instructables
Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box
by mattthegamer463
If you've ever seen those little music boxes you wind
up, or crank, and they play a little tune over and over
from a little metal drum of notes, but wish they did
more than play the same 10-second tune over and
over for eternity? If only you could change the song
and write your own music for it... Now there's an idea.
After a year of design and work, I completed my Re-
Programmable Music Box / Mechanical Synthesizer /
Organ Grinder Thingy. It has many names, and is
100% non-electric. Just wood, metal, and good ol'
people power.
Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 1
I began this project as a sort of proof-of-concept,
designing something from scratch without a lot to
base it off of, and a whole lot of engineering problems
to solve. Also, I didn't really know what I was doing. It
was intended to be a learning and problem-solving
experience. And it was a lot of fun.
If you like my work, please vote for it in the
Woodworking Competition beginning October 3rd.
Demonstration Video
1. "Code segments"
Step 1: Design and Planning
Since this project was starting entirely from scratch, I
needed to make a flawless design that could be
easily worked with, and a good design always
reduces waste. I decided to use oak, and at $60 per
10ft plank I didn't want to waste any. Also, its pretty
complex and precision is extremely important for
everything to work correctly.
I started with the idea: a large wood cylinder will hold
metal pegs. It will rotate and force the pegs to pluck
metal tines, which are tuned to specific notes.
I selected 12 notes across, since it seemed like a
very flexible number of notes and allowed me to fill it
with a simple 8-note scale in the middle, with a few
extra high and low notes. I could also tune in flats or
sharps if I wanted some specifically, or get almost all
of a chromatic scale in. I selected 32 notes "around"
the cylinder, because that's what you need to play
Pop Goes The Weasel, or any 8-bar song using
quarter notes.
The cylinder is made of softwood, 8" in diameter, that
I picked up from a nearby carpenter for free. I found a
Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 2
belt that fit snugly around it to use along with a few
gears and a belt for the cranking mechanism.
The tine material was cut from the prongs of a garden
rake. This works great because it is flexible but snaps
right back into place. The tine holder design was sort
of up in the air until the rest of the machine was done,
so that I could do testing. Initial designs were too
complex and tiny, but the final design (image 3 below)
is about as simple as possible, I believe.
Originally I wanted to use almost all wood for this
project, but it turned out wood wasn't going to offer
the precision that I needed for the tines. I ended up
doing it with a CNC at my college. In Step 7 I
hypothesize how it could be accomplished without
such expensive tools.
When designing the wooden frame, try to place the
pieces to get as few exposed edges as possible. The
edges you do have, try to align them so that they
create borders and still look appealing to the eye.
 1

1. Early tine design, too complex and small to be possible 1. Internals: Don't forget to design material thicknesses

1
2

2 2

3 3
4 4

1 1

1. Final tine holder re-design 1. Everything broken down and measured

2. Two screws hold down the tine 2. Red lines indicate visible edges that need to not have exposed biscuits
3. Screw in here holds down the whole thing
4. 15mm wide
1. Final tine holder re-design
2. Two screws hold down the tine
3. Screw in here holds down the whole thing
4. 15mm wide

1 1
1

1. Slots will hold captive nuts 1. Original idea, fiddling with practicalities
1. Slots will hold captive nuts

Download
http://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F7N/DBHB/JDF28X4C/F7NDBHBJDF28X4C.skp
…

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 3

Step 2: Materials and Tools

Materials:
Oak plank (10ft long by 8in wide by 3/4" thick is what I started with)
8" long by 8" diameter wood cylinder
Aluminum plate
1" wide 1/4" thick aluminum stock
100 steel pegs
384 1/8" diameter by 1/8" long magnets
Rake tines
8" rubber belt
Smaller belt
3x gears
Carriage bolt and nut
~12" long 1/4" steel rod
1/4" wooden dowel
Biscuits
Instrument mallet

Tools:
Table saw
Band saw
Drill press
Number drill set
Fractional drill set
Wood glue
Clamps
Drill bits
Biscuit cutter
Planer
1" hole saw
Polyurethane wood sealant
Pliers

* Note: I'm going to assume you know how to use your planer, your table saw, your band saw, your drill press, etc.
and I won't go into detail about the operation of the machines. If you're using someone else's machines, have them
teach you how to use them, and have someone around for safety.

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 4

Step 3: Woodwork
So its tough to find wood in the shapes you want at
the lumber store, so I bought a 10 foot long piece that
was only 8" wide. My solution was to chop it into
three 3.3 foot segments and glue them together to
form a 2 foot by 3.3 foot oak board.
First, chop the plank into three even pieces. Then,
plane them down to 1/2" thickness, since 3/4" is too
thick for such a small project. Next, cut biscuit
notches with the biscuit cutter, and glue them in
place. Be sure to mark the locations of the biscuits so
that you can plan around them so they won't be
visible after making cuts.
Clamp it together and let it dry for 24 hours.
Measure the circumference of the cylinder, and divide
it by 32. Mark 32 lines all the way around the cylinder.
Now, mark 12 holes along each line for each note.
There should be 384 points to drill now.
Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 5
To drill the cylinder, set a vice on the drill press bed
and put a few rags inside the open jaws so that the
wood won't get damaged. Use a weight on a string to
check that the line of holes you are drilling are
straight vertical. Find a number drill that is a few
thousandths of an inch larger than 1/8" and drill the
holes exactly 1" deep using the depth control on the
press.
Next, glue a magnet into the bottom of each hole.
This is to prevent the pegs from falling out when the
drum holds them upside down. The best way to do
this is to place a magnet on the end of a steel peg,
put a drop of glue on it, and carefully push it down
into the hole. It should protrude from the hole by 1/8".
Then tap it lightly with a hammer to make sure it's in
proper contact at the bottom.
Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 6
Step 4: Woodwork, Pt II

Hop back on the computer and devise a means to get into a 2" by 1/2" piece. Drill a 1/4" deep hole near one
your shape dimensions onto paper. You can export end on one side, and another hole at the other end on
2D images from your design software and print them the opposite side. Glue one dowel into each hole. The
to-scale, or just read off dimensions and mark them 2" dowel will go inside the machine, and 2" may be
on the wood with a pencil and a square. When longer than needed so it can be cut down
placing things on the wood, remember to keep visible accordingly.
edges away from the biscuits! It helps if your design
is on separate cutouts so that you can play with the The way I came up with to glue the end pieces into
positioning to maximize wood yield. Remember the the wooden drum was like this; First, put wood glue
table saw blade will consume about 1/8" of wood, so around the outside of the first octagon and lay it flat
leave gaps between your pieces. on the table. Then, put the barrel down on top of it so
they fit in together. Make sure they're lined up
I'd like to make a safety note. Table saws are horrible, correctly and wipe off any excess or oozing glue.
ridiculously dangerous machines. If you are not Wait for it to dry. Then take a center-finding tool* and
incredibly afraid of the saw, then DO NOT use it. You locate the center of this side of the drum. Drill a 1/4"
need a very healthy amount of fear, so that you'll take to meet your shaft diameter. Now, do the same thing
every precaution when using it, or you'll loose your with the second octagon, but this time, to make sure
thumbs. I'm serious. everything is pushed flat and the octagon isn't too far
into the barrel, push it with a rod or dowel through the
Once your pieces are cut, theres a few holes to drill. hole in the opposite end. Once the glue is dry, find
Drill the holes for the shaft that the drum will rotate the center of the second side and drill a second
on, and the sound-port holes on the front piece. Don't hole.everything should be perfect!
drill the holes in the octagonal pieces that will go in
the drum yet, since you'll need to properly find the Cut a 12" length of 1/4" solid steel rod for the shaft
center once they're in place. Now start clamping and the drum will rotate on. File the ends so they're
gluing. I'll admit, I was on a tight schedule at the time smooth.
and had to get these parts done in a few hours, so I
cheated and used a nail gun. It was a terrible idea, * A great Instructable for a center finding tool is
nail guns cause splits in hardwood, so don't do it! https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Center-
Take the time to use glue and clamps properly. Finder/

To make the crank handle, cut a 1.5" piece of dowel

and a 2" piece of dowel. Cut a piece of leftover oak

1. Shop rags keep greasy tables away from your wood

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 7
 1. Shop rags keep greasy tables away from your wood

Step 5: Mechanics

Now we need to start working on the mechanical
linkages and crank for the drum movement. Since
putting the crank right at drum-level would result in
the crank hitting the table, I had to devise some
transfer mechanisms to allow me to put it higher up.
I found some plastic gears which meshed correctly
with the 8" rubber belt I had for the drum. I glued two
of the gears together and glued a long bolt into a hole
I drilled through the side of the box. On the end of the
box, I drilled a hole and glued a nut into it. This would
let me insert a machine screw with a captive armature
on it, which held a gear on the end. This would let me
tension a transfer belt to prevent slipping of the belts
and gears but still make the crank easy to turn.
The result was what you see in the image below. The
system works pretty well, and I don't think there could
be a much easier way to do it without fabricating
custom gears.
An important thing to think about is the space you
have. There was only about an inch of clearance
between the internal wall and the drum, so space was
tight.

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 8

 2

4
1

1. Belt tension control

2. Crank shaft gear
3. Transfer belt
4. Gear that runs on the drum belt

Step 6: Finishing the Wood

I decided to finish most of the wood early because I
wasn't going to be able to keep working on the project
for the next four months, and I didn't want it to get
dirty or change shape from water in the air. I just
coated it with a few layers of Minwax Polyurethane to
make it shiny and bring out the colour of the wood a
little bit more.
After the polyurethane is dry, squeeze the 8" belt onto
the edge of the drum. I cut the belt in half because it
was too wide and covered the first row of holes. If it
doesn't hold in place by friction alone, you can use
finishing nails to tack it in place.

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 9

 1

1. Don't coat the top because you'll need to drill holes in it later

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 10

Step 7: The Musical Mechanics

This was a major engineering challenge for quite a To build the tine holders, I used 1" wide 1/4" thick
while. I had a few designs that were a bust, they were aluminum stock. Since I only had 15.3mm of space
just far too small to be practical. I ended up distilling per tine, I cut the pieces down to 15mm wide, and
the ideas into what I think is as simple as could be then into 15mm and 30mm long segments.
possible.
The tines can be cut from the rake using a hack saw
The tine, which is a piece of steel from a leaf rake, is or angle grinder. Cutting their lengths is a hit-or-miss
sandwiched between two aluminum plates. The tine guessing game, however. Depending on their width,
is kinked at the tip and is roughly the length it needs thickness, and composition their resonating
to be, plus enough length to be held in the plates characteristics will change greatly, so I can't give a
firmly. This is secured with two small screw that pass list of predetermined lengths. You'll have to just cut a
through the top plate and into threaded holes in the few and experiment to find what works for your tines.
bottom plate. The bottom plate then sits atop a large The tips can be bent with two pairs of pliers.
aluminum plate with slots machined in it. On the
bottom are larger slots with captive nuts in them, held I used a CNC to cut the aluminum plate. Now, I know
in place against the top of the music box. A screw that using a CNC is out of the realm of 99% of
passes through a hole in the second plate and into readers, but I had the resources and it was the best
one of the nuts so that its position can be controlled logical way to do the design I had created.
by sliding it up and down in the slot.
If it had to be done using simple tools, I would say
Using this method, the tine length can be tuned to the that sandwiching pieces of wood together to form the
appropriate note, and then the tine holder can be slots, or use a chisel to carve out the slots for the
moved towards the pins on the barrel, and lined up for nuts, and a drill and needle files to do the rest.
just the right amount of plucking force.

1. Nuts held captive on the bottom of the plate

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 11

 1

1. Inital work on an eventually failed attempt. I later used a

CNC to get better precision

1. Holes threaded, coming along great

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 12

Step 8: Final Assembly and Tuning

Tuning is a pain-staking process that takes an hour or Using a piano or a virtual piano (like
two. The tines can be tuned to lots of different scales, http://www.virtualpiano.net/) play the note that you
but I selected a simple set of notes from the piano. want to tune to. Strike the corresponding tine with a
They are: plastic mallet. If it is too high, loosen the two screws
holding the tine and wiggle the tine out further. If it is
A3 too low, push it in further. Once the notes sound right
B3 (and you'll know when) then you can tighten down the
C4 (Middle C) tine as tight as possible so it can't slip. Then, slide the
D4 tine holder up to the drum and put a peg right near it.
E4 You want the peg to just barely touch the tine as it
F4 comes up, and then pluck it. You don't want the tine
G4 to bend upwards more than a few millimeters. Too
A4 much force could break the tines over time or cause
B4 the gears and belts to slip.
C5
D5 Repeat this process until all the tines are tuned. Set
E5 up a "test pattern" by placing pegs in diagonal lines
across the drum, so it will play the scale when
The result is a pretty good range of notes that works rotated. Test it out! If it sounds good, try out a song or
for lots of little songs like Mary Had A Little Lamb, Hot two. You should be able to use music written for
Cross Buns, and Pop Goes The Weasel. recorder, that should work well on this machine.
Chords are possible, but elaborate ones may require
To tune, start by arranging all the tines by length, and more torque to pluck than the crank will allow.
then place them tightly in the tine holders. Mount all
the holders on the aluminum plate, but not near the
drum. Tighten them down so they will resonate nicely.

1. Turning them up prevents binding

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 13

Step 9: Improvements and Considerations

I'll admit, after all the time and effort I put into good Other than that I don't think the design has any major
design on this project, it didn't turn out as well as I flaws. I would love to see some comments on
had hoped. Part of the problem is the insane improvements and enhancements for the future.
precision required to do this properly, which could
never be achieved with wood. If I were to ever try and I hope you enjoyed reading, thanks very much.
build something like this again, it would have to be
made entirely from metal.

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 14

Is it possible for you to share the Fusion360 file. I would like to make it myself and like to have
some clear blueprints to work from. It would be very much appreciated.

It was done in Sketchup, I've added a file to Step 1

https://www.instructables.com/files/orig/F7N/DBHB/JDF28X4C/F7NDBHBJDF28X4C.skp

Just found this one:

//www.youtube.com/embed/dZPAj9ofbbQ

Similar idea, but seems simpler to make and better results. Of course, with some cheating - using
ready-made xylophone.

In retrospect I wish I had done something more along those lines. It would have simplified and
made a much better final product. Live and learn.

sooo awesome! thank-you

Do you have a video? Im curious how the tines sound compared to a music box comb

Oh nm i see one lower down

This is really awesome! I was looking for a way to make my own and came across your ible. I need
to make a smaller one to install inside a nautilus shell. Do you have any suggestions on how that
might work?

I would recommend you try to figure out a way to make a new drum for a off-the-shelf music box
mechanism.
Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 15
 A little one like this;
http://www.blokeystuff.com.au/ProductImages/838310...

The way I built mine is not applicable at the traditional music box mechanism scale. Possibly you

Very nice project! Im working on something similar but Im using

reclaimed music combs form old cheap music boxes. Ill write my issues
here in case someone knows/is interested in helping.

I will use
reclaimed 18 note steel combs from cheap music boxes, but at the time I
dont know what notes they play. Does someone know any standard/broadly
used configuration of notes? Like this one (
http://www.ebay.com/itm/18-Note-Comb-for-a-Music-B...
No help in the internet so far.
Ill
be using 1mm (or smaller) laser cut acrylic to strung the notes. Will
this be too thin and break the acrylic? I cant make it thicker or it
will hit two notes at once.

How does the crack feel without a spinning element on it for the fingers?

Do you get sound when a metal plate is vibrating and its strung again?

Thank you!

frankly I don't understand a lot of your questions. If you elaborate maybe I could help. The tines in
those music boxes deflect very little and are plucked by small and short nibs on the drum. acrylic
will probably be too weak.

Please do you know how those music boxes that take a punched paper strip work? I can´t find
anything about that...

if you're talking about the little hand-cranked ones, I think what is happening is there are vibrating
tines in the base, and they are made to vibrate all the time by the cranking movement, but a metal
wheel sits on the tine and stops it from making sound. When the hole in the paper comes by, the
wheel can lift up slightly into the paper hole, which allows the note to ring for a moment. Slots in
the paper allow for longer notes. This is my guess based on the pictures I can find.

Well done. Great project and great instructable. I'm thinking about making something similar but
much smaller, this will be really helpful.

Geat!!!!!!!!!!!
I tried to do a similar project but I left it.

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 16

 I'll try again with your design, thanks!!!!

Could you possibly make it without metal?? If not, what types of mechanisms could you make that
are not made of metal?? Great job!!

You could do it all out of wood, it would just have to be larger. The drum axle could be sized up to
3/4" wood dowel, the gear drives could be made of wood, the rubber belt could be replaced with a
wood gear, the tines, anything. Just have to be a little bigger, and you'd have to be clever to get the
precision parts made/aligned well enough. Strategic use of hardwood would be smart.

i love it and i'll make it

Great job!
I liked your project a lot!
It has inspired me to build my own music box, which was made in home conditions without
expensive equipment.
I would like you to watch the video of the music box, which you inspired me to build.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdmW8K7qkMs

Thanks again for the awesome tutorial!

Would you happen to have any instructions on how you built yours? It looks good and seems a tad
easier then the original post

Hi,

Very nice work! I like yours a lot, it looks great and works well too. Glad to hear you were inspired
by my work.

do you have a video of it playing something? i want to hear the sound quality of it before i make it
for a project

I can't make a video because this was done over 4 years ago and the machine has since
developed some problems (the drive belt snapped, for one) and so it is unplayable now. I
understand that you are concerned about the results before making one and I'm going to be honest
with you that it doesn't sound the way I had imagined it would, and that in my eyes this project was
a failure. I revisited it a couple years later and marginally improved the performance but the major
problem is that big cylinder isn't round, and so it doesn't evenly strike the tynes as it revolves. The
whole thing was fun to make and I learned a bunch, but it failed to achieve its goals. If you decide
to build it I want you to be aware that problem solving is going to play a key role in your project
otherwise its going to sound bad just like mine.

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 17

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn7hVHlNN9s

Not the best video but frankly, it doesn't sound the best. If you make one I hope you manage to
improve on it.

I was trying a small music box design I made... not so good but when I saw this I threw it away and
decided o try to attempt this at school instead-thanks

amazing! english is not my mother tongue. plz understand that if there are some error on my text.
i'm student in seoul national university of science and technology - in Korea. and i'm senior, my
university request that graduate term project for Scholarship. my team chose that something about
the musical box drum molding press machine. we'd like to make that if some music put in
computer, then our machine will be make the drum. and, it can be used in existing movement. but
now, we are just in start level. anyway, i found this project in googleing, and your project is helpful
to make some process idea in our project, and want to say thanks! you are awesome! how did you
do that hole of things alone...

Thank you for your comment. Good luck with your molding press machine.

Well, you seem to have made a pretty good job with this project!
Thanks for the link, but unfortunately with that model we cannot change the music as we want...
And it would probably sound much better if the long static "teeth" were made of metal.
Anyway, the closest thing I've seen to your project is the Gloggomobil.
But that's incredibly expensive!

Yes, the Gloggomobil was part of my inspiration for this project.

Take a look at this, its not quite the same but certainly a well priced compromise.

http://www.grand-illusions.com/acatalog/Large_Music_Box_Set.html

Really nice project!

It would make a wonderful gift to offer someone!
Unfortunately I don't think I can build this by myself...
Do you know of any place that sells a music gadget similar to yours?
And have you ever thought about selling this on Shapeways, for example?
I'm sure it would be a huge success!

I'm glad you liked the project, however it has some practical issues and due to a lack of precision
mine has proven to be very difficult to get working well. I've always seen it as a half-failure of a
project.

There are similar things on Thingiverse which let you put a song on the drum and print it out but it
is not changeable once printed, you have to make a new drum each time. Perhaps that would be

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 18

 something you would be interested in.

See this one: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:53235

Just wanted you to know that a person on listia is selling your work, word for word, and claiming it
is their own work. I tried to get a refund but they said that you would need to contact them to claim
it as your work. I dont care about a refund but this guy should be stopped. My email is
miserysaints75@gmail if you would like to know more.

this is cool, i once saw another kind of programmable music box that worked with a punch card

Thanks, yes punch cards or perforated paper rolls are more common than this kind of pin-based
thing. Player pianos use sheets of perforated paper and shoot air through the holes.

If you turn the cylinder on a lathe you will have exact centers so the cyl will be tracking perfect.

Yes I tried that a long time ago, the 3-sided chuck was making the wood split before it was holding
it securely enough to be turned.

Whoa.............................................OMG i could not do somthing like that if i had my whole life to

work on it........*Bows down to you*

I love mechanical devices so this one was way cool for me to read. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks very much.

Do you have a video of it working? It would help convincing us to do it!

Anyway, it's a great work and I'm thinking about doing one myself! Thank you, it gave me a lot of
ideas!

It was on the first step, for some reason Youtube refuses to embed it properly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn7hVHlNN9s

Can we see a video of it playing something please I think its really cool and would like to build one
alike but would like to know how it sounds first. Thanks and keep up the good work

Video posted. The microphone is incredibly bad, and my tripod was giving me a hard time (its been
modified specifically for my DSLR, so normal cameras don't fit right) so the camera angle was
severely limited. The problem with some of the notes being too soft and some too hard is that the

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 19

 cylinder of wood was never perfectly round, its off by a few millimeters, and so that messes things
up. If I don't hit some notes hard, it won't hit others at all. Crazy.

This is, to date, my favorite instructable! I'm planning to modify your design to make a musical
jewelry box for my fiancee.

I understand your frustration in getting the cylinder precisely shaped. I'm considering constructing
mine out of more staves (maybe 24 instead of the 8) and possibly just forgetting about rounding it.
At those shallow angles, the pegs should have no difficulty plucking the tines.

Since you're having difficulty getting your cylinder to shape, perhaps you could mount it on a
mandrel and use an electric drill as a makeshift lathe. You could cap each end of the cylinder with
a large metal disc with a hole in the center (basically a very large fender washer) so the pressure
would be exerted evenly, and then run a length of threaded rod through the center and clamp the
piece in place with a couple of nuts. I use a similar method when building handles for my fishing
rods, and the cylinder is big enough in diameter that I think you would get an acceptable speed of
rotation on the outside face to effectively shape it.

Regardless, it's a really great project, and I'd be thrilled if mine turned out as well as yours did as-
is. I'd like to find a wind-up mechanism similar to what you see in commercially available music
boxes, so that the cylinder doesn't need to be manually cranked, and the music would start and
stop when the box was opened. I'd just hack an old music box, but I doubt the mechanism would
be strong enough for a cylinder this size. Any ideas?

Thanks, yes it is quite difficult to get the precision required. I have an idea I will try, eventually, to
plug the bottom of some of the holes with some sort of non-magnetic substance that will elevate
the shorter pins to the height of the longer pins, that way they will all be the same height and will
strike properly, and the fix won't depend on different size pins.

The mechanisms inside a music box are incredibly weak. They are a coiled piece of metal which
when cranked, is tightened up, and when let go, it expands back to its original size, rotating a
center shaft. The scale you would need to go with for that kind of mechanism, for this size of
application, would need to be huge.

I would recommend electric drive, its the only way to get the torque required. Using a drill motor, a
worm gear, and a large gear on the cylinder would give you slow speeds and no slippage (worms
can't slip backwards.) I would say this is the only practical way to do it. You're saying you want this
for a music box, but unfortunately its hard to miniaturize this design any further. I would
recommend you take a old music box and maybe try to make a new drum cylinder to play a
different tune, a favourite song or something, using the existing notes. I don't know how you would
machine something that small and precise, though.

Its a major challenge. There are a lot of difficult mechanical and practicality issues here.

My plan is to use a modification of your design in roughly the same dimensions as you built it, with
a large box below to store the jewelry. I looked at some of the windup mechnanisms after I posted,
and it's clear that you're right. No practical way to do it for something of this size.

The electric motor solution would work, but I feel that it would detract from the handiwork
appearance of the music box, and I don't want her to have to hassle with batteries or an adapter.
She won't mind the hand-crank mechanism, I think, so I'll probably just save myself the extra
Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 20
frustration and leave that as-is.

I tried my hand at a simpler project (basically a mitered box) to give myself a refresher before I ruin
anything of this scale. I'm having a difficult time getting my cheap Skil table saw to cut miters
accurately enough to make a box, let alone a cylinder. I think my best bet will be to only use 8
staves in my cylinder, as you have. Any advice on getting the cutting angle just right?

I didn't make the cylinder myself, it was an end piece from a non-load-bearing architectural column.
I got it from a local carpenter. I imagine that the staves could be done without too much concern,
and that the last one could be hand-shaped to complete the fit. You'll still have to turn it smooth
though.

I haven't got much for suggestions for that, I'm afraid.

if your drum is off by milimeters, why dont you use a lathe to round it off? as for the project it is very
well made, ease on the eye and with a professional apearence.

I tried that, but the lathe that it was made on must have been massive. The chuck on the one I
have couldn't open wide enough to grab it from the outside, and grabbing it from the inside made a
cracking sound. I couldn't grab it tight enough without splitting the wood, and it would never turn
true. Nothing I could do.

Thanks very much for the kind words. Its the community here that helps keep me going.

Build a Programmable Mechanical Music Box: Page 21