Better Homes and Gardens
Gather your supplies
* 90 x 35mm pine bars (cut from 5 x 1.8m lengths)
* 10m of 10mm sisal rope
* 25 x 2.8mm galvanised staples
You’ll also need
* Handsaw
* Sandpaper
* Paintbrush
* Dulux Weathershield in colours of choice
* 90 x 90mm treated pine post (optional)
* screw eyes (4, optional)
* 50mm bun foot
* 600 x 16mm dowel
* power drill
* 16mm drill bit
Turn your backyard into a private concert hall for budding maestros by building a giant xylophone and mallet to bash out those tunes! Made from pine bars cut to size and painted in a dazzling array of colours, this fun addition to the garden is just the thing your musically inclined progeny need to compose their very own symphony. It’s so simple to construct, even the kids can help – simply arm them with mini rollers to get stuck in with the painting. Your neighbours will be crying out for an encore!
Here’s how
Step 1
Cut 9 pine bars to length. Start with a length of 1200mm and reduce each bar by 75mm, ending with a 600mm bar. Sand all 9 bars to round corners and remove splinters, then lay out ready for painting.
Step 2
Paint each bar with 2 coats, allowing first coat to dry before applying second. We used Dulux paints in Vibrant Orange, Kings Canyon, Flamboyant Orange, Zest For Life, Safflower, Carona, Sunshine Surprise, Gold Rush and Softsun.
Step 3
Cut enough rope to span between your anchoring points and allow it to be tied off. Use a fence, tree, pergola post, house, cubby or you could even install a new post. If you do this, use a 90 x 90mm treated pine post set 600mm into the ground and anchored in concrete.
Step 4
Fix bars to rope using 25mm galvanised staples or U-nails. Use an offcut of pine to ensure 90mm spacings between bars. To keep things simple, we’ve also fixed these bars 90mm in from each end.
Step 5
Attach ropes to fixing points using screw eyes or tie around trees or posts. Make sure ropes are fairly taut. To make a mallet, screw a bun foot to end of a suitable length of 16mm dowel, drilling a hole in centre of foot first. Now let the kids loose to bang out a song!
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