Okay, you like windchimes, and are relaxing in your own home garden,In the drowsy distance, you can hear the faint tingling of the windchimes. The afternoon sun is warm and pleasant, the hammock is swaying gently in the afternoon breeze.It just doesn’t get any better than this! Not unless you have a double hammock. (:o) Wind chimes have been around for many centuries. The Chinese are credited with the first wind chimes, but there are indications that wind chimes were used by many other early nations. There is no doubt that they bring peace and enjoyment to many people. If you have some wind chimes near your garden hammock,
you can relax and listen to their magic as you doze! Some wind chimes are musically tuned, so the chimes actually play simple notes. I do like the tuned ones, but I believe that Mother Nature has her own music, and the wind that blows determines it’s own tune. There some amazing stories about profitable home businesses starting up, by just manufacturing wind chimes in their back shed. They are not hard to make, but to sell them they need to be of very good quality. Chimes are made from many different materials. Traditionally, bamboo and reeds of various sizes were used. I still like bamboo, but modern materials do produce some charming sounds! Nowadays, glass, pewter, pottery, stainless steel, copper, aluminum, and many other materials are used. I even saw one recently that was made from old computer parts! Wind chimes can be easily made at home, but if that sounds too difficult you can buy them by mail here
Buy Windchimes at OutdoorDecor.com! Bamboo is commonly used and easy to work with, but copper pipe develops a unique color over time that is quite attractive. Aluminum is easy to work with, stainless steel is difficult unless you know how to drill it. Most of the materials used can be salvaged from scrap yards and recycling centers.
You start off by cutting the longest piece of tubing first, leaving an angle on the downward end. That is so that if you make a mistake, you can always turn it into a shorter tube! Measure exactly 22.5 % from one end of the tube. This is the resonance node, and will be responsible for the sound that you get from the chimes. Mark it with a pencil, because this is where the donger will strike the tube.
Test the node by holding the tube at the top with two fingers, and strike gently with a hard object. This is the sound (note) you will get. You can adjust the note by trimming a bit off the end of the tube, and the note becomes higher as you trim! You can tune the tubes to a guitar, guitar tuner, or piano if you wish. If you have 5 tubes, tuned to say a guitar, you may like G, D7, F, Em, and C, or whatever chord takes your fancy. It’s really not hard, but if don’t wish to make your own, there are some nice chimes here. Drill a hole through the tube at the top. Thread a piece of clear plastic pipe through the hole, to provide a ‘wear’ point for the wire or thread that you will use to hang the chimes. I have also seen brass plated shoelace grommets glued into place. Use stainless steel fishing trace wire, or braided nylon, to hang the chimes. Alternatively some manufacturers drill a very small hole through the tube, and glue a piece of strong wire right through the tube, and hang the tube from the center of the wire. Have a look at some commercial wind chimes and get some ideas. 
Make up your other 5 or 6 tubes, the number is not that important. What is important is that the striker, or donger, hits the tubes 22.5 % from the end! You will have noticed hat some commercial chimes have a donger, and below that, they hang what is called a sail, to catch the wind. Any suitably sized piece of material will do for a sail.
The sail moves the donger, the donger strikes the tube at the node, and hey presto! --- music is made! Make a hanger from a circular or hexagonal piece of wood, and hang the tubes from that. Some hang the tubes from a straight piece of material, and use two dongers. In Fung Shui, the chimes need to hang near the entrance of the home, to facilitate a smooth transition between the entrance, and the interior, of the home. Wind chimes ease the spirit, and refresh the soul, so you can get back into the hammock now (if you still haven't ordered your hammock, and they do have an excellent supply of windchimes too!) go to
Abundant Earth
Happy relaxing, Patrick
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