My name is Paul, just an old mechanic, getting acquainted with wood. I am learning names of wood I didn't even existed, but musical instruments seem to lean that direction. I have a lot of tools that I inherited from my dad . He was in woodworking all his life, mostly doing finish work and building cabinets. I stayed away from wood because I always cut on the wrong side of the line and was always short. I have a grandson who plays a marimba at school (very well). I looked at the price of those instruments and found they were very expensive. I am one who would get around prices by building my own. I was shocked at the prices of wood for instruments and cutting too short would be expensive as well. Does anyone have experience building a marimba? Good--bad or should I just run:wub:
burnedoutus
Welcome to the forum Paul. You might be able to substitute for much cheaper building materials according to this Wiki article Marimba - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia One version uses PVC pipe for resonators and I'm sure any hard wood that has a pinging sound when struck would work. The trick will be tuning it.
Welcome aboard.
Scrap wood. I've never built a marimba, probably never will. But instead of ruining a bunch of expensive wood, practice with scrap, or cheap, wood first, that's what it was invented for. Actually, I don't think it would be that big a deal to make one, but I'm pretty sure your pieces would have to be cut pretty accurately, hence practice cutting with scrap wood. And, like Chuck said, probably any decent hardwood would work.
Scrap wood. I've never built a marimba, probably never will. But instead of ruining a bunch of expensive wood, practice with scrap, or cheap, wood first, that's what it was invented for. Actually, I don't think it would be that big a deal to make one, but I'm pretty sure your pieces would have to be cut pretty accurately, hence practice cutting with scrap wood. And, like Chuck said, probably any decent hardwood would work.
Thanks guys, I guess the only way to cross the stream is to get your feet wet. I now know why my dad had such a collection of wood, I would guess he had what he needed at different times. My collection of steel serves the same purpose, only now I wish it was wood. It would seem I need to dedicate part of my shop to wood and setting up the tools to work with. I made contact with a man who cuts firewood and he tells me he has oak now and then, and I asked him to cut me some rounds 24+ inches and I would cut them down to 3" X 1-1/4 pieces. I find now that they need to be 1/4 sawn. Is there a way to change my band saw to a wider blade to cut straight ? And is there any difference of wood being kiln dried to that what has just dried in the natural forest way?
Hi Paul,
What thickness board are you trying to cut?
That depends on what size is your band saw. Some smaller saws will not readily take a a blade wider that 1/2". Some just need a good tune up.
What thickness board are you trying to cut?
Speed. I have read that air dried timber needs at least 12 months per inch of thickness.
Kiln drying also softens the lignins in the wood so that when they cool they are supposed to "set" into the shape they are in at the time.
You may be able to get your band saw cutting better by going to You Tube and looking for a video by Alex Snodgrass on how to set them up.
You may be able to get your band saw cutting better by going to You Tube and looking for a video by Alex Snodgrass on how to set them up.
Thanks guys, the keys of a marimba start 24in. long 3 in wide 1-1-1/4 thick then get shorter as the pitch gets higher. I thought I could start with a piece 48 in. long 3-1/2 in. thick, then slice off 1-1/4 pieces. Now I find that the marimba makers reccomend quarter sawn wood for the grain, it seems the plot thickens, but is interesting. I will check the you tube for setting up the bandsaw I'm sure it's not right, how can I be sure it's all new to me. Oh what we take for granted. thanks Paul
It might be for strength as much as it is for sound. If the grain is running the wrong way it could break when whacking it with a mallet or whatever you call those things.
Hadn't thought about strength, but yeah, maybe. I did a bit of searching, and one site says use red oak, nothing about quarter sawn. This says oak, but again, nothing about quarter sawn. Build Your Own Marimba and Wrap Your Own Mallets!
I've got some oak flooring that's as tough as a rock, that would probably work quite well. I just can't see me making a marimba tho.
I've got some oak flooring that's as tough as a rock, that would probably work quite well. I just can't see me making a marimba tho.
Thanks guys, I really find your interest in my lack of knowledge really refreshing. I watched Alex Snodgrass on you tube, I was glued to the screen watching him demonstrate setting up and then cutting, he sure has been doing that for a while. Being 78 yrs. I can't even move that fast much less being on line. Maybe I can find some old flooring for some of the shorter keys. New blades are coming for the bandsaw now I'll try setting it up. Thank you, Paul (burnedout)
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