How to Make Large Wind Chimes for Under $25

Building a wind chime is a a fairly easy small project that only takes a few hours. The end result has added a pleasant sound and a little eclectic ambiance to our front yard.

Materials

• 2 pieces of 8ft EMT Conduit - 1/2 inch OD
• Amazon carries it, but your local hardware store probably sells it for under $3 for an 8ft section.
• Alternatively, you could use thicker walled pipe. The thicker the wall, the better the end product will sound.
• 50 ft Metal wire
• Copper or Galvanized Wire works best for outdoor use.
• 1 Wind Chime Hanger
• You can use anything you want for this as long as it is sturdy enough to hold the chimes. You could use a wooden block, a PVC or EMT pipe, a bicycle gear, an old light fixture, or even a Tupperware container. I'm using an old, rusty, worn bicycle rear cassette that I picked up from my local bike shop.
• 1 Wind Chime Striker
• I'm reusing a glass Coca Cola bottle, but you can use anything really. Some people use cabinet door knobs, cans, bottles, or Altoids tins. Some others have even fashioned their own out of wood or sheet metal.
• Fishing Line, String or Thin Metal Wire
• I'm using fishing line because it is stronger, thinner and more weather resistant than string. It was easier to work with and should last for some time.
• Small fishing hooks (less than 1/2 inch)
• You can get some at your local hardware store for around $1.
• 1 Sail
• I'm using an Altoids tin, but you can use anything that will catch enough of the wind to move the striker. Some people use sheet metal with a bend in the middle. If you are looking to do some extreme engineering, Lee Hite has even written specs for DIY super-efficient sail on his webpage.
• Electrical Tape (Optional)
• Spray Paint (Optional)

Tools

• Pipe Cutter
• Wire cutters
• Drill with an 1/8th inch (3mm) drill bit
• Thin, blunt object (pipe end, hammer, etc) as a striker for testing

Resources

• Lee Hite's Chime Design Webpage
• Lee Hite's 1/2 inch EMT tuning dimensions
• Chime Lengths by Note

Construction

1. Using Lee Hite's 1/2 EMT tuning dimensions sheet, or my simplified one, cut the EMT into the notes you want. I recommend creating an easy pentatonic scale (such as CDEGA) or a major chord (such as CEGC) for your first wind chime.
2. Drill holes at the specified hang point for each pipe. Be sure to drill them slightly wider than the gauge of the metal wire so that the wire can be easily pulled through the holes.
3. Deburr the drilled holes.
4. Cut one 4 inch strip of metal wire for each pipe.
5. Insert the wire into each hole. Center the wire so that there is a little over an inch.
6. Bend the wire so that you form a loop on both sides of the wire. Make sure that the loops are larger than the drill holes. The loops will hold the wire in place around each chime.
7. Cut pieces of fishing line that are roughly the same length as your longest chime. You should have one length of fishing line for each chime.
8. Tie a hook to one end of each fishing line.
9. Carefully, hook the sting onto the wire that is inside the chime. 
• Lower the hook into the chime so that goes underneath the metal wire. Then raise the hook so that catches the metal wire. 
• If you've done this correctly, you should be able to suspend the chime into the air while only holding onto the string.
• Take your excess fishing line and temporarily wrap the string around the metal wire located on the outside of the chime so that it's taut. This is only so that the string and the hook stays latched onto the metal wire inside the chime.
10. Repeat step 9 for each chime.
11. Take what you've chosen for a wind chime hanger and hang the wind chime hanger up in it's permanent location. Another length of fishing line can work for this too. You could also use chain or rope.
12. Unwind the fishing line from each chime and, making sure to hold the line taut, tie the line to the wind chime hanger. 
• For the best tone, you will want to align the chimes so that the bottoms of the chimes are all suspended at the same height. The striker will hit at the bottom of all the chimes and vibrate at their natural frequency. You do not have to use the entire length of line, adjust the chime heights to your preferred length. Cut the excess line from each chime.
• Optionally, you can tie a hook to the end of the exposed line, which will likely make it easier to hang the chime. However, if you do this, please dull the hook as it will be exposed and could end up hurting someone.
• Note: It is useful to hang the chimes in  an alternating pattern, Long chime > short chime > long chime > short chime. This will help to keep your wind chimes balanced, both visually and aurally.
13. Once all of the chimes are attached, hang your striker from the center of the hanger, make sure that the striker is hung so that it "strikes" all of the chimes at their very bottom. I took a spare piece cork from a recent bottle of wine and tied the line around it and then shoved it in the bottle.The cork lodged itself nicely. Drilling a hole in the twist-off cap would have worked just as well.  
14. Hang your sail from the striker. The sail should suspend a few inches below the striker. For my chime, I tied a slipknot around the neck of the bottle and let the line run down one side of the bottle. This makes the bottle lean slightly to one side. It you wanted yours centered, you could easily do this by tying four lines from the bottle to the tin, making a harness for the tin to suspend from.
15. Wrap small pieces of electrical tape wherever the fishing line touches metal, this will help ensure that, over time, the metal does not cut into the line.
16. Optional: Harmonics - My chimes were long and the low notes didn't make enough of a sound, so I located the harmonics for each chime by pinching the circumference of the pipe with my fingers and tapping the pipe, continuously adjusting where my fingers were along the length of the pipe until I heard the frequency that I was listening for. Then I tightly wrapped a length of line 4 times around where my fingers had been and then taped them so that would remain in place. The tone is now much louder and at a pleasant sounding higher pitch. On a windy day, I can hear them all the way down in my basement.
17. Optional: Paint the chimes with spray paint or other thin coat paint. The thicker the paint, the more it will dull the sound of the chimes. Consider though, that cheap paint may be subject to cracking and peeling, especially where the striker hits the chimes.