How to Make a Thumb Piano or Kalimba

Thumb Piano Kit: www.harpkit.com/search.html?S...
today we are making a Thumb Piano or Kalimba from Rosewood Quarter sawn sycamore
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[@jeremywalker666]

James cracks me up. I've seen him work beautiful exotic woods and he's like,"I have this stuff laying around" but when he breaks out the White Oak, it's the greatest gift from god. Lol

[@johnoerter2883]

James, I spent the year after high school in the Congo and was given a Kalimba by a Congolese friend. They would bop down the trail dancing to their own music … great fun!

[@raneolsen]

A gentleman knows how to play kalimba, but does not. That wood is just purdy!

[@Kalimbisteto]

You made it look so easy! That kalimba looks and sounds so precious 😊

[@MCsCreations]

Beautiful, James! Really amazing work! 😃 Well done!!! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@user-zy4fx7vg4r]

Thank you for this Video, I was making a kalimba and I forgot to add the under piece of wood to Stable the bridge.

[@TimTrOn3000]

Wild.... Bolivian RW and sycamore are two of my favorites. Very nice combo. Sycamore makes great guitar bodies.

[@hassanal-mosawi4235]

Thanks for sharing those tips and the make!

[@ex-nerd]

If you want to stick with the musical instrument theme, check out 6-string anglo-saxon lyres. They'd make a great project for this channel and they're pretty hard to screw up. Only "hardware" you need are 2 sets of nylon guitar strings (you use the thinnest 3 strings from each set). They're also incredibly easy/fun to play.

[@JasonQuackenbushonGoogle]

Agreed! The germanic style lyres are a great early music instrument without the complications of the harp. Mountain dulcimers are also a good project for learning how to bend sides and are a good second luthier project.

[@douglasmagruder]

That's a really fun looking project.

[@genem2768]

Very nice! I've thought about making one of these. Oh, and I think "Jammin' with James" would be a good name.

[@AhmetCnarOzuneUyans]

The kalimba that I have has two holes in the back that you can close with your index fingers which makes the sound much better. I recommend you check that 👍

[@What_Other_Hobbies]

A very fun project to make.

[@JasonQuackenbushonGoogle]

Wow, this is great. I've never seen someone resaw that thin before.

[@JasonQuackenbushonGoogle]

Why the 4.5 and not the 4 to plane the saw marked?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

I keep my four and a half set with a heavy shaving so I can take off more material quicker. And then I'll come in with my four which I keep set for fines shavings. I have a couple videos showing cutting veneer. I even have one where I made plywood from a log cutting it a lot thinner than that. Some of the really skilled woodworkers can cut wood at a 1/32" thick.

[@JasonQuackenbushonGoogle]

@@WoodByWrightHowTo cool, I've been trying to figure out how to cut boards thinner without having to waste a bunch away as shavings and sanding dust. I'll check out your videos on cutting veneer.

[@marknahabedian1803]

I made a kalimba when I was in college. Mine didn't have a resonator box though. You don't need the kit if you can find enough street cleaner bristles.

[@iainmcculloch5807]

Jamming with James!

[@RenoFencingMan]

This was great! Thanks :)

[@upsidedowndog1256]

Pretty cool project!

[@Hansenomics]

First. I can now become my inner Chopin.

[@lydiarol7892]

So what's next, a violin?

[@crazyredwizard]

Maybe a cajon or box drum.

[@mattomon1045]

James great project

[@andrewbrimmer1797]

The wright hits compilation from ktell call now for yours😂

[@nikmabc]

Mostly not using hammer and nails for joinery relieved Sarah from hearing James being a thumb piano.

[@Apillicus]

I got some harp plans from that site. Lovely stuff

[@mikesuckling8652]

Great watch! I’m in the process of making my first violin. I’ve got a book on how to do that and have made the ribs and the belly so far. Wondering if you had any hints/tips/resources I could tap into?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

that is a field I have not gotten very deep into, so sorry I would not be the best for that.

[@warrenmunn3224]

The Wright Tunes

[@danwittmayer6539]

"Jangles" can be added to each tongue for a different timber & sustain

[@sigogglin]

I would like to see you make a dulcimer in the future. The Appalachian style seems doable.

[@chriscunicelli7070]

Nice I like it james

[@J.A.Smith2397]

Way to start the day

[@dianahenderson]

I used the full kit from the same company to make a Kalimba for my granddaughter's 9th birthday...turned out really nice...but not being very musical...I don't think I ever got it tuned correctly...thinking about making another just using the basic kit like in your video...one of these days.

[@anpr5309]

Very cool.

[@onsapplikasies8620]

Two thumbs up 😆

[@amistry605]

13:50 😯

[@jimko97]

Thumb Piano: Thumb included.

[@terrysknary]

James, I notice the odd number of strips and the spacing at the ends, were you missing one, I have some Pau Ferro & Quilted Maple I'll use, Thanks for the build & link !

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

They are all there. I actually put one more in than most people do.

[@dpmeyer4867]

nice

[@professor62]

Very COOL project, James, combining two of my great loves-music and woodworking. Hey, I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but did you make this instrument one month ago? B/c I believe you wrote “3-15-23” for the date on the inside. LOL Anway, great project and I enjoyed the vid very much!

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Yep. The footage is off and shot a month or more before the video goes live. Sometimes several months or a year before.

[@standswithfish]

I like thumb pianos! Have you ever built a lap harp or a mountain dulcimer?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

A mountain dulcimer's on my list for someday.

[@margaretkrantz1469]

Fun project! I've never gotten to work with quartersawn wood-- is quartersawn white oak also tricky to plane and prone to tear out?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Cortisone White oak is a little bit easier but it's also a much harder wood so the iron needs to be sharper.

[@JohnColgan.]

nice work James. I notice you're using a brush for your epoxy glue up. Is there asolvent capable of cleaning epoxy, or throw away brushes??

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

These are just recyclable brushes. I have a local source where I can buy a bag of 50 of them for $3. And because they have a metal body they can throw them in recycling can.

[@ianpearse4480]

Are you going to try a full sized piano next? LOL.

[@multicoloredwiz]

Down below.. down below!

[@jonescrusher1]

How do people store those two part epoxy containers? I always make a bad mess with the nozzles clogged up.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

I just store mine on the shelf. As long as you put at least one pump through it a month they don't clog up. At least that's my experience. But if I let them sit longer than a month then it starts to crystalize in the tube.

[@aleksamaker8118]

You should try making a guitar with hand tools.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

That's on the list for someday.

[@negotiableaffections]

Well, to think that's how Liberace started. . . [i doubt it, lol] Cool little project tho'

[@thijspluis9998]

Hey james. I have a question about braces. Is a 4 jaw chuck a good thing or a bad thing?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

a 4 jaw means it can only use tapered square bits, but it does that well.

[@thijspluis9998]

@@WoodByWrightHowTo thank you!

[@oncomics1128]

Comment down below

[@maxjr758]

Link to the tuning app ?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

I think I used this one. play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stonekick.tuner&hl=en_US&gl=US there are a bunch of them though.

[@davidlynn7161]

Comment down below and I like it.

[@terristroh3965]

Comment down below down below 😂

[@MrDNG55]

Comment 😁

[@codybryant8684]

I'm a fatty and can run a weed eater and still want a flame thrower so I'm not a turd

[@CLCasual]

Please don't call it a thumb piano, it's like calling a flute a noise pipe

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Oddly enough, that's the most common name for it now. And it's also the name that the manufacturer uses. So I agree with you in the symbolism.