Xylophone Stand Update

This is an update on my 4/19/2012 post on the xylophone stands.  I was able to complete the additional eight stands over summer vacation.  Total cost was $233.27.

Here's the final product...

...and one up close

Blueberry Bush Net

This was a quick little project but worth mentioning.  I wanted to protect our blueberry bushes from birds so we could get some for ourselves.  And it was worth it.  Look at the first round of blueberries I picked!  We've been getting a bowl this full every week!

I did some research online for ideas to get me started.  A lot of people build a frame out of wood or PVC pipe, but in the end I decided I didn't want to make a fixed structure.  For one thing, I wanted it to break down afterward because we don't have a good place to store a big frame.  Additionally, I wanted a more natural, low profile look that would blend into the background.


MATERIALS:

6' bamboo stakes

"BirdBlock" netting from Gardener's Supply Company online.
(They also sell this at The Home Depot for cheaper)

green gardening velcro tape

landscaping staples

TOOLS:

PROCEDURE:


I first used the loppers to clip the bamboo stakes to the right height and pushed them into the ground at the four corners of the bushes (I made the back two a little shorter than the front two because the ground is higher at the back of the bushes and it was difficult to get them deeper in the ground without breaking them).  


Then I measured and cut the piece of bird net to the right size and draped it over the bushes and bamboo stakes.  Sounds easy, but this was the hardest part of the project.  The netting was getting so stuck to every little branch, it was slow-going to get it on there just as I wanted it.  It may have helped to have another person lift the other side of the net so we could go up and over without touching the branches and then let it down over the bush.


Next I used a few little pieces of the green gardening velcro tape at the top of each bamboo stake to secure the netting to them.

velcro at the top of each stake

I wanted to have easy access for getting in to pick the blueberries as they ripened, so I cut a slit down the netting just around the corner on one end of the enclosure and used another piece of the velcro tape to secure my makeshift 'door' shut.

slit on the end for the 'door', secured with velcro

The last step was securing the netting to the ground so that critters wouldn't be able to enter from underneath.  I inserted the landscaping staples through the holes in the net and into the ground several inches apart around the perimeter of the enclosure.

landscaping staples along the bottom

Note: In order to get into the enclosure to harvest the blueberries, I remove the landscaping staples from the ground along the front of the enclosure, remove the little piece of velcro that secures my 'door' shut, and pull the netting up to drape it over the top while I pick.

opening the 'door' on the front

Xylophone Stands

Here's a peek at my latest project.  I've constructed the prototype, and the entire project means constructing an additional eight.

The Prototype

These will be stands for the xylophones and bells in my classroom.  Right now the instruments are sitting on a rarely-cleaned patch of floor in the classroom.  The kids have to sit on said patch of floor to play them.  The benefits of the stands will be twofold.  First, the kids will be able to stand, a preferable playing position.  Second, I hope that putting wheels on the stands will instruments more mobile, therefore making it easier to push them aside to clean the floor.

Prefabricated xylophone stands start at around $175:

An Example of the Prefab Version

I aim to create 9 of my own stands for a total of roughly $200.

This has been my most challenging project to date, as my grandfather is no longer here to be my teacher and guide.  I have been sorely missing his knowledge, his problem-solving skills, and his companionship during this project.  We all agree that Grandpa is irreplaceable, and that none of us will ever know all that he knew.  We are reminded daily of his absence, in situations where we would have gone to him for help, and in the gizmos and contraptions that he left behind at which we now marvel.

Before he passed away, he had drawn up sketches of the three different sized stands and given me a materials list to take to Home Depot.  I have discovered now that a lot of the plan was in his head and not in the drawings.  It has been quite a challenge trying to deduce his plan from what he left me.

My father has been incredibly helpful during this project, and for that I am very grateful.  He went with me to Home Depot, manned the saws for the cutting-out-the-plywood-pieces phase, and has shown me how to use many of the tools and doohickeys found in grandpa's workshop.

Despite the void that I'm feeling without Grandpa here, I have found a great deal of enjoyment in each success along the way.  Each time I make a realization about his intentions for the project or figure out something on my own that I can only assume he would have taught me, I feel a sense of excitement.

Cutting out the pieces:

Doweling:

Clamp to Dry Glue:

Casters:

Tubano Drum Sound Comparison

i wanted to comment on the sound quality of my homemade tubanos and compare them to the Remo brand pretuned tubano after which they were modeled.  the short answer...Remo brand tunable tubanos take first place, with the non-tunable Remos in close second.  but my homemade drums are really pretty decent for what they are.  out of my first two attempts at homemade tubano drums, i was most pleased with the sound of the drum head made of ripstop nylon.

Remo brand pretuned tubano:

this was the drum after which my homemade tubanos were modeled.  the internal apparatus in the bottom of the tubanos is designed to create a low, resonating, focused tone in the center of the drum head, and a shallower, higher pitched tone on the outer edge of the drum head.  i love the rich, booming low tone of the Remo drums.  the higher tone on this particular drum is not very clear, but it may be due to years of use and stretching of the (non-tunable) head.  Remo's tunable tubanos are awesome, and if my school budget allowed, i would love a classroom full of them!

homemade tubano "uno":

the first tubano i constructed used standard nylon "packcloth" fabric for the head.  the low tone in the center of the drum head is a little bit muted, and nowhere near as resonant as the Remo tubano, but in my opinion it's really pretty decent for being homemade.  the pitch is lower than that of the Remo.  there's a good, clearer high tone on the edge of the drum head.

homemade tubano "uno"

homemade tubano "uno" (bottom)

homemade tubano "dos":
i decided to try ripstop nylon for the second homemade tubano head.  ripstop nylon is made to be resistant to ripping, and it is designed such that if the fabric does tear, the tear will be contained and not grow larger.  i figured as long as the sound quality didn't suffer, it would make sense to use this fabric for my drums, which are to be used by elementary school aged children on a regular basis.  i was very pleasantly surprised at the resulting sound of the ripstop nylon.  again, it doesn't top the booming low tone of the Remo, but this drum really rings!  it is far more resonant than the muted tone of my first homemade drum.  the pitch is lower than the Remo, and one funny thing to note is i must speak at just the right pitch, because it actually sings when i talk near it :).  also in this drum's favor, there's still a discernible difference between the lower center tone and the outer edge high tone.

homemade tubano "dos"

homemade tubano "dos" (bottom)

Homemade Tubano Drum #2

Just finished my second tubano drum!  It makes sense to make these drums in pairs, as the concrete form tube yields two drum-body-sized sections.

not sure if you can see the crosshatch pattern in the fabric,
but i used ripstop nylon on the head of this drum, which was
different from my first drum.

the other difference with this drum is that i used silicone instead
of wood glue to set the cardboard tube section into the luan "donut."

Practice Recorders

front (left) and back (right) views

closeup on holes

bottom closeup

This is another project from a while back that my grandfather and I did.  This started with a very simple concept and with two Type-A's united, grew into much more than I could have hoped for.

I wanted something to use in my classroom for when kids forget to bring their recorder to school.  Something to hold in their hands and practice putting their fingers in the right places.  It had to be something they wouldn't actually put their mouth on, so that class after class could use them without me having to worry about sanitizing them.  I had been using rulers up until then, but I wanted something cylindrical, and where they could actually feel the holes under their fingers.  The concept was simple, and at first I was just thinking drilling a few holes in a section of dowel.

We ended up pretty much making exact replicas of the middle section of a real recorder.  Right down to the fact that the diameter of the wood is tapered a little from top to bottom, the holes are different sizes, and the holes are offset from left to right as they are on real recorders.

Some of how he did this is beyond me, I wish I could ask him.  I helped drill the holes and put on the finish, but how he tapered the diameter of the wood and left the top and bottom wide was some of his tricks of the trade done with his woodworking tools.

Mock Guitar Necks

Front

Back

 This is a project I did with my grandfather a few years ago.  He deserves most of the credit for the design, although we shared the labor.  It was one of those times where I gave him the basic idea that I had in mind, and when I returned he had already created an amazing prototype.

They were mock guitar necks to be used by a fifth grade class I was teaching at the time, since I only had access to one or two real guitars.  The kids would practice on these and then use my real guitar to do assessments.

I don't remember what type of wood we used for the main piece, perhaps just a 2"x4."
We rounded the edges on the back side to give the feel of a real guitar.

The frets were inlaid pieces of popsicle sticks,
and a thicker piece of wood for a bridge on either end.

Bottom

The strings were made from fishing line.

We marked the frets with dots of Wite-Out.
This being the proto-type, some of the frets
aren't exactly rhe right width.  Yeah, it bugs me
a little, lol.

At the top, we tied knots in the fishing line and
threaded them through holes from the backside.

Bottom

The bottom end was fancier.  We sanded down a rectangle so
this part would be inlaid.  We drilled three rows of holes so that
we could thread the strings in and out to keep them more
sturdily in place.  We stapled them to the back using a staple gun.

Classroom Display - "Music"

I mounted this inside my classroom doorway window because the art teacher had something similar set up next door and I liked it :).  I used the school's Cricut machine to cut the letters out of 12"x12" cardstock for scrapbooking.  I laminated by hand with a roll of laminating paper I got for free from FLEXcon.

Homemade Tubano Drum

this is a step-by-step of my homemade tubano drum project.  i took instructions from a few different websites and came up with my own version.

main sources:

http://www.oshaugden.com/drumpicsstories/
http://rhythmweb.com/homemade/tubes.htm

the completed drum

the completed drum bottom bottom view

the completed drum top view

MATERIALS
expendable materials:
10" diameter cardboard tube (I used a Quick-Tube brand concrete form tube, which I measured in the store to find one closest to 10" because there seems to be a big margin of error on these)
12in/30.5cm embroidery hoop
piece of luan (very thin type of plywood.  you'll need a piece big enough to cut a 10" diameter circle)
decorative fabric to cover outside of drum (1 yard is plenty for one drum)
nylon fabric for drum head (sometimes called "pack cloth", i used a 16"x16" piece)
5" diameter cardboard tube (I used a Hannaford brand oatmeal container)
electrical tape (i chose black)
3/8"/10mm staples for staple gun
glue (I used Elmer's, Gorilla Glue, and waterproof silicone for various steps, but you can read and decide...)

tools:
mini hacksaw
sponge brushes
little bowl to put craft glue in
spring clamps
hose clamps
tape measure
pencil
cloth rag
work shears
staple gun
basin of water
hammer
chalk
iron and ironing board

optional materials
waterproof sealant for outside of drum body
rubberizer for drum feet




INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Cutting The Drum Body
Step 2: Cutting Out the Feet
Step 3: Reinforcing the Rim
Step 4: Building The Internal Apparatus
Step 5: Installing the Internal Apparatus
Step 6: Putting on the Drum Head
Step 7: Decorating the Outside




Step 1: Cutting The Drum Body

10" cardboard concrete form tube, cut in half.

okay so i cheated on this step.  i had my grandfather cut the tube in half for me.  he used some kind of electric saw in my uncle's workshop...

Step 2: Cutting Out the Feet

with a pencil, mark three arcs on the bottom end
of the drum.  mine were 1.75" tall, 5.25" wide,
and 5.5" apart.  with the mini hacksaw,
cut out the arcs to form the drum's "feet."

feet complete

note: i found the mini hacksaw blade to be a little flimsy for this job, and it took a lot of work to cut through the cardboard.  the blade also chewed up the edge of the cardboard a bit.  i might consider buying a more sturdy replacement blade.

Step 3: Reinforcing the Rim

12" embroidery hoop (diameter of this needs to be bigger
than the drum's because you'll be clipping off the fastener,
thus losing an inch or more.

using work shears, clip off the fastener on the outer hoop.   

clip the inner hoop at the already-existing
indentation

fit the first hoop into the top of the drum and
clip it with the scissors so that it will be a tight
fit.  then remove it and use Gorilla Glue to glue
it in place (follow directions on the bottle).

after repeating the fitting process with the inner
hoop, apply glue around the inside of the first
hoop and set the second inside of it.

clamp and allow to dry for recommended time on glue bottle.

Step 4: Building The Internal Apparatus

cut a "donut" shape out of the sheet of luan.it should
be 10" diameter with a 5" diameter hole in the middle. 

note: insert it into the drum to test the size when you cut it to get it exact, it should be a tight fit!

okay, so I cheated on this step too.  again, my grandfather cut this out for me.

peel the label off the oatmeal container.  use the tape measure
and pencil to measure and mark a 3" tall section
on the container.

remove the plastic ring from the top of the oatmeal container.

cut off the bottom of the container, then cut along your line.

you'll end up with a 3" tall section that looks like this.  my Hannaford
brand oatmeal container yielded exactly 3 of these, in case you're
making multiple drums at once...

insert one section of the oatmeal container into the wooden ring
and glue.  i used wood glue for this step, but i debated the
type of glue for a while...i propped it up on my foam brushes
so that about an inch of the cardboard was hanging out on the
other side.  let it dry overnight.  the next day I flipped
the whole thing over and glued the other side just to be safe.

for my second drum i used waterproof silicone (we had it around
the house from  fixing the bathtub) instead of wood glue for
this step.  they both seemed to work.  time will tell if one
method has more longevity.

Step 5: Installing the Internal Apparatus

set the drum down feet up, and insert the apparatus.
wearing gloves, squeeze the silicone
around the place where the drum wall and
apparatus meet.

use your finger to gently press the caulk into place, then
allow it to dry for a few hours.

flip the drum upside down and repeat the
caulking process on the inside

Step 6: Putting on the Drum Head

soak the nylon material in water.  soaking the fabric should
help it to stretch as much as possible when you put it on the
drum so that it will stay tighter longer.

hose clamps

connect the hose clamps together to create one big clamp

clamp the fabric onto the top of the drum.  pull the fabric as tight
as possible all the way around, and tighten the clamps.  leave room
above the clamp to do your stapling.

use the staple gun around the top edge of the drum.
make sure the staples go into your reinforced rim.
i worked my way around by putting each staple opposite
the one before it until they were all the way around.

trim the fabric.

wrap electrical tape around the bottom of the fabric to secure
it to the drum, and around the rim covering the staples.

Step 7: Decorating the Outside
Note: Some websites recommended painting the outside of the concrete form tube with white paint before wrapping it in fabric so that whatever is printed on the outside of the tube by the manufacturer doesn't show through.  I eliminated this step by choosing fabric that was dark enough that you couldn't see through it.

measure and cut a piece of your decorative fabric to fit around
the outside of the drum.  i used chalk and a tape measure.

iron your decorative fabric and iron down a
hem on the edge.

using a sponge brush and craft glue, apply
the first strip of glue down the length of the
outside of the drum.

attach the fabric to the initial glue spot

continue flipping back the fabric and adding strip of glue.  i
prefer this over gluing the whole thing at once, because you
can smooth out wrinkles as you go this way.

fold the fabric inside the drum, clip it and such to get it to fit
flat against the inside wall of the drum and glue it down.

clamp to dry.

fabric wrap complete

iron a strip of the trim fabric, and iron down a hem on either side.

glue the strip of decorative fabric #2 around the top of the drum

clamp it down for good measure while it dries, and voila!