Build and Tune a Wind Chime

The soft sounds of well-made wind chimes are soothing and uplifting. This is an instrument that plays itself in the breeze. Commercial chimes, however, are expensive. Building your own wind chime is a task that isn’t too ambitious but allows youth have your individual expression through customizing chime sounds and decorations. Gather some common materials, learn to tie a few knots, and you can make your own wind chime too.

Steps

Gathering Materials

1. Gather chime material. The sound the chimes will make depends on many factors, such as what the chimes are made of, how long they are, and how thick they are. The most common substances for chimes are metal tubes, pipes, and rods, which you can find at hardware stores, craft stores, or from scrap metal. Try to choose pipes that have a uniform thickness on all sides for an even tone.
   • Pipes and tubes are the same in wind chimes. Rods are not hollow and sustain notes longer.
   • Hard metals such as steel and aluminum produce sharper tones. Soft metals such as copper produce softer tones.
   • Metal objects are good at producing vibrations, so non-metal chimes such as glass sound more hollow.
   • To test out the sounds of different metal pipes such as copper or aluminum, visit a chime store or rap on the pipes with something that creates vibration, such as a piece of wood.
   • You can also experiment with many imaginative materials for chimes such as shells or glass.
2. Buy suspension lines. These lines, made of chain, synthetic cord, or another sturdy material, connect the base from which the chimes dangle to whatever holds the wind chime. Cords such as strong nylon are good for bearing the weight of the wind chime and can also be used when connecting the chimes and the striker.
   • The support line material has little impact on the sound. It’s how you hang the chimes that will determine sound, so choose line materials that will last.
   • If you want to hang the chime from a hook or a tree, buy a metal ring to tie to the lines at the top of the chime.
3. Choose a striker. Also called a clapper, the striker is the piece that fits between the chimes and bumps into them to create the vibrations that cause sound. Possible choices for strikers include redwood or hockey pucks.
   • Strikers are often circular so that they can hit all chimes equally. Strikers can also be star-shaped. These hit all chimes at the same time with less force.
   • The weight and material of the striker, in conjunction with the qualities of the chimes, will produce a unique sound.
4. Purchase a suspension platform. The platform holds the chimes, letting them hang around the object that will strike them. Buy a piece big enough for your design. The piece should be bigger than the striker.
   • Suspension platforms are often made out of wood, metal, or plastic.
   • Choose a platform that can hold five to eight chimes at equal lengths.
5. Choose a sail. The sail is the part that hangs from the striker. Extending lower than the chimes, it gets caught up in the wind, forcing the striker to move into the chimes. Sails are often rectangular or rounded and made of a substance that can be moved by a decent wind, such as a block of wood.
   • The sail can be carved from wood into many artistic forms, such as animal shapes, but you may find it easier to choose a simple block of wood that you can drill into and hang from the striker with a suspension line.
   • A small sail will be less durable, but a bigger sail will require more wind to move.

Securing the Suspension Platform

1. Mark the base. Choose five to eight points where you will suspend your chimes. Indicate the points with a marker. This is where you’ll drill holes, so the marks should indicate that the chimes are equidistant from the center with equal space between each chime. Don’t forget to include a hole for where the striker will hang.
   • Mark the other side of the base, too, to indicate where you plan on drilling holes to make the base hang from the wind chime’s point of suspension if needed.
2. Drill the holes. These should be tiny holes. Your goal is to be able to run the thread on the chimes through them. Drill a hole in the center of the platform between the holes for the chime threads, then drill a hole through the striker's center and one corner of the sail.
3. Thread the sail and striker. Cut an appropriate length of thread. This depends on how low you want these pieces to hang. For a five foot thread, for example, fold the thread in half, then pull it through the sail and knot it. Make a second large knot where the striker will hang about 16 inches or less above, then thread it through the striker.
   • Try to keep the sail close to the bottom of the longest chime. The longer the sail’s support line, the stronger the wind has to be to move the sail and its extra weight.
   • Remember that wind velocity is often stronger the higher you hang the wind chime, so a sail too close to the ground also won’t cause the chimes to sound as much.
4. Secure the striker to the platform. Take the thread coming out of the top of the striker and run it through the hole you made in the center of the platform. On the top side, knot the thread securely. This thread, if you chose to make it long enough, can be used to suspend the entire chime. You can also choose to add other hanging implements such as hooks.

Creating the Chimes

1. Determine how to cut the metal. If you want a specific set of tones, now’s the time to measure. Otherwise, you can plan on making the chimes as long as you wish, keeping in mind that shorter chimes produce higher-pitched tones.
   • Many commercial chimes play a five-note pentatonic scale. The way you achieve the proper notes depends on the type of pipe you use.
2. Cut the chimes. Measure out the desired length on the chime material, mark it, then start cutting it. To do this, you’ll need to have a pipe cutter, a hacksaw, or a hand saw. For hand saws, be sure to choose a blade that is made for the kind of metal you are cutting.
   • Your local hardware store may be able to cut the pipes for you.
   • If you have a piano, tune the chimes by playing a note and matching the sound they make when you rap on them, then cut off more of the chime as needed.
3. Sand the edges. Wrap the pipes in towels to protect them. Use a file or sander to wear down the sharp edges on points. If you didn’t cut enough off the pipes, you can sand off the excess here. Unless you’re removing significant portions of the material, which makes the pitch higher, the chime’s sound won’t change.
4. Drill holes into the pipes. How you wish to make the holes depends on the material you have chosen and how you wish to hang the chimes. For copper pipes, for instance, you can drill holes into the sides in the area you wish to suspend by thread then run the thread through later.
5. Cut the thread. Take the suspension lines you have chosen. Measure out your desired length. It’s better to keep the chimes as close to the suspension platform as possible so that the chimes do not sway much, instead allowing the striker to do the work.
   • The length of this thread, if the striker’s suspension line isn’t measured to compensate, changes how the striker aligns with the chimes. The striker may have problems reaching some of the chimes.
   • Chimes that hang too low are more vulnerable in wind and move more, making the wind chime out of tune because the striker doesn’t hit them evenly.
6. Thread the chimes. How you thread depends on what kind of hole you’ve made. For a chime with two holes, for instance, run the thread through the holes enough so you can tie a knot. You could also choose more complicated methods, such as filling the holes with a screw that you knot the thread around or drill into end caps that you make a knot inside before gluing the caps on the chimes.
7. Hang the chimes from the suspension platform. To do this, run the threads through the holes you made in the platform. Knot them on the other end. When you hold up the platform now, the chimes should hang with the striker between them and the sail below.
   • To achieve balance with the platform, try distributing the weight of the chimes as equally as possible. Hang long chimes on opposite sides.

Hanging the Chime

1. Test the chime. Hold the wind chime up or find a makeshift way to hang it, such as temporarily knotting a string. Provide wind or strike the chimes to see if they provide the desired sound. Check to see if all the parts hang evenly and securely.
2. Change the strike zone. Chances are your chimes currently are top-aligned. This means the top of all the chimes hangs from the platform and the striker hits a little below the midline of the longest chime. You can manipulate the chimes and their strings for different sounds.
   • In a bottom-alignment, the bottoms of the chimes are all level. The strings hanging them are different lengths and the striker hits a little below the center of the shortest chime.
   • In a center-alignment, the striker is even with the center of all the chimes. The string lengths are all different and the tops and bottoms of the chimes don’t align.
3. Install a metal hook. If you haven’t run a wire through the top of the suspension platform, you can push a hook into it instead. You may need to use pliers to bend the hook over so it can latch onto the metal chain you use to hang the wind chime.
   • Other options include running one or more of the chime and striker threads through the platform or installing a triangle of hooks to tie together for hanging the wind chime.
4. Find an area to hang the chime. Stick the chime on a tree branch, from a metal ring or hook, or wherever else it pleases you. Find a location that provides an adequate amount of wind and keep the chime off the ground to achieve the desired sound.

Video

Template:Video:Build and Tune a Wind Chime

Tips

• Be sure to keep testing your chime as you create it in order to achieve your own sound and sight preferences.
• Decorate the chime as you please. Some examples include putting beads on the suspension hooks or making the platform into a series of three glued wooden blocks.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment with material that can clang together and be used as chimes.

Warnings

• Cut material only with the proper safety gear and blades.

Things You'll Need

• Metal tubes, pipes or rods
• Wooden base platform
• Smaller wood circular striker
• Rectangular wood piece for sail
• Small hooks or eyelets
• Suitable thread
• Scissors
• Ruler for measuring
• If you are making your own pipes and base, metal and wood cutting tools

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Sources and Citations

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