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Laminated Marimba bars? - (A Question from Daniel Edwards)
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------Original Message----- From: "Daniel Edwards" Sent: 5/02/05 11:27:16 AM To: jim@percussionclinic.com Subject: marimba keys laminatedWhy could not the wooden keys on a marimba be laminated (glued up to pre-tuning step), rough sized so that when you remove wood to tune, the pieces that were added on are of equal sizing on each end of the key? Is the grain direction what allows the vibration, and would gluing up keys cause the key not to vibrate and/or become a dead thud? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Daniel Edwards
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Hi Daniel - thanks for your email,
I can't honestly tell you the science behind why you can't do it, but I can tell you that its an approach that doesn't work. Many people have tried this kind of idea, and others similar, but all have had terrible results.
When a bar on occasion splits, then it can be repaired to 95% good as new by very carefully gluing/clamping the split. It produces bad results if done badly though. It certainly doesn't work to reglue a bar that's been cut across the grain, so the fact that the vibration producing the note travels along the grain certainly points to the glue as a vibration blocker.
Hope this helps in some way.
Jim McCarthy
answers by Jim MCCarthy - 05/02/2005
For more help on instrument building you can email Jim.