Submitted by Cak
Idea posted January 1, 2008
- Remove all bars. Polish wood with lemon oil.
- Vacuum out the resonator box. We always give our boxes a good dose of lemon oil to keep them from drying out.
- If you have "buzzers," try the buzzing bar on the nail next to its correct spot. If the buzzing stops, you have a box with a problem. We coat our clean resonator boxes with a mixture of Elmer's glue and water. Use equal parts of each and let the instrument completely dry.
- Remember to wrap bars with the inside bar touching to protect the playing, finished side. Unless you have specially designed felt bars, put big C next to big D and wrap, then add E and F, and wrap, etc. When you get to the end of the bars, leave a bit of paper and wrap and tape the package. Our resonator boxes are numbered, so it is a good idea to put the resonator box number on the outside of the wrapped package.
- If you have the time, it is fairly simple to construct a bar bag for your instruments. All you need are two pieces of felt for each bar bag. Measure the felt about 1/2" wider than the actual bar. Stitch. Remember to make enough slots for your accidentals. You will need long ribbons on the end to tie up the bundle. It's time consuming but do-able if you have the time.
- Wrap the clean, freshly oiled resonator box in a plastic bag, and mark on the outside of the box exactly what the instrument is: Alto xylophone - O'Hara School #AX1. The next one would read the same but with a different # - Alto Xylophone - O'Hara School #AX2, etc. Remember to close off the instrument box with a little plastic tie. (Put biggest end in the bottom of the plastic bag with the tie on the top, then mark it.)
- If possible, store the instruments and bars in a cool place. We have cabinets in the classrooms with locks on the doors. (Many of you do not have that luxury, we realize.)
It's a LOT of work now, but next year you'll be glad you did all this work. By the way, some students LOVE to help with the cleaning process!