Creating music from the air, wind chimes are an inviting and relaxing way to enhance your property. What’s more, making them is a breeze! The steps below are a basic outline for creating your own homemade set of wind chimes, but feel free to adjust wherever you see fit. Different shapes, different materials and different lengths will all produce different sounds, so try having a little fun by customizing them to your own tastes—and ears.
Materials Required:
- Metal tubing (approximately 8’)
- Decorative 4”x4” fence post cap
- Piece of wood or metal to be cut to 3” diameter
- Two small eye bolts
- Fishing line
Tools Needed:
- Drill
- Jigsaw (or round hole drill bit)
- Hacksaw (or pipe cutter)
Construction Steps:
- Step 1: Find a square top for your chimes. One idea is to buy a decorative fence post cap. (If you have the time and the tools, you could also create your own.)
- Step 2: Drill a small hole in each of the cap’s four lower corners. After doing so, screw two eye bolts into the cap—one on the top, one on the bottom.
- Step 3: For your actual chimes, carefully choose your preferred metal tubing material. (Softer types, like copper, produce a mellow sound while harder types, such as steel or aluminum, give a sharp tone.)
- Step 4: Now, using a hacksaw or pipe cutter, cut your tubes to four different lengths. (Shorter chimes—anywhere from 2-6″—typically produce sharper sounds.) As for the differences between each tube, one option is to begin with the shortest and make the rest 1″ longer as you proceed.
- Step 5: From the top of each chime, mark a point 2″ down and drill a hole through both sides. Then, with fishing line, tie each tube to one of the four corners of the cap.
- Step 6: Make your clapper. Start by selecting the best material for your desired sound. (Remember, softer materials make softer sounds.) You can choose from metal, plastic or wood.
- Step 7: With a jigsaw or round hole drill bit, cut your clapper to a size 3″ in diameter. Then tie it to the center eye bolt underneath your cap.
- Step 8: Now that your chimes and clapper are all fastened to the cap, you can tie one more piece of fishing line to the eye bolt on the top of your cap and then hang your chimes—perhaps on a back deck, front porch, or even from a tree branch.
- Step 9: Wait for the wind and enjoy the sounds!