Drummer Cafe Community Forum

Lately I have had tremendous desire to get some Tubular bells.I have always wanted some but now as then money is the issue.Is there any possible to make one maybe two bars? Or is there anyplace where you can just get one or two bars and find your own way for suspending them?

Aluminum is especially resonant, light, and easy to work with.   Most big box hardware stores around here (Home Depot, Lowes, etc) have a section with steel and aluminum pipe and rod stock.    Check it out.  

Thats what I wuz thinkin'! You can have plenty fun for cheap cutting aluminum tube into "intervals" and making an instrament.  Make at least 3 for a melody...

cool.  i'd just been thinking about using pipe for a xylophone-ish instrument aqnd couldn't decide if it would work or not.  

Thanks for the input guys,I will definatly go to either Home Depot or lowes this weekend and see what diameter aluminum piping they have and how much it is.Hopefully I will have a 3-5 bar tube system in a few weeks.

Not that I am an expert on this at all, but it seems to me that aluminum would be too "soft" for something like this--especially if any real volume is desired.  Smacking chimes (tubular bells) with a rawhide mallet might be pretty devastating to aluminum.

Let us know how it turns out.

The force needed to make a clear tone isn't great. Another cool sound comes from steel re-bar. I once participated in an ensemble of instraments made from junk...I made a xylaphone type thing with scrap rebar. Clear brite tones with a long sustain.