MIDI-playing automated electromechanical xylophone. This was made from an old maple xylophone. I scrapped everything but the bars and built a new resonator box and action rail, used old piano hammer actions and fabricated maple hammer heads and return springs, and repurposed old pipe organ pallet magnets for actuators.
I couldn't resist picking up a vintage xylophone I found on eBay. It came with two wonky old frames -- one for the naturals and one for the accidentals. The bars were suspended by cords with wooden beads between the bars, and the frames had a fiber rope attached along the top edges -- I presume the bars rested on it, or at least it prevented them from clacking against the frame.
I decided to make it a MIDI-controlled electromechanical instrument, so I copied the box of another mysterious xylophone I have then built up a case/frame for it and cobbled together an upright mechanism using piano hammers and pallet magnets.
