Making your own craft saxophone is an ideal way to demonstrate your love for music. A hip instrument often used to churn out jazz tunes, a saxophone is fashioned in the shape of a letter "J." The main parts of the saxophone body include the bow, the bell, the mouth piece and the keys. Use several household objects to create your own model saxophone and display it for family, friends or your music teacher.
Things You'll Need:
- 1-Inch By 4-Inch Pvc Pipe
- 3-Inch Wide Curved Pvc Fitting
- Hack Saw
- Flat Metal Scraper
- Pen
- Large Bowl
- 5 Cups Water
- Brass-Colored And Black Acrylic Paint
- Safety Glasses
- 3-Inch By 6-Inch Pvc Pipe
- 1 Cup Flour
- Newspaper Strips
- Measuring Tape
- White Paper Towel Strips
- Paint Brushes
- Work Gloves
- 3-Inch Wide 90 Degree Pvc Fitting
- 3-Inch By 12-Inch Pvc Pipe
- Pot
- Cardboard
- 2-Inch Thick High-Density Urethane Foam
- Permanent Epoxy
Slide on pair of work gloves and safety glasses to protect your skin and eyes.
Cut all three PVC pipes with a hack saw to the specified dimensions. Remove any plastic burrs from the sawed end of each pipe with a flat metal scraper.
Attach the curved fitting to the bottom of the 3-inch by 12-inch PVC pipe. Insert the 3-inch by 6-inch PVC pipe into the opposite end of the fitting to complete the body and bow of the saxophone.
Attach the 90 degree fitting to the opposite end of the 16 inch PVC pipe. Cut a 2-inch long piece of foam. Apply permanent epoxy to one side of the foam piece. Wrap the foam piece around the end of the 1-inch by 4-inch PVC pipe so only 3-inch of pipe remain exposed. Hold the foam in place for 60 seconds to secure the bond. Fit the foam end of the pipe into the 90 degree fitting. You have now created the mouth piece.
Combine the water and flour into the pot to make a paper mache mix. Boil the mix for three minutes. Allow the mix to cool for three minute. Pour the cool mix into a large bowl.
Submerge one strip of newspaper into the mix. Press the wet strip to the body of the saxophone. Continue until the entire body is covered in one layer of newspaper mache. Repeat with the white paper towel strips. Paper towel provides an idyllic surface for applying acrylic paint. Allow four hours for the saxophone to dry.
Trace and draw a 5-inch wide circle onto a piece of cardboard. Cut out the circle. Cut a 3-inch wide hole in the middle of the circle. Layer the inside rim of the 5-inch circle with permanent epoxy. Fit the circle over the rim of the 6-inch long PVC pipe to create the bell of the saxophone. Hold the "bell" in place for 60 seconds to secure the bond.
Paint the saxophone with brass-colored paint. Paint the mouth piece with black paint. Allow two to three hours for the paint to dry.
Cut out various sized, circular cardboard shapes to act as keys and long narrow strips to act as rods. Paint each rod and key with brass-acrylic paint and allow two to three hours for the paint to dry. Glue the dry rods and keys to the body of the saxophone before displaying.
References
Writer Bio
Jeffery Keilholtz began writing in 2002. He has worked professionally in the humanities and social sciences and is an expert in dramatic arts and professional politics. Keilholtz is published in publications such as Raw Story and Z-Magazine, and also pens political commentary under a pseudonym, Maryann Mann. He holds a dual Associate of Arts in psychology and sociology from Frederick Community College.
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