Valentine's Windchime

Of any gift, a Valentine's gift really ought to be personally made or modded.

This year, I was wanting to make something more ornamental than last year's fidget toy, but I don't like fiddly little ornaments.

Serendipity stepped in, and provided several metres of rusty chain.

Step 1: Materials

I could have made this from new materials, but we both like the weathered, rustic look for garden ornaments.

As well as the chain, I used a length of rebar I happened to have lying around, some timber from the shed, fine copper wire, woodstain and woodscrews.

The tools I used included boltcutters, a large-diameter twist-drill, hammer and screwdriver.

Comments

[sunshiine]

1 Word: WOW!

[Phsycoduckie]

How many feet did you actually use?

[Kiteman]

Sory for taking so long to reply...

It really depends on the size you make it what length chain you use. This was probably around 6-8 feet all-in.

[juliemosaic]

i love this!

[adidame]

A wedding present for my friend. Thanks for the idea!

[Kiteman]

Ah, that's great. I'm glad you were inspired.

[headlessbubble]

aw!! love this

[Kiteman]

Aw, thanks. More to the point, so did she.

[lyraleperformer]

this is awesome do you have any pattern for making a star?

[Kiteman]

See step 2? I drew the pattern by hand on an A3 sheet of paper, and then measured the sections of chain by simply laying the chain on the pattern and trimming it to size. Try drawing something like the image I just drew below:

[gmjhowe]

Brilliant! I am amazed. Infact, i might even stretch to say one of your best ibles to date, a simple effective idea, carried out perfectly. Next time i look at this, i know it will be featured.

[Kiteman]

Thank you, that means a lot coming from a proper Maker.

_{(And Jessy made your prediction come true.)}

[gmjhowe]

Wow, it means alot to be classified as a 'proper maker'

_{^{(i wonder how long it is till i make it onto the exlcusive list..)}}

[Kiteman]

_^(PM)

[mg0930mg]

Yeah, I knew it would be...

[Sunbanks]

Wow that looks really good!

[Kiteman]

Thank you.

[foobear]

very pretty. a video with sound would be ideal.

[Kiteman]

Since there is currently very little wind, there's not a lot of point.

[lemonie]

Very nice, the shape's great - does it 'chime' nicely? I think you may need to replace the copper, but it'll be interesting to see how it weathers - (blue/green drips?) L

[Kiteman]

So far, with very little breeze, we get more of a tinkle than a chime. We'll see how it goes - If it doesn't survive a year, I'll replace it with something new next Valentine's.

[gmoon]

Really nice (chains have that great symbolic overtone, too.)

This will get "blogged up" big-time, I predict.

[Kiteman]

When I mentioned in advance that Kitewife's present was going to be iron, somebody (gmjhowe?) joked about a ball and chain...

[gmoon]

A little rusty, but still strong... ;-)

[CementTruck]

Dang, someone beat me to it. When I read this instructable I chucled to myself about the "ball and chain" thing, but as I scrolled through the comments...... Just out of cusriosity, don't the individual strands of wire twist into the neighboring strands when the winds blow?

[Kiteman]

I'm hoping they won't, but if it proves to be a problem I plan to loosely weave more of the wire through the links side-to-side, letting the chains sway, but stopping them twisting around each other.

[CementTruck]

That was my solution as well. Cheers!

[caitlinsdad]

Nice, I love outdoor art. You could cut out letters and wire up the words NO VACANCY or MOTEL and light it up at night with blinking red LEDs. Will there be some sort of galvanic action to accelerate the corrosion between the rebar/iron and copper wire? It may fall apart prematurely. Over time that friction fit of the rebar will loosen up with the contraction and expansion of the rod and the wood frame. Maybe you need to attach a permanent cross brace or cotter pin the ends of the rod. Attach a water pump to make one of those dripping wall fountains. Use a sanding sealer on soft woods before you stain. It evens out the absorbtion of the stain. This is a great jump-off point for others.

[PKM]

"Of any gift, a Valentine's gift really ought to be personally made or modded."

If only everyone thought the same way! Who'd have imagined a rusty chain could become a romantic gift?

If you were in an educational mood, perhaps something similar might make a nice novelty Barton's pendulum? I'm imagining a smaller version, perhaps 15-20cm high, as a desk toy a bit like a Newton's cradle.

[Kiteman]

If only everyone thought the same way!

It really was serendipity - I acquired the chain from an old fence being thrown away (one of those low mark-the-boundary things), and I was sure it would be useful.

Driving home, something just clicked and the whole project appeared in my head, parts list and all. OK, so it was basically free, but I am proud of it, especially when, half way through I stood back and looked at it and it looked like nothing.

[Kiteman]

Oh, and for some unclear reason, I happen to have a couple of feet of chain with links about 3mm long. I may make a smaller version nearer our anniversary...

[jessyratfink]

I love this! It's beautiful. Probably one of the most unique gifts I've ever seen. :)

[Kiteman]

Thank you, and thanks for the feature as well!

[mynameisjonas]

very sweet kiteman. and I agree totally that valentines gifts should definitely be personally made. and if your wife is anything like me, it means a lot to her. how big was your frame again?

[Kiteman]

The whole thing ended up being sized to match the rebar - about 46cm (18 inches) wide.