A homemade xylophone can be made with a variety of things you may have already. While rosewood is the preferred wood for the keys you can substitute any number of hard woods for it.
If you get away from using wood for the keys the instrument really isn't technically considered a marimba. The main thing to keep in mind is that the wood has to be completely dried out and not green. Oak is a wonderful material if you have some.
The frame is something that you can really improvise with. Two by fours will work great. PVC piping is a great alternative as well. The primary consideration is how it's going to look when you are done. If you are wanting to have it look authentic your best bet is to invest in homemade xylophone plans.
Moving on...a musical tuner is a real necessity. After all, if the instrument is out of tune are you really going to be happy with it? You may have to work with the wood as far as the lengths and widths to get the sounds you want.
A belt sander makes the whole process so much easier. Trying to do this by hand is a very laborious process. Plus, who really wants to sand anything by hand anymore?
If you have a table saw it really helps too. You are going to be cutting a lot of wood. Your cuts will be much more precise as well.
Whether you are making a practice marimba or a xylophone for the kids the right tools can speed things up.
A miter saw and band saw may be out of your budget if you don't have them already. If you can borrow them from a friend that will increase the ease of putting your instrument together as well.
Having a drill is a "no brainer"! You will need to attach the keys to your frame somehow. In the old days, they used vines, rope or string instead of nuts and bolts. That lends itself to a kind of cool luck if you want to try it.
There really shouldn't be too much time involved in making your own homemade xylophone. Isn't it nice to know that you can help your children learn the gift of music with such a simple instrument to make? The added bonus is the cost doesn't need to be exorbitant to have a really nice and authentic marimba or xylophone!
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