Conga drum case

[Tae]

Hello,

I made a case for me to take my equipment to percussion class in the city.

Goals

I designed it so that it the inside fits a 30" conga drum (it fits both my drums with an 11" and 12.5" head), a circular wooden board for under the drum, a drum throne seat. The top opens up via two 26" zippers for chaps. The outside has a loop that fits the drum throne support (like an umbrella on a golf bag), two pockets, and a triple-fold suitcase handle. I plan to make comfy padded backpack straps soon. The large pocket holds a handheld cowbell with beater, a pair of clave sticks, timbale drum sticks. The small pocket holds a digital metronome, a tuning wrench, and a pen. There is a loop on each side of the pocket.

Final design

I made the body out of one piece of 4-5 oz veg-tan leather cut with four sections that taper down like a mercator projection. The lining is thin velvet-like material made of polyester from JoAnn's. The art work on the pocket is my version of the artist Evelio Garcia Mata's "La Conga". The figures are filigreed, dyed, then finished with Cova paint. I baseball stitched the vertical seams with brass rivets at the bottom. Everything else is saddle stitched.

Cost, time

On general stuff, I consulted Stohlman's books on cases, esp. the part about the golf bags. On specific stuff like handles and loops for buckles, I followed Valerie Michael's book on cases because the lines seemed cleaner to me. It took a few months and about $250-$300. I used the Stohlman brand for hardware.

Comments welcome. I am always looking to improve the quality of my work, so feel free to be tough

cheers,

Tae

Edited July 6, 2009 by Tae

[Spider]

This is awesome. Great work. What color did you use for this or did you buy it colored?

[Tae]

This is awesome. Great work. What color did you use for this or did you buy it colored?

Thanks, Spider! I used Fiebing's "Saddle Tan" professional oil dye. However, since this item is like gold to me, I have mixed some of Tandy's own taddle tan for the body part. You'll notice that the pockets and the top part are lighter and gives a nice contrast to the body. The finish is done with Tandy's "Block-Out" for a duller finish (and I got a quart for $10).

Tae

Edited July 6, 2009 by Tae

[tomzombie]

this is awesome. great design..

my buddy's been houndin me to make him a case for his drum. been hung up on where to start. this is very inspiring... thanks..

[Tae]

this is awesome. great design..

my buddy's been houndin me to make him a case for his drum. been hung up on where to start. this is very inspiring... thanks..

Thanks for the compliment. I'd be happy to scan in my initial design for you. The actual design changed a lot while I was making the case, but it was a good start.

As an update, I decided to add wheels at the bottom of the case.

[JohnBarton]

Hello,

I made a case for me to take my equipment to percussion class in the city.

Goals

I designed it so that it the inside fits a 30" conga drum (it fits both my drums with an 11" and 12.5" head), a circular wooden board for under the drum, a drum throne seat. The top opens up via two 26" zippers for chaps. The outside has a loop that fits the drum throne support (like an umbrella on a golf bag), two pockets, and a triple-fold suitcase handle. I plan to make comfy padded backpack straps soon. The large pocket holds a handheld cowbell with beater, a pair of clave sticks, timbale drum sticks. The small pocket holds a digital metronome, a tuning wrench, and a pen. There is a loop on each side of the pocket.

Final design

I made the body out of one piece of 4-5 oz veg-tan leather cut with four sections that taper down like a mercator projection. The lining is thin velvet-like material made of polyester from JoAnn's. The art work on the pocket is my version of the artist Evelio Garcia Mata's "La Conga". The figures are filigreed, dyed, then finished with Cova paint. I baseball stitched the vertical seams with brass rivets at the bottom. Everything else is saddle stitched.

Cost, time

On general stuff, I consulted Stohlman's books on cases, esp. the part about the golf bags. On specific stuff like handles and loops for buckles, I followed Valerie Michael's book on cases because the lines seemed cleaner to me. It took a few months and about $250-$300. I used the Stohlman brand for hardware.

Comments welcome. I am always looking to improve the quality of my work, so feel free to be tough

cheers,

Tae

Very Sweet!

My only critique is that I would have made the pocket long enough for the drumsticks or made a separate pocket for them.

I LOVE the way your figures are shaded they really jump off the leather with vibrancy.

Now I wish I had my drum here. :-( I can't play it but I could always bang on it and imagine I could.

[tashabear]

Very Sweet!

My only critique is that I would have made the pocket long enough for the drumsticks or made a separate pocket for them.

I LOVE the way your figures are shaded they really jump off the leather with vibrancy.

Now I wish I had my drum here. :-( I can't play it but I could always bang on it and imagine I could.

Drumsticks? For a conga drum?

[Tae]

Drumsticks? For a conga drum?

That is a keen observation! In Cuban folkloric settings, you can to play palito patterns on the side of the drum with the sticks. In merengue settings, you can mimic a tambora with one stick on your left.

[tashabear]

That is a keen observation! In Cuban folkloric settings, you can to play palito patterns on the side of the drum with the sticks. In merengue settings, you can mimic a tambora with one stick on your left.

I'm used to doumbeks.