Need a cylinder for a music box

[AustinT]

Hi,

I am building a present for a friend and need a part built if it is feasible. I would like to build a music box and need a cylinder built. I am going to take an existing music box and use all of the parts except for the cylinder with the pegs. The pegs pluck the notes at the correct times to play the song. Just looking at some music boxes the cylinder is about .5-.75 inches in diameter and about and inch long. To build the cylinder first a piece of stock would need to be turned to the correct diameter. I think aluminum would be fine. Then on a mill with a rotary axis the cylinder would be incremented and drilled. I would later push some pins into the drilled holes. I can figure out where all the holes need to be drilled to play the song I just dont have the mill to make it myself

Any Idea how difficult it would be to build this part?

Thanks Again
Dan

[wildcat]

Super cool idea! Should not be terribly difficult for someone with a CNC mill and CNC rotary table. Would be interesting to know how they used to be built though. Oh, just noticed the dimensions you have listed... going to be some pretty small holes and pegs...

[AustinT]

Originally Posted by wildcat Super cool idea! Should not be terribly difficult for someone with a CNC mill and CNC rotary table. Would be interesting to know how they used to be built though. Oh, just noticed the dimensions you have listed... going to be some pretty small holes and pegs...

Thanks

I Just looked at a cylinder in a music box and it is small . I think the pegs would have to be a stiff music wire.

[InspirationTool]

Seems like a reasonable thing to do on a 4 axis mill.... You may want to provide a list of hole locations with X axis and A axis specified rather than a model. It would be pretty easy to write a G code program that way.

Make sure you do one yourself with a drill press to test your hole/pin methodology first.

You will need to decide if you will use spring pins, or dowel pins with a press fit. You might need to build and arbor press jig. You might want to look at brazing or epoxy applied with a syringe.

-Jeff

[RdHawg]

I've also seen these done by dimpling a thin sheet of bronze like metal and then wrapping it around a drum with end caps to keep it in place.

[AustinT]

Thanks everyone for the feedback

Does any body have a forth axis that would be interested in this project? I thought about making the cylinder out of copper so I can soldier in the pegs.

Thanks

[Hermle UWF851]

I will do it if you tell me where to drill the holes (I don't have time to research that). It would be a fun project. You need those every once and a while. I've drilled and reamed .0310 +/- .0001 holes for pins in the past. Will that do? However, .062 pins are easier to press in. I also have the pins.

fknoll@mfg-consultants.com