Rough Tuning and Workspace

Howdy!  Yes, another post...FINALLY!  And I have some real progress to report as well...52 bars of 61 have been successfully rough-tuned!!!

:D :D :D

So now my plan in moving forward is to finish the rough tuning in the very near future, and then begin making plans for the frame!  It's really cool how this project is beginning to take shape, now...

This pic is a bit old...as I actually have all of the upper range rough-tuned, and that's not apparent in this picture.



Anyway, here are a few pictures of me getting stuff done.  :)









































This is my old workspace, and I tuned many of the bars sitting like this with a mask and safety glasses.  It was dirty work, and clean up was never really fun.  I made some awesome marimba bars, though!

Again, a huge mess.  Look at how that sawdust ripples and piles up!  It's such a pretty color, though...

Checking the fundamental (1st harmonic) of one of the bars.  As I mentioned earlier, the goal of rough-tuning is to bring this note about a half-step high of the target pitch, and once I drill the holes in them and get them acclimatized to a room temperature/room humidity environment, I can fine-tune them.  To check this pitch, hold the bar at about a quarter from the end and strike the center of the bar to produce a tone that any microphone tuner can register.

Checking the first overtone (2nd harmonic) now.  This pitch is usually need to be two octaves above the fundamental, and you can check it by holding the bar at the center (which chokes the fundamental mode and allows you to hear the overtone) and strike it off center.


Once I got tired of working in the mess outside, my dad and I managed to find a way to set up a sort of workshop in our garage.  Using our shop vac and a special dust collector apparatus that a gracious friend let me borrow (Thanks, Lee!!), I was able to work virtually dust free in the garage!

Here is my setup.  Shop vac below, drill press with drum sander on top, as well as my measuring tools, a tuner, mallets to check the pitches with, and a spreadsheet with my planned bar parameters on it.  Also a stool to sit on so I'm not doing anything like sitting on a piece of plywood on the ground... XD

Drill press, drum sander, vacuum hose ghetto-rigged to collect as much dust as possible.  What's piled there is from times I forgot to turn the vacuum on before I started sanding.  Heehee...

A regular tuner I've used for years to tune timpani with.  Standard equipment for any musician, inexpensive, and finicky enough to pick up marimba tuning pitches.

A few of the smaller bars that have been rough-tuned.  Sorry for the bad lighting...kinda hard to tell where they've been sanded, but its visible somewhat.





These were just a few snap shots of what's been accomplished so far in this project.  As I progress, I will certainly keep posting updates with pictures, insights, or maybe just silliness from me, otherwise.  Thanks for continuing to read these posts and keep up, those of you who do, and please feel free to leave me feedback on Facebook or on here if you use Google+.  Love you guys!  :D