I would like to correspond with people who have an interest
in marimbas and their construction.
I have experimented with making tuned wooden bars for
xylophones, and have achieved quite reasonable success,
and have also designed a machine to simplify the process
of checking the frequency of any wooden bar.
This is particularly useful for notes which are above
or below the frequencies checked by a chromatic tuner,
such as made by Boss.
Thanks, in anticipation of a response....

I would like to know what the best finish to put on the marimba keys is... to make them look good and preserve the sound.

Hi Wilfred, - YES, I am interested in all aspects of Marimba Construction and especially the many potential variations on bar tuning that have not been explored fully.

This message board is predominantly one oriented toward the experienced student and professional performer and serves the advancement of the Marimba Repertoire in good stead!

However, for those few square pegs like us out there may I suggest this link to a "highly structured" message board that will allow you to locate your interests quickly
http://www.dandemutande.com/EmailList/toc.html

The emphasis on that board is toward the African Balafon and other ethnic tunings, but the laws of physics are the same no matter what the instrument so there is a lot of valuable experienced shared on that (organized) site.

My own interests are more towards the BASS Marimba scale and I will put two other links out there for you and others.
A. http://www.maxkrimmel.com/BassMarimba.html
B. http://users.senet.com.au/~jimmc/main/art_mbasa.htm

Link (A.) takes you to Max Krimmels's exciting web site and his project of the "Great Fan Bass". The (B.) link takes you to the Honors Essay by Jim McCarthy '94, "Marimbas: Exploring the Depths". I find both of these gentlemen are masters of their craft and true creative inspirations.

Finally to not leave out those with the "DYI" fever to get a marimba into their secondary school program when there is NO budget for music take a look at this 'Teacher Site'.
http://www.outback.chi.il.us/~bonnysu/craftymusicteachers/index.html (( there is a link on home page to Bass Marimba )). The project at this site is based on Jon Madin's book "Make Your Own Marimbas".

Disclaimer: This message has been replied to mainly as a reply to those few individuals who's "DYI" curiosity can't resist the elemental attraction of the marimba. However, for music majors and performers (marimba.org) has many links to the best "professional" marimba builders in the world. A performer can best use their talent perfecting the "ART" of marimba performance and consult with the pros about instrument design or customization before going off on a construction tangent without the required skills.

FYI: (all links work ,but if they fail for you pop me an email & I'll pass along some web tricks)