# Wooden Hang

![Wooden Hang concept placeholder](images/hero-concept.svg)

Wooden Hang is a handpan-inspired wooden idiophone / resonant-vessel hybrid that asks a simple research question: can wood support a circular, lap-played note layout with enough pitch clarity, sustain, and ergonomic coherence to feel musically useful without pretending it behaves like hammered steel?

This repo treats the idea honestly. It is not a PANArt Hang reproduction plan, and it does not assume that steel handpan tuning behavior transfers to wood. The first target is a buildable, measurable wooden prototype family that can prove or disprove the concept through controlled tests.

**Status:** L1 packet / conservative V5 explorer candidate. The current CAD, design tables, drawings, and explorer are first-pass packet artifacts, not measured tuning evidence and not a build-ready release.

## Start Here

- [design.md](design.md) - design intent, governing model, target note set, branch comparison, and prototype ladder.
- [family-spec.csv](family-spec.csv) - prototype ladder and size/layout checkpoints from coupon studies through full 9-note concept.
- [bom.csv](bom.csv) - build materials, fixtures, hardware, measurement tools, and protection items.
- [sourcing.csv](sourcing.csv) - search tracker with required specs, alternates, and date-check fields.
- [cut-list.csv](cut-list.csv) - stock prep, fixture stock, prototype blank sizes, and tuning-test parts.
- [validation.csv](validation.csv) - measured-vs-predicted log for tone fields, cavity resonance, humidity, and playability.
- [visual-output-register.csv](visual-output-register.csv) - authority register for CAD, design tables, SVG previews, and concept imagery.
- [assembly-manual.md](assembly-manual.md) - shop workflow for coupon tests, hybrid prototype assembly, and full-layout escalation.
- [risks.md](risks.md) - red-team risk register with a verification test attached to every major risk.
- [drawing-brief.md](drawing-brief.md) - required manufacturable views, critical dimensions, and drawing conventions.
- [visual-bom-brief.md](visual-bom-brief.md) - image-forward documentation plan for build and presentation artifacts.
- [wooden-hang-starter.wl](wooden-hang-starter.wl) - provisional plate + Helmholtz starter model.
- [cad/mcp-session-log.md](cad/mcp-session-log.md) - MCP provenance placeholder for future V5 CAD/render/Adobe sessions.
- [cad/wooden_hang_master.scad](cad/wooden_hang_master.scad) - parametric concept model for top-plate hybrid geometry.
- [cad/SolidWorks-MasterLayout-Plan.md](cad/SolidWorks-MasterLayout-Plan.md) - SolidWorks master sketch and design-table plan.
- [cnc/cnc-plan.json](cnc/cnc-plan.json) - machine/process planning summary.
- [drawings/wooden-hang-layout.svg](drawings/wooden-hang-layout.svg) - top layout drawing with note map.
- [drawings/wooden-hang-section.svg](drawings/wooden-hang-section.svg) - section through center showing top plate, bowl, rim, and gu.
- [drawings/tone-field-detail.svg](drawings/tone-field-detail.svg) - tone-field / tongue-zone detail with datum dimensions.
- [site/index.html](site/index.html) - static build-log page for outside readers.

## Concept

The working concept is an 18 inch class, lap-played wooden tonal vessel with a handpan-style 9-note layout in G minor:

- Center ding target: G3 at 196.00 Hz.
- Outer notes: Bb3, C4, D4, F4, G4, Bb4, C5, D5.
- Primary prototype path: thin hardwood or laminated top plate over a resonant bowl/body, with isolated note zones formed by local thinning, relief slots, undercuts, or tongue-like boundaries.
- Candidate secondary paths: segmented/stave shell with carved top geometry, or a split-shell CNC-routed body machined in four operations from laminated blanks.
- Bottom port / gu: used to tune and study body resonance, not treated as a guaranteed melodic note.

## Development Rule

Wooden Hang only advances by measurement. Every prototype gets a build ID, species record, moisture note, thickness map, and measured pitch/decay result. If the data shows that isolated wooden tone fields do not behave well enough for a true handpan-like surface, the design is allowed to pivot toward a tongue-field hybrid rather than forcing the metaphor.

## V5 Readiness Boundary

The repo now has a conservative explorer and capstone manifest, plus first-pass CAD/design-table artifacts. It should not be called a V5 build packet until prototype measurements or reviewed fabrication drawings confirm the note-field dimensions, laminate behavior, shell/cavity response, and resonance claims. Generated or concept visuals remain support material only.

## Why The Hybrid Path Comes First

The top-plate hybrid path is the best first serious prototype because it keeps the circular playing layout while giving the shop controllable tuning levers:

- top thickness
- local underside relief
- slot depth and width
- cavity depth
- bowl volume
- species and laminate schedule

A one-piece or stave shell may still matter later, but those branches add more variables before the first acoustic question is answered.

## Binary Outputs

The packet includes generated binary companions for the design table, slide deck, and print packet:

- [Wooden-Hang-Design.xlsx](Wooden-Hang-Design.xlsx)
- [capstone-deck.pptx](capstone-deck.pptx)
- [print-packet.pdf](print-packet.pdf)

The `.pptx` came from `pandoc`, while the `.xlsx` and `.pdf` were produced through local fallback export paths because the usual Python document libraries were not installed in this environment.

## Related Repos

- [ceramic-hang](../ceramic-hang) - closest sibling for packet shape, layout target, risks framing, and validation discipline.
- [tongue-drum](../tongue-drum) - wooden idiophone documentation and hybrid tuning reference family.
- [udu](../udu) - resonant vessel and port-coupling reference family.
- [handpan](../handpan) - placeholder conceptual neighbor for conventional handpan research.

## License

[MIT](LICENSE) - see LICENSE for details.