Kalimba - Build

Top with sound hole cut out
and  Backstop and Bridge  glued in place.

I made this Kalimba last month to give as a Christmas gift. For obvious reasons I waited to post this.
There are kits you can buy, but I really wanted to make mine completely from scratch.

It took me a number of tries to get this built. I initially tried to make it using 1 piece of wood, but my router broke.

This one is 3 pieces of wood.

• The top piece with the sound hole - 1X5 
• Body or chamber for the sound - 1X5
• Bottom back piece - 1/2 plywood
• Tines from a rake
• Metal rod
• 1 Bolt
• 2 wood screws

I figured out what shape I wanted the sound hole to be. drew it on the wood and cut it out.

Cut out 2 strips of wood to use as the bridge and backstop. Since the Tines will be holding them down, I just glued them in place.
Before I put the bridge wood on, I cut a grove in it for the metal rod that the Tines rest on. You have to use metal here so that the sound will ring out and transfer into the wood better. I took the finished Kalimba to a fast food place to show someone. When I sat the Kalimba on the bench, the sound amplified and reverberated through the entire bench. Amazing how sounds transfer through objects.

Dry fit top

Found a large bolt, ground down 2 sides flat so I could easily center and drill the holes for the mounting screws.




I dry fitted the top pieces to make sure it would work.

cut out body piece

I also cut out the center body piece and the backing plywood to size. Placed the top piece on top of the wood I wanted as the body. Marked where the sound hole will be, and marked where the Bridge would be. I made this one so that under the bridge and back stop is solid wood.

I had one of those old green rakes that doesn't work well. I cut the tines from that old rake we never use.

The bottom is just some 1/4" plywood, sprayed premiered and painted it.
Dried, I placed the pieces together to marker where the hole would be. I painted the "NOEL", let it dry.


Next I put all the pieces together with wood glue and some nails using a nail gun. let it dry, then sanded the outside of it to where I liked it.


Stuck a rag in the hole to protect the painted inside, then spray primer and painted the outside.

Painted around the sound hole and the chamber. I should of painted the chamber before assembly, but I was not sure what color I wanted to paint it until it was all together.








Attached the Tines. Tuned the tines by sliding the Tines in and out.

This was a fun project, and rewarding to play. It really sounds beautiful once you get the tines tuned and figure out a few different ways to play it.
My family likes it so much that they want me to make a few more of them.