Manito recently finished fabricating new 304SS bottom rims for these HR bongos.
All Part Of This Wonderful Drumming Community
We all get older. We all have health problems. We all need help at times in life. We are all part of this wonderful drumming community. https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-john-rodriguezs-road-to-recovery
New Steer Skins
Here’s a before and after. I recently mounted new steer skins on this set of Manito solid shell spalted maple bongos- 1mm on the macho, 1.6mm on the hembra. This was the fourth set of bongos Manito made many years ago. They arrived with a macho skin that had been replaced, and mounted without removing all the folds in the skin.
Mounting Skins On Bongos
Here’s another pro tip. When mounting skins on bongos, I always remove the center block. This makes it very easy to mount the skins and trim the excess evenly. I also use 6.25″ mounting lugs, and replace them with the original lugs later.
Mount Your Own Skins
For those of you that mount your own flat skins on your drums, here’s a pro tip for trimming the excess. I use a utility knife with a ground and deburred hook blade. Deburring is the process of removing the small imperfections known as burrs from machined metal products. This prevents me from accidentally cutting the playing surface. I’ve used this very tool to mount tens of thousands of skins- one of my best friends here in the shop.
Vintage LP, Palisades Park, NJ Bongos
We recently had the opportunity to work on these vintage LP, Palisades Park, NJ bongos. Manito fabricated new 3/16″ round SS304 flesh hoops, and I mounted 1mm steer on the macho and 1.6mm steer on the hembra. This mahogany set was obviously well cared for.
Roughing On The Lathe
One of the first steps in making a solid hembra shell is roughing on the lathe. He’ll core, seal and kiln dry the rough shell for months before putting it back on the lathe for finishing. To do this correctly requires a great deal of patience, skill and talent.
Timba Bongos
I really enjoy working on different drums and the opportunity to understand the build quality. Manito recently refinished these Timba bongos. I mounted new steer, reassembled and reinstalled the badges on the set. Now they are off to California. If you need help with a project, get in touch.
Next Favorite Shirt
We just received a shipment of your next favorite shirt!
It’s an original design by Zach Landrum. Check out Zach’s work and his Olde Soul Print Shop. https://oldesoul.co/
Manito Is Installing Sideplates
Manito is installing sideplates on a solid shell spalted poplar quinto, conga, tumba and super tumba set today. I’ll be mounting skins next week. Let us know if you need sideplates for your project.