a Gon Bops super tumba to finish off my set. I wasn't too happy with the condition it was in once I had driven 120 miles to look at it, but the price was right and I was already there so I picked it up anyways. On the plus side, the drum is in perfect round and sounds absolutely amazing.

The drum is mahogany as opposed to my current 3 which are all oak. The sound is very complimentary to the other 3 drums and has the same vintage warmth that I was expecting. The guy said the skin was mule, but I'm not sure, the top color looks right, but the underneath looks like cow to me. Either way the head is nicely worked in and sounds really nice.

The drum is severely road rashed although solid and not cracked or split anywehre. It will require a full strip/sand job and refinish. The thing that really upset me was a nickle sized hole in the side of the shell. Had the guy told me about the hole before I went down there I wouldn't have gone at all. I've never dealt with shell damage like this before and not really sure what I'm going to do about it. I'm hoping some of the pros on congaplace will be able to offer some suggestions for plugging it, if not I may just try to cover it with a badge or something.

So all in all, for $150 it was worth the trip to San Antonio. It will need a ton of work to get it looking as good as it sounds, but it should be a fun project. My set is finally complete and the restoration can begin!

HOLA como estas mi amigo GRETSCHHEAD:::CREATIVE ARTISTIC OPEN MINDED DRUMMER ARTIST CAT within great aware-ness wisdom knowledge * THATS EXCELLENTE AMIGO ROJO CALIENTE * gracias

[Gretschhead]

So I went to Home Depot yesterday and got everything I need to start tackling this baby. I found a repair kit for wood furniture that should work well for the hole. I also contacted gon bops and was able to get them to send me a new badge to cover up the repair, amazing customer service over there! I plan to start the resto tonight and hopefully finish it completely this weekend.

[Fades Away]

What are the dimensions if you don't mind my asking? I played alot of percussiong back in highschool so i miss all of these intruments!

[Gretschhead]

13.5" diameter head, aprox 30" tall

[Gretschhead]

And the work is done! I spent all weekend restoring this beast. I glued 4 small splits at the bottom that opened up when I took off the metal bands. I found a furniture repair putty (basically bondo specifically for wood) that I used to plug the hole in the shell. The putty worked great, it was solid as a rock within 30 minutes and was easy to sand smooth. The putty however did not take the stain well, and the repair was very visible. I sanded the shell down to bare wood using multiple grit levels. The stain I used was a Dark Walnut Watco Danish Oil, I highly recomend this stuff to anyone doing stain work. The stain penetrates the wood and you wipe it clean after 30 minutes, couldn't be any easier and streak/blotch free. I applied 5 coats hitting it with 00 steel wool in between. While it dried I took a hand sander to the metal bands and side plates using a fine grit paper and removed all the rust and crud build up. I put it all back together and fastened the new Gon Bops badge that customer service was nice enough to mail me for free. The badge covered up the hole repair perfectly, it couldn't have worked out better.

Here are the before pics:





Done Pre-Badge, the repair is totally visible and ugly:


And the finished product with the new badge:

[luv4congas]

Wow! Sweeeeeeet! Man Gretschhead you do nice work! AAAAAAAAAAAAAA++++++++++++++ Was it hard getting the metal bands snaped back together where they meet on the two little pins or nips?
It is a work of art
L4C

[Gretschhead]

Wow! Sweeeeeeet! Man Gretschhead you do nice work! AAAAAAAAAAAAAA++++++++++++++ Was it hard getting the metal bands snaped back together where they meet on the two little pins or nips?
It is a work of art
L4C

Thanks L4C. I didn't have any problems with the bands. Rather than unfastening them, I just tapped them off with a flat head screwdriver and a rubber mallet. They came off easily and went back on no problem, although I think the top band is a bit crooked and I need to reposition it. The sanding was the toughest part as this drum was pretty banged up, I didn't get it as perfect as I would have liked, but it has a nice rustic look to it. I love the grain on these mahogany GBs, and the stain enhances it nicely.

[luv4congas]

Thanks L4C. I didn't have any problems with the bands. Rather than unfastening them, I just tapped them off with a flat head screwdriver and a rubber mallet. They came off easily and went back on no problem, although I think the top band is a bit crooked and I need to reposition it. The sanding was the toughest part as this drum was pretty banged up, I didn't get it as perfect as I would have liked, but it has a nice rustic look to it. I love the grain on these mahogany GBs, and the stain enhances it nicely.

Another thing I like to do is dip the threads in brasso or a simular cleaner then wirewiil or wire brush the threads then wipe em clean. It makes the lugs nice and shinny but i'll agree the mohogany grains are sweet!
L4C

[kona]

Nice job Gretschhead!
What a beautiful addition to your drums. It always feels nice to find something like that and bring it back to life. What a great looking (and sounding I'll bet) drum.

Your finish really looks nice on that drum!

Kona

[bongobro]

When are we gonna hear your Gon Bops in action, bro'? If they sound as great as they look, you've got yourself a killer set of classic congas...

[Gretschhead]

When are we gonna hear your Gon Bops in action, bro'? If they sound as great as they look, you've got yourself a killer set of classic congas...

Well bro, they actually sound 10 times as good as they look! Unfortunately I don't have any recording gear or a nice video camera, I'm going to have to find a buddy with some equipment and atleast get some mp3s up. I'll try to work on that.

[Gretschhead]

Man do I feel like a IDIOT today guys! I've been posting this drum as a 13.5" Super Tumba for 3 or 4 months now. I've had it all over craigslist and other boards for sale like that. Well yesterday I got tired of the same old CL emails that go nowhere and decided to list it on ebay. It was sold within 2 hours with buy it now. I went to pack it up last night to ship out to the guy, and as I was looking at it, I was like that sure doesn't look like 13.5" I better re-measure. Sure enough the drum is a 12" with a 13.5" rim.

I don't know what the hell I was thinking, and I'm almost positive I put a measuring tape on it when I brought it home. The old skin was quite a bit thicker, and I did sand down the shell, but theres no way I lost 1.5" of girth. My mind is boggled at how I could have made such a stupid mistake. I feel like a noob!

Anyways, I feel really bad because the guy who bought it said he has been waiting on the big guy for quite some time, and he seemed really excited. Hopefully he can still use the 12" and I'll just cut him a really good deal for the mixup.

[pastor_bob]

I happens Gretschhead. That's what makes us human. I try to stay away from wood working because I'm the kind of guy that measures twice and cuts once, and still manages to end up with a piece of wood that is what I expected. That's still an exceptional drum, and I'm glad you posted today, because I had missed this thread before. It was great to see the before and after pics!

[jdl1881]

Is it okay to ask how much you got for it?

[gonefishin]

I dont know how I missed this thread when 1 st posted , but WOW that turned out nice .