Large Wind Chime

thingiverse

These are parts for a large wind chime. Overall length of the prototype shown is slightly more than 5 feet, and it weighs somewhere between 10 and 15 pounds (depending on how my bathroom scale is feeling.) The actual chimes are tubes cut from 1 inch conduit (EMT.) The remainder of the description details how I made my prototype; you may of course use other materials or dimensions. I chose to tune the chimes to a pentonic scale with the lowest note a "C3." The pentonic scale is a good choice for wind chimes, because no matter which notes sound they will sound good together. Chime tube lengths for 1" EMT (Lengths in inches) Note "C" - 46 1/2" --- Hang point 10 7/16" Note "D" - 43 7/8" --- Hang point 9 13/16" Note "E" - 41 3/8" --- Hang point 9 1/4" Note "G" - 37 15/16" - Hang point 8 1/2" Note "A" - 35 13/16" - Hang point 8" The hang points shown (measured from the top end of each tube) will place each at a nodal point of the fundamental frequency for that tube. Short version -- they'll ring louder and longer. Dimensions were taken from published information at leehite.org (highly recommended if you want to learn about wind chimes.) Due to the weight of the 1 inch EMT tubes, I chose to hang the chimes with stainless steel cables rather than string or fishing line. I purchased a length of 5/64" SS cable which included thimbles and aluminum ferrules for crimping the ends. A #10 machine screw is passed through each tube at the hang points shown in the dimensions, and a cable with a thimble end, and two 3D-printed spacers to center the cable. Acorn nuts give a nice finished appearance. A crimped ferrule at the top end of each hanger cable secures it to the top plate of the wind chime, and a printed cap is glued onto the plate to cover the cable end. I used nylon twine to hang the center clapper and wind catcher, as these parts weigh very little and the twine allows them to swing more freely than steel cable. The top plate remixed from thing:1988849