How to Make an Instrument That Actually Plays Music
- 1). Use the electric drill to make a hole in the center of the bottom of the washtub. (The washtub will be turned over in the finished bass. The open top of the washtub will sit on the floor.) Screw a locking nut onto the end of the threads near the eye of the eyebolt. Slip a washer onto the eyebolt, and place the bolt through the hole in the tub so that the eye of the bolt will be on the outside of the bottom of the tub. Place the second washer onto the eyebolt inside the tub and secure it with the second lock nut. Use the channel lock pliers to tighten the nuts as tight as possible.
- 2). Drill a hole through the hoe handle about 2 inches from the top. Tie a large knot or two on one end of the nylon cord and run the cord through the hole in the eyebolt in the bottom of the washtub. Clamp the rope in place with a wire clamp. Thread the other end of the rope through the hole in the top of the hoe handle.
- 3). Adjust the length of the rope so that the handle tips forward on the tub when the bottom of the handle is placed next to the rim that runs along the bottom of the bucket. Secure the rope with another wire clamp and cut off the excess rope.
- 4). Cut a notch into both sides of the plunger where the handle would screw in. The cuts should be about ½-inch deep and wide enough so that the lip of the washtub will fit into the cuts. Set the plunger on the floor and put the rim of the washtub into the notches of the plunger. The plunger will lift the edge of the tub so that the sound will resonate from the bottom of the bass.
- 5). Place the bottom of the hoe handle against the rim of the washtub and pull the string taught. Pluck the string and you should have a resonant bass tone. Play other tones by pulling and loosening the hoe handle. The tighter the rope, the higher the pitch; the looser the rope, the lower the pitch will be.
