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: