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HOw to build the Drumbone:

Text Box: 1.    Cut the pipe into two sections, making one slightly shorter than the other. 2.    Take the smaller tube, and cut a strip about an inch wide out lengthwise. 3.    Squeeze the sides together and try and fit the end of the smaller pipe into end of the larger end. If it doesn’t fit, cut a bigger strip out until it fits. 4.    Take the smaller tube, and heat the inside of it with the blowtorch or heat gun. Only heat up a small section at a time. When the pipe becomes pliable, force the ends together. Tape the pipe horizontally to hold the edges of the pipe together. 5.    Continue to do this down the length of the pipe. Let cool. 6.    Slip the smaller pipe into the larger pipe. 7.    Grab some friends and play the drumbone!   For a Printer-Friendly version,               click here Text Box: WARNINGS! Don’t try this at home without adult supervision!  Table saws and handsaws are very dangerous, and PVC is somewhat sharp when cut. Also, blowtorches and heat guns should be used with extreme caution. Heat up the PVC pipe outside. We highly recommend wearing some sort of filtering mask. When heated, PVC gives off toxic fumes that could cause liver cancer. Have fun building, but remember to stay safe!               DMKAPP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


                                                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 HOw to build the xylophone:

 

 

Text Box: Warning! Be careful when cutting PVC, using a staple gun, drill, or whatever you are doing. Don’t try this without adult supervision. Text Box: Materials: Text Box: @    20 1-1/2” diameter 10’ PVC pipes @    Something to cut the pipes with, we used a table saw, a hand saw works also. @    Measuring tape @    list of pipe lengths @    four 8’ long 2x2’s @    a sheet of 1/2” plywood @    Something to drill holes with @    Staple gun @    Wood Glue @    Sharpies to label pipes @    31 1-1/2” diameter 90° elbows @    Epoxy @    ˝” dowel @    A pair of foamy flip-flop sandals, the cheap kind @    Nails Estimated Cost: $150   Text Box: Note: we did not include items such as table saws, handsaws, blow torches, measuring tapes, staple guns, or permanent markers in our estimated budgets. Text Box: HELPFUL HINTS: ·        Use a tuner to tune the pipes to get the desired pitch. ·        Measure twice, cut once. ·        If anything, cut the pipes a little longer than you need them. It is easier to trim a pipe that is too long than make a short one longer. ·        Remember that adding elbows adds length to the tube, so the more elbows you use, the more flat the note will be. ·        As we measured and cut pipes, we labeled them with permanent markers so that the notes wouldn’t get lost. ·        Temperature and humidity affect the speed of sound, which means the xylophone’s pitch might vary. It is best then, to measure and cut all your tubes on the same day, when the temperature and humidity is about the same for all the tubes. ·        For the higher notes, you can fit several notes onto one 10’ pipe. ·        Save your scraps! You can use them to add on to the lower notes, or if you made a mistake somewhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box: 1.    Measure all the lengths of the pipes you will need. For a list of the measurements for the pipes, as well as how we combined them, click here. 2.    Cut the pipes. A table saw works nice because it goes very fast. However, we also tried a handsaw, which works just as well. 3.    Label the pipes! This helps to keep the notes straight, unless you want to be guessing the whole time which notes are which. 4.    For notes with lengths longer than 3’, we cut the pipes into several sections. We cut them so that there would be a 3’ section standing upright, and then a longer section on the bottom. For some pipes, like the low F, we cut them into more sections and connected them with elbows. 5.    We made our xylophone into 3 octave sections, with a separate frame for each. 6.    For the frame, start with the top sheet of plywood. Measure 2” clearance from the sides, then trace a pipe at the corner of the lines. Continue tracing till the plywood looks like this:             7.    There is one inch between each pipe horizontally, and an inch vertically. 8.    For the highest octave, there will be one additional hole at the right, for the high F. 9.    Drill out the holes that you traced. 10. Cut the 2x2s so that you have 4 legs, each 3’ tall. Nail the plywood to the legs. We only used one nail per leg, because otherwise the wood would split. 11. It is also helpful to glue the legs to the plywood, to make the bond more secure. 12. To brace the frame, take some left over plywood and staple it between the legs of the frame. This stabilizes the frame. 13. For the lower two octaves, we inserted a ˝” dowel between the back two legs (the ones farthest away when standing in playing position) about 2 inches from the bottom. This provides a rest for the sharp tubes. More info on that later. 14. When the frames are finished and the tubes are cut, you can assemble the xylophone. Slide the tubes into the slots, starting with F in the lower left hand corner, following the note pattern on the length list. The Low octave starts with F2, the Middle octave with F3, and the High octave with F4. It may be necessary to sand out the inside of the plywood holes to fit the tubes through. 15. As you fit the lower octave pipes in, it is wise to insert the 3’ length first. When in an upright position, the tubes should extend upward several inches from the plywood top. Then connect the elbows and remaining pipe. For the sharp notes, (the ones with a # sign) the horizontal pipe should rest on the wooden dowel. The sharp notes will stick out farther from the plywood than the natural ones. 16. For tubes shorter than 3’, we epoxied them into place. This prevents the tubes from falling through when hit. 17. Use the Flip-Flops to strike the open end of the tubes. The tubes should make the desired notes! If not, you can trim the pipes to the necessary length. 18. Have fun playing your new xylophone!   For a printer friendly version of the instructions, Click here