Construction continues at 4:50.
Handmade wind chimes are not difficult to build for the DIY type, but the anodizing can be a little more difficult. These measure 86 inches from ring to sail. Here's how to build the wind chimes.
1. Before you begin building your own set of wind chimes, it is a good idea to download a chart to determine the chime tube length you will need. The lengths called out will be general and the exact tuning will depend on the material and dimensions of the tubing itself. Therefore, final tuning will need to be done after rough cutting with tuning forks, musical instrument, oscilloscope, etc. For these chimes, I use 1.5" by 1/8" wall 6061 aluminum tubing. It is best to tune your homebuilt wind chimes to a scale, like pentatonic major, though there are many more. I don't advise tuning to a particular chord. Chords sound good on musical instruments, but don't sound right on wind chimes. The first set of wind chimes I built were based on a chord instead of a scale, and they sounded bad. I had to scrap them. Luckily, I was able to use much of the tubing for the wind chime shown in this video.
2. Cut the longest wind chime tube first. That way in case you mess it up, you can use it for the next higher pitch tube. Cut the first tube slightly over the length called for on the length chart. By the way, don't cut all the chime tubes until you know how they will tune. Cut just one wind chime tube for now and tune it to see how much material needs to be taken off in general. This will save you from leaving too much material when you cut the rest of the chime tubes. Using the tuning instrument of your choice, check the frequency of the chime tube, and then trim a little off the length of the tube, gradually increasing the frequency until it is in tune. Remember to tune to perceived frequency, not the fundamental. You will need to hang the tubes horizontally from two node point locations on the tube. To find the node points, take the chime tube length x .224 (22.4%). Use the resulting number and measure in that amount from each end and mark it. Those are the node points. Suspend the chime tube horizontally from the ceiling with string at those points. To check the frequency, hit the end of the tube with a firm material, like wood or plastic, and measuring the frequency. If the frequency is too low, trim a little from the length and repeat the measurement. It is important to use node points for support, otherwise the chime tube will be muted, and you will have no way of taking an accurate frequency reading.
3. Finish the ends of the chime tubes to make them presentable. Drill through one of the node point locations, and drive a steel pin through that point. This pin will be where the suspension cord will be tied. I used threaded stainless rod for my pins, and Loctited them in place. To thread the holes, I cut a couple grooves in a piece of the threaded rod, and and twisted it through the holes to cut threads into the chime tubes.
4. Cut out the top support. I used a scroll saw and cut it from 1" thick black walnut. I then trued up the diameter on a lathe and added some corner detail with a router bit mounted in the tool holder. A lathe isn't necessary, but will make it easier. You can also use a heavy piece of steel or aluminum rod bent into a large circle. I don't have any rule of thumb for sizing the top support plate. I just made it what I thought looked right and would give me good spacing between the chime tubes. Of course, this will depend on your chime tube diameter and quantity. Lee Hite, a master at making wind chimes, has a guide on sizing these.
5. The striker and sail are made same way, basically. I cut them from black walnut. I made the striker diameter so that when hanging, was about 1/2 inch from any chime tube in a rested state. It is 1 inch thick. I wrapped the striker with about three layers of high quality electrical tape, to give the the tube a richer sound when struck. The sail is 1/4 inch thick, and just made it to it looked proportional to the rest of the wind chime. If you're undecided on the size, it's a good idea to go a little bigger with sails than smaller, to make it more effective.
6. Hanging the wind chime tubes: I used a stainless steel key chain ring for mine, and suspended the entire assembly from a cup hook mounted in the ceiling. It was tricky because of the size and weight of chimes. I used heavy cord, and cut several over sized pieces. I made a small slipknot for each chime tube support pin. After installing cord on all the pins, I threaded each cord up through the top support, and tied it to the key chain ring. I arranged the tubing with cascades on the top and bottom, and the striker in the middle. Ideally, tubes should be arranged with cascades on the top, and flush with one another on the bottom, with the striker on the bottom. This arrangement allows for all frequencies to be heard, and allows the most striker action.

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