CRACK PROBLEM

[Waraba]

My 20-year-old lenke djembe just sprouted a hairline crack in the middle of the bowl-- nearly vertical, not reached the bearing edge yet. Do I have to wait for the skin to break before I attempt a repair? Can I just flood it with glue?

[michi]

If the crack is wide enough, you might be able to fix it without removing the skin. It would probably be better to remove the skin for a proper job though. If the crack is not getting bigger, you could wait until the next skin replacement.

Have a look at the two posts below for more info and pictures.

Epoxy crack repair

Epoxy crack repair instructions

Cheers,

Michi.

[James]

I guess this is at least the good kind of crack problem?

[drtom]

As a general rule, it's best to repair bowl cracks with the head removed, since you need access to the inside and outside of the drum (the crack may run through).

From my experience, wood glue works fine on cracks that are wide enough to allow the glue to pour through. Otherwise, you may need to pry the crack open as you pour, or use a thinner glue.

For hairline cracks, I use an epoxy that comes in various thicknesses. The thinnest is so fine it pours into the wood grain! You should be able to find a similar product at your local hardware store.

Good luck,
drtom

[Dugafola]

[michi]

I don't think you could fix that one with epoxy

Michi.

[Waraba]

I guess this is at least the good kind of crack problem?

More like Duga's. Try one of these on that thing:

[McLellan-djembetoula]

Has the drum ever been oiled?
No such thing as a good crack.
If it is hairline, (not letting air out when you hit a bass note - hold your ear next to the crack and hit a bass, if you feel air, you have a bigger problem, no air, minor problem) then teak oil might fill the minor void AND let the wood relax back to shape. Teak oil also dries to a gummy consistency and will not act like a wedge in the event of crack closure (see below).
Cracks are caused by either a moisture imbalance (teak oil will help stabalize moisture) or by structural problems.
In either case you will want to take apart the drum to fix it. If it is a truly minor problem, you can wait to repair it until the head pops.
If it is a bigger crack, you might want to let the drum rest without a skin on it for a few months to let it relax back to a better shape. The teak oil will not prevent this from happening and will let the moisture even out throughout the wood. Often cracks will close on their own this way. If you DO add wood glue to the crack and then the crack tries to close on its own, the glue will act like a wedge and actually make the drum crack worse (prompting you to glue it again and on and on).
If it is a structural problem, you may have some success with epoxy (I like JB Weld), but epoxy is nowhere near as strong as an intact djembe. Start looking for your next superstar drum if this is the case. That said, JB Weld will get you on down the road a ways. I mix it with goat hair so that it has some fiber. I don't know if this helps, but it makes me feel better.

[Waraba]

Thanks, man.