Cutting Out the Bars

Howdy!  This past weekend, my dad and I made HUGE steps toward this project looking more like a marimba-- We cut out most of the bars!  Out of the 61 total bars that will eventually make up the full, five-octive keyboard, 44 have been cut to the proper dimensions, leaving only 17 to go!

Cutting out the bars was a multiple-step process.  Each bar needed to be cut to a different length and width, with dimensions so precise we had very little room for error (some of the widths required us to cut measurements as precise as 32nd's of an inch).  To begin cutting a bar, the first step was to use a compound miter saw in order to chop the raw lumber into a more manageable length, which would be close to the length of the bar we planned to make.  Then, we had to rip (cut with the direction of the wood grain) this board to be the precise width of the bar we were making. This was done with a table saw, which allowed us to cut a very straight line over nearly two feet (the first bar was over twenty-one inches long!).  Once this width was cut so that we had two, perfectly straight edges length the length of this bar, we went back to the compound miter saw and chopped the bar to be the appropriate length, making sure to also have two smooth edges along the widths.  One we had done this, the bar was then the proper size!

Does this mean that the bar is in tune and ready to put on the instrument?  I wish it were that easy.... Later on, I will describe how tuning the bars works, as a raw-cut bar produces a pitch that is much too high in its untuned state.  That is for another post, however.  :)

Dad and I managed to cut out the largest 44 bars on the instrument with only minimal scrap wood left over.  So far, this project has turned out to be very cost effective!  We may be able to finish the smaller, 17 bars that are left without having to order more lumber which I really hope turns out to be the case.

Here be a few pictures!

Making sure we know how to use the table saw.  XD

Justin, my silly older brother, likes playing with Photo Booth on his iPad.

"I sure can measure a straight line, guys!!"  lol

Here is the C2 bar, which is the lowest pitched bar we're making, compared to the keys on my xylophone:

That thing is HUUUUUUGEEEE!!!!!

And finally, here are all of the bars that we cut this past weekend.  This much work in two days...AWESOME.

Next time I update, I'll hopefully have all of the bars cut out and ready for tuning.  Tuning each individual bar will definitely be the most difficult task in this entire endeavor, but I'm up for the challenge.  Those of you who have been reading these posts, thank you all so much for your support and encouragement!  I hope you guys will continue to follow along with me as I press on towards my goal of creating this beautiful instrument!  :D   :D