Last nights creative thing was both fun as well as frustrating.
This little music box had been sitting on top of my refrigerator since Day 171 when I broke open a snowglobe to do some macro filming of the fluid inside. The moment I pulled it out from the bottom of that snowglobe I knew I was going to do something with it. I had a hunch it was going to deal with customizing the music to play my own tune (the original song was “My Favorite Things”, a song I’m known for hating) but I had no idea how I was going to do it.
The idea of using an aluminum can as the source material occurred to me just a couple days ago. I needed something strong enough to pluck the notes of the music box but malleable enough for me to bend and punch out protrusions. The aluminum worked perfectly.
I used needle nose pliers to open up and flatten the original song and cut the aluminum to the same shape with a utility knife. I also used the original music roll to help me line up where the notes would land on my custom song.
I punched out the notes using a seam ripper. The seam ripper worked well but actually improved after I accidentally broke the longer sharper point off the end of it. I was left with this short blunt end which worked perfectly for creating the right sized bumps that kept the aluminum attached rather than just poking holes.
I taped my custom sheet music into a cylinder and attached it to the two caps from the original music box roll. I connected my custom roll into the gears and held onto a small plug on the outer cap in order to keep the roll in place. This plug had held the original music roll but for some reason I couldn’t get it to stay without holding onto it. While holding the plug I cranked the spring on the bottom and played my little tune. It sounded great! The aluminum worked well and the notes rang out nicely.
Now, the frustrating part. I figured I had succeeded in my creative project and packed up everything to go to my studio and make a little video recording. I took the music roll off and placed the plug in my shirt pocket. Once I finally got the laptop set-up with the camera in position I put the music box into the shot. I reached for the plug in my shirt pocket and didn’t feel anything! Suddenly, I realized that that little metal plug could’ve been anywhere between my living room and my garage. I looked all over for about a half hour and never found it. I tried to make an alternative plug using a small screw from the Underwood typewriter I took apart.
Unfortunately, nothing worked as well as the original plug. And what’s worse is that through the process of testing out different objects for the plug I ended up bending my aluminum roll out of shape. By the time I found a decent alternative the aluminum roll was more oblong and wasn’t triggering the notes at all as it did in the house.
I realized later, as I was falling asleep, that I could’ve stuffed the roll with tissue in order to bring it back to it’s nice round shape but at that point, it was too late. It was time for bed.
Awesome! I gave my friend his own custom music box today; thanks to your recommendation of a source.
On our carpool home today we were just talking about hacking a music box and…you did it!
I love reading your exploits; the words and ideas are filling my brain and my idea sketchbook with possibilities. Thank you.
Can I pose a question? I have an old video monitor from our television studio. It’s too cool looking to just trash. I’m thinking it might be cool to make it into an aquarium or some sort of lit display. The tube is dead, but the case is intact. Any ideas?
Thank you,
Todd
Rad!
Thanks guys. Todd, I think an aquarium is a sweet idea or a terrarium. I have this old macintosh in my garage that I have planned on making into a aquarium. If it’s really cool and retro looking maybe you could turn it into a little wet bar or magazine rack. Not sure.