Cart for Bass Xylophone

Rolling Cart for Bass Xylophones

Materials Needed:

1/4" plywood, 2'x3' piece

2x2's, 8'

wood glue

nails, about 2" long

felt, about 1 1/2 yards

2 (round) elastic bungee cords, 18" long (not the rubber type)

2 bolts, about 2" long

6 nuts to fit above bolts

2 large washers (1 to 1 1/2" diameter)

4 smaller washers (up to 3/4" diameter)

2 lock washers

4 casters (wheels) that spin completely around.

Tools - circular saw, C clamps, hand or miter saw, drill with 1/2" bit and bit slightly under the diameter of the bolts, heavy duty stapler, hammer, screwdriver, wrench.

finished cart with xylophone

I wanted to have a cart that would hold my bass xylophone. I wanted a cart that had wheels and that would securely hold the xylophone, but that would allow the xylophone to be easily removed. What we ended up designing and building was a cart made out of plywood that had 2x2's around the top edge of the cart. One each side end of the cart is a loop made out of bungee cord. We put a bolt on each side of the xylophone. The cart will be held to the bottom of the xylophone by the bungees, looped over bolts mounted on the side of the xylophone.

This was so easy, it didn't seem fair. We made this out of scraps that were lying around our garage. But then, we had all the right tools. If you don't have a circular saw or a drill, it might be tougher.

1. Put your xylophone on the plywood. Lay the 2x2 along the long side, with about 1/8" extra room between the 2x2 and the xylophone. Draw a line on the plywood along the outside edge of the 2x2, from one end to the other of the xylophone. Repeat on the other side, and then on the ends. This line is going to be your cutting line for the plywood. (Don't squeeze the 2x2's too closely in to the xylophone when you draw the line, or the xylophone won't fit inside the 2x2's when the felt is stapled on.) With a circular saw, cut plywood along lines.

2. Place 2x2 along outside edges of cut plywood. Mark lines at the end of the plywood; repeat on other sides. Cut 2x2 at those lines, then glue around the edge of the plywood. Clamp the pieces in position as they dry.

3. Once the side pieces are dry, turn the piece upside down and nail into the 2x2s from the bottom.

4. Drill two holes on each end, with each hole about 1/5th of the way in from the end of the 2x2s. These holes are for the bungee cords to go through.

cart covered with felt, with bungees, without wheels

5. Take the felt cover the top of the cart with it, making sure that there is enough overlap on the sides to wrap snugly over the sides to the bottom. Staple the felt onto the top side of the cart, just inside the 2x2s on the plywood. Then turn the cart upside down and staple the overlap to the bottom, trimming the excess felt at the corners, where the wheels will go. Finished cover should appear like this (without bungee cords).

6. Take hooks off bungee cords, if they came with hooks. With a scissors, snip a slit in the felt over the holes drilled into the ends. Tie one end of bungee cord in a knot, put the other end up through one hole and down through the next, then tie that end in a knot.

Slip a nail through the middle of each knot (to keep the cord from slipping back through the holes). Pull the bungee cord taut, and staple the nail to the underside of the cart. Staple on both sides of the knot. This keeps the knot against the bottom of the cart.

close-up of bungee and bolt

7. To determine where to mount the bolts on the ends of the xylophone: place the xylophone in the cart. Using one finger, lift the bungee cords so they lay flat along the sides of the xylophone; then stretch the bungee cords about 1-2" above their normal position. Mark this spot; then test to see if this will be secure enough by lifting the xylophone off the floor and see if the cart lifts with it. Test it a couple times to be sure, before you drill holes into your xylophone. You want the cart to stay against the xylophone when lifted off the ground. The bungee cord should be tight, but not so tight that it will cause stress on the side of the xylophone.

Once you have found the right spot, drill a hole through the side of the xylophone, into the resonating chamber. Use a drill bit the same size as the bolt. Put a large washer, two nuts and a medium-sized washer onto the bolt, (in that order,) then put it through the hole from the outside; on the other side (inside the xylophone) put another medium-sized washer, a lock washer and a nut. Tighten with a wrench.

7. Attach wheels (casters) on the bottom of the cart at each corner with screws, and ta-dah! No more lifting this heavy xylophone! You can roll it from place to place.

finished cart and xylophone

Leo supervises our work