It ain't much but it means a lot

[HowardH]

$15,000 worth of equipment... to make a simple box.  My son is taking a physics class and the end of year project was to make a musical instrument.  He bought this kit, it's called a Kalimba, and the kit called for a cigar box for the resonating chamber.  Nope.  Not doing that.  I dug out some scraps and we made this.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

The main body is poplar and the ends purple heart.  I sprayed 5 coats of poly to get the shine he wanted.    The end result is this.

[attachimg=3]

He used this cool app on his iPhone to tune it and then double checked it our our piano. That's were it is sitting for this photo.  It wasn't hard or take a lot of time but considering how proud of it he is, it was one the most fun projects we worked on together.

 

[Samo]

A+  [big grin]

 

[Stephen B]

'Neat' in lots of ways.  [smile]

 

[rst]

I'm with Untidy...this is great in so many educational ways.  Hands on woodworking, music, and physics...kudos to the teacher that created this project!!

 

[Kev]

[member=396]HowardH[/member]

Any chance of a little clip with some audio? .. I'd love to know what it sounds like [smile]

 

[rizzoa13]

I think we should all take a moment and really take it all in. What sticks out to me is how proud and happy YOU are to get to spend time with your son. Im sure your son is looking up to you and it's obvious that your ecstatic to do something like this with him.

Life gets so hectic and its these kinds of moments that you might not necessarily remember but that shape your relationship with your son.  [thumbs up] [thumbs up] [thumbs up] for being a proud pops!

 

[KRKWW]

The fruit that will come from your time with your son will far out weigh the value of the $15k in tools! My hat is off to you sir for your vision. Savor the fruit! Oh, and nice execution on the project... Audio please...

 

[HowardH]

I think we should all take a moment and really take it all in. What sticks out to me is how proud and happy YOU are to get to spend time with your son. Im sure your son is looking up to you and it's obvious that your ecstatic to do something like this with him.

Life gets so hectic and its these kinds of moments that you might not necessarily remember but that shape your relationship with your son.  [thumbs up] [thumbs up] [thumbs up] for being a proud pops!

That is what it is all about.  He didn't work with any of the spinning blades but he was right there next me, safety glasses on and hearing protection in.  We are very lucky.  We got a son who is a smart kid, and is musically talented.  The time in the shop together can't be topped.  As to the video, I'll do that and post it.

 

[Shane Holland]

Great project and something your son will always remember. Thanks for sharing it, Howard.  [thumbs up] [thumbs up]

 

[Wooden Skye]

Howard great project you and your son have.  I wish my son would have a project that requires woodworking.  I was helping him with his invention project, good imagination, but it is fun working with your kids bringing their imagination to life!

 

[HowardH]

so it ain't Mozart but it's music to my ears!
Music box

 

[Kev]

America's Got Talent here we come [big grin]

Good one - that'd be very satisfying!

 

[ear3]

Nice work.  Kalimba is the Caribbean variant of what is more generally known as the Mbira, or African thumb piano.  It has an amazing sound.  Not sure how musically inclined your son is, but one cool variant is to outfit it with an electric pick up that you can then run through an amp and also add pedal effects to, like you would a guitar.  Here's one variant, by the Congolese band Konono no. 1:

 

[junk731]

$15,000 worth of equipment... to make a simple box.  My son is taking a physics class and the end of year project was to make a musical instrument.  He bought this kit, it's called a Kalimba, and the kit called for a cigar box for the resonating chamber.  Nope.  Not doing that.  I dug out some scraps and we made this.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

The main body is poplar and the ends purple heart.  I sprayed 5 coats of poly to get the shine he wanted.    The end result is this.

[attachimg=3]

He used this cool app on his iPhone to tune it and then double checked it our our piano. That's were it is sitting for this photo.  It wasn't hard or take a lot of time but considering how proud of it he is, it was one the most fun projects we worked on together.

$15,000.00 worth of equipment gave you a million dollars worth of happiness and memories.

John

 

[Kev]

$15,000.00 worth of equipment gave you a million dollars worth of happiness and memories.

John

Hmmm ... Hey guys, there's some solid math here we can leverage. I think we should anchor this ratio as a scientific fact. Now we can justify $150,000.00 in tools as we'll get ten million dollars worth!

Simple, just as your wife if she'd like one million dollars worth of happiness or ten million dollars worth of happiness.