Ray Finch asked where he could get a xylophone.  I chopped down a
mulberry tree and used the wood from that to make several sets of
xylophone bars.  I did let the wood dry for a couple of years inside
my shop first though.  A few years ago I saw two of them and they were
still playing.  I suspect that any other similar hardwood would produce
decent results, too.

One xylophone was a set of thirty-seven bars which I later installed,
along with a set of reeds from an old parlor organ, in a player piano
converted to coin-op.

Using the reeds from the organ to set the StroboConn I was able to tune
them all in a reasonably short time to satisfactory pitch.  The tools
used were a table saw and a belt sander for cutting and beveling and
tuning the individual bars.  Of course, having a StroboConn makes the
job quite easy for the tuning part.

Making a xylophone is not a difficult task.  It helps to have a power
table saw but it's not absolutely necessary.  It can be done with a
hand saw and a hand drill.  You'd be surprised how easy it is once you
start on it.

Hal Davis