Windchimes

A long time ago, maybe 15 years or more, I did some plumbing work in a bathroom. There was some leftover copper pipe and I thought I would make some windchimes using that. So I cut some round disks, cut some lengths of pipe, and tied them all together using various strings and fishing lines. I wasn't displeased with it but also not totally happy because the hanging disk was at a really sharp angle. They "hung" unused in the garage for over 10 years as one of those things that I would one day finish.

My girlfriend, Susan, saw them and asked about them. She also said she would like her own just like it. So this project was immediately resurrected. I thought about it a little bit and came up with a method of hanging the pipes using zip ties and fishing snaps. This would help me easily reposition the pipes to distribute the weight better. Then, I came up with the idea of suspending the main disk from a brass ring using multiple strings. That would completely discourage tilting.

So Susan and I set to work. We got the disks and pipes hanging in one evening. Then I suspended them from rings, added the main central rope and "knockers", and finally the wind flapper things.

For hers, I made it very decorative. I used multicolored mason twine. She will hang it a bit out of direct weather, so I went for color. I started with a brass ring, which I wrapped with a series of half-hitches, in lime green twine. (Clicking on the pictures should enlarge them, and hopefully reveal the details better)


The wood is all cedar, left over from making oval boxes for Christmas gifts. For the main rope I braided 4 strands.


For my own I went with plain white cordage.


The round pieces were pine, that have a polyurethane finish applied. The bottom, triangular piece, is poplar, left over from making oval boxes for Christmas gifts.


Of note, the discoloration of the pipes on mine. Susan's were made from bright, shiny, new copper pipe from the store. Mine had sat around for 15 years or more and tarnished. They should one day go "verdigris" in the weather.

And here they are, side by side.