-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD --

We are close to finishing the fabrication of our "life size" music
box using a 55-gallon drum whose base is made of old bicycle frames.
The movement plays Wagner's "Flight of the Valkyries" and has almost
300 notes.  The combs have a range of four octaves.

We are running into problems with tuning the combs which are made
of 1/4" tempered steel (Rockwell hardness 57) and range from in size
from 3/4" to 2-1/2" long.  The low notes are .042" thick and the high
notes are .032" thick.

Our tuning process has consisted of taking away material with a Dremel
tool (usually from the end and in the middle) and also adding material
(soldering).

Our tines (combs) are attached to a sounding board of 3/4" poplar wood
which is directly mounted to the music box frame.  We get great sound
from it, however, we are experiencing difficulty with the higher notes
-- we are not getting enough sustain on the high notes and are thinking
about using thinner material.

Any information would be amazing.  The art show opening is the first
week in April, so we don't have much time to get it perfect.  I would
also welcome any information on a dampening system for the low notes.
The barrel plucks the comb going upward.

Thank you so much,
Kristian Iglesias
kaidesign1@yahoo.com.geentroep [delete ".geentroep" to reply]

 [ Try adding a massive steel plate at the base of the combs.  The
 [ inertial mass will reflect some of the high frequency energy back to
 [ the tines while passing low frequency energy to the sounding board.
 [ -- Robbie