Misc.

From: "cdg_finance" <cdg_finance@yahoo.com>
Subject: How do you balance the thing?

I just made my first chime, 8 tubes. I used scrap EMT (free=good), some 1" red oak scrap (free=good), trimmer line, eyehook and so on. Sounds great....... wife loved it. Beat the $140 one that got her started.

Everything has worked fine except one thing......... IT DOESN'T HANG STRAIGHT, IT TILTS. Is there an easy way to level it out????

From: cowgirll@webtv.net
Subject: Re: How do you balance the thing?

Sometimes you have to keep moving chimes around till it levels out.

From: "wheeler92196" <wheeler@tns.net>
Subject: Re: How do you balance the thing?

Pick two of the tubes that are kinda like sorta like opposite each other and about the same length. But not quite
the same length. Swap them.
Might have to pick a second pair and repeat.
If you just move the longest one on the low side to the other side, then it will still be the heaviest one on the now, new,
lowest side.

From: "lrwallig" <lrwallig@yahoo.com>
Subject: Chime Balancing Act

There have been several posts on how to balance wind chimes.
For an 8-tube chime, arrange the tubes by length on a table with longest tube identified as #1 and the shortest tube as #8. Starting at a 12 o'clock position and continuing clockwise, hang the #1 tube in the 12 o'clock position, followed by 5,2,6,3,7,4,8.

For a 6-tube chime the recommended hang order is: 1,4,2,5,3,6.

From: cowgirll@webtv.net
Subject: Re: Chime Balancing Act

I just got thru making two tops from old aluminum pot lids

From: suppanz
Subject: Re: Chime Balancing Act

I just posted an Excel sheet to calculate the center of gravity of the chimes. It is in the "files" area of the group page. You can hone your chime arrangement, or just hang it from the calculated CG point. For now, it is basic, and is for 6 chimes. Brad

From: thaddspad
Subject: New (Confused) member

Last week-end, I built my first chime using a 10' piece of copper 11/4" tubing. Not knowing what I was doing (Man, that's hard to admit!!) I measured some old swap meet/street fair chimes that I have around here and extrapolated my tube lengths from the existing ones. I built 5 tubes of 26,24,22,20&18 inches long....That was the easy part To mount the tubes, I drilled 5/16ths holes 2 " from the top and put dowel pins in each hole to hold the strings. For the clapper, I originally used a ball designed for a stairway newel post, but the sound was too soft. My wife went to cost plus and found some brass rings that dancers use like castenettes...They are about 2 1/2" in diameter and seem to work pretty well. For a sail, I used a piece of Lexan about 3"X 5" and about 3/8" thick....Too heavy, so I am currently using a wire and fabric butterfly that was a backyard decoration...I think that it is too light. I really admire you guys...I thought that I'd just throw some stuff together and make a chime, but there is so much science and engineering involved, not to mention artistry, that I am amazed at how complex it all is....And I have a stand of bamboo that's waiting to be whacked, and some aluminum tubing left over from another project. What I need is some suggestions on what to use for the top(I used a plywood round), and how to attach the tubes. Thadd

From: Brewmeister999
Subject: Re: New (Confused) member

Hi, Thadd, From Teeley2's link... "When a chime is struck, it vibrates along its entire length in a sort of standing wave. The wave meets the bar at the bottom at a precise spot. This spot is 22.4% from either end. It is here that there is virtually no vibration and we call this place the node of fundamental frequency. We'll just call it the node from now on." So a node is a "dead" zone that can be used for hanging or mounting without interfering with the sound. Every pipe and every different thickness and length will have a different tone, so just measuring an existing chime and making one the same length will not sound the same unless its the exact same material. I learned this the hard way. Since I do woodwork as a hobby, I had more pleasure making the top hanger. I first made a 6 chime windchime, so I made 2 6-lobed "daisy" shapes out of cedar, separated these with 3/8" dowel rods about 2" long and then hung the chimes from the lower one. For friends gifts, I make the sail shape custom...like my friend in Texas...his was in the shape of his state. Another one I made for my Oriental friend in the shape of the Chinese symbol for friendship. I usually use 1/4" or less Lexan and for some I use aluminum. This is the beauty of the craft, using available material that would have been thrown out! Brew

From: teeley2

Here's a copy of an email recently sent to me:

I just finished making two large windchimes after reading your article online. I had finished making four kayak paddles with tempered aluminum shafts and had some leftover tubing that I wasn't sure what to do with, when I was carrying it with two fingers at the center of balance and accidentally struck one end against something and it rang like a bell! That's when I got the idea and started surfing the net. Your article was just what I was looking for! I live in the Seattle area, where we are blessed to have Boeing Surplus nearby, where anyone can get aircraft-grade materials for pennies on the dollar (aluminum is just$1.60/lb). This month though, it was half price, but you had to buy the whole 15 foot extrusion (they are just swamped with cases of tubing in every imaginable diameter, wall thickness, alloy and temper! I used to be a toolmaker for them, so I am familiar with different aluminum alloys and tempers. Originally, I selected 2024-T3 1 1/4" dia. x .028" wall, very stiff and strong. I was told later that it is not very corrosion resistant though, so I went back the next week and found some 6061-T6 1 1/4" x .035" wall, which made much better kayak paddle shafts. Any way, I used the 2024-T3 for my first windchime. It is eight notes, tuned to the E major scale. The longest tube is 1125 mm long!
A 10" sanding disk on my table saw worked well to bring in the net length. I used a piece of 1/4" thick polycarbonate (Lexan) plastic for the top circle, which I cut with my router, and .030" stainless safety wire to hang it from a stainless S hook. I used 30 lb test monofilament fishing line to suspend the tubes and striker, as the wire was too stiff. I tried several strikers before I settled on 1/2" thick x 1 1/4" dia. nylon. It has about the same density as hardwood, but it is impervious to the elements, and gives mellow tones. A striker of 1/4" thick polycarbonate was too hard and gave sharp tones. A dense 1" rubber ball was too soft. It hardly made a sound.

I used your idea of a CD for the sail. It sounds great, and only cost $5.00 to make! My second one was eight tubes tuned to the C major scale. 2" dia. x .028" wall 6061-T6 x 1108 mm for the longest tube. It doesn't sound as nice (too tinny, like stove pipe). I think the alloy is softer, and there may be an optimum ratio of wall thickness to diameter. I would like to try 2" dia. x .050 wall 2024-T3 or 7075-T6 to make a big bonger! If I had the time and patience, I would like to design and build a giant wind-powered music box. Make 88 tubes for all the notes on the piano (white and black-sharps and flats) and line them up in a row. Then have a windmill turn a big drum through gear reduction with a centrifugal governor to maintain constant speed, with strategically placed "flails" on the outside of the drum to strike the proper tube at the proper time to play a song! ~Bob Stevens.

From: teeley2
Each chime vibrates individually and thus makes its own unique sound. It's a possibility that you might get a small amount of sympathetic vibration from one to another. It's akin to a boom car going by outside with its hearing-damaging woofer thumping. You may notice that something inside the house vibrates at the same time, in sympathy so to speak. The object may have a vibration rate that is near to that being put out by the woofer, so it makes a sound. You're right, making chimes can be complicated, especially with the harmonics you get. The sound can seem to change after the chime is struck.

From: cowgirll@webtv.net
On the subject of making chimes out of old junk. We are in process of making one out of old drivelines. Top is a hubcap. Got them cut. Now to sandblast them. Boy do they have sound.

From: teeley2
Subject: wind bells

One of the dumpster diver groups got on the subject of wind chimes and wind bells so I thought I'd pass along postings of several people without my comments. My question is-how do you safely get rid of leftover gases in old acetylene, propane, and oxygen tanks before cutting the bottoms off? Or is this something I shouldn't even think about?

Wind bells made from old acetylene or oxygen tanks:

Very unobtrusive and only rang on really windy days anyway. I saw them a couple years ago in andArt� store in a tourist town, and the prices were HIGH. I asked the store people, and they said they sold a lot of them to rich yuppies with weekend places on 5-acre hilltops.
Took me several minutes of staring at them to realize what they originally were.

Probably a little much for a small lot house. Got to admire someone who can stare at the pile of scrap metal out back, and devise a way to make 10x scrap prices out of it, with a few hours work. Vent and cut the tanks, a little quick sandblasting and painting, weld up a simple stand out of scrap iron, throw a little Rustoleum on the results, and sell it to some yuppie for $500 or so. Yeah, they would probably make a good back porch or dockside dinner gong.

hmm... probably a more eastern flavor to the tone... kind of like the Tibetan gongs or the Buddhist temple bells... kind of loooow... that would probably be good for a summer camp to use to call their campers

First, you weigh it, and compare it to the weight stamped on the tank. Difference is the contents remaining.
No need to empty it. Only value of such a tank is to either use it, if it is still in good shape, or sell it back to the bottle company and/or someone who will use it (assuming they can get it refilled w/o paperwork like a lease.) Scrap value is close to Zero, even more so than other pressure tanks. Scrap dealers don't like tanks in general, because of all the EPA/liability problems, and most won't take them unless they are vented, with valve stem removed. But an acetylene tank has the additional problem of the steel wool like stuff it is filled with, to give the gas something to bind with.

BTW, O2 and similar tanks, with the bottoms cut off at various lengths, make wonderful gongs and giant windchimes. Just weld a big eyebolt in where the valve stem went, and hang from a heavy beam.

I've found several vanilla propane cylinders like that now that the older ones can't get refilled, I expect to find them all over the place.

Old circular saw blades also make good chimes. Ones made of quality steel. Don't see those in dumpsters much, since
people who buy the quality ones tend to get them sharpened several times. (They ain't cheap, but if you make your living with them, you quickly learn to avoid the junk ones.)

I made a wind chime out of railroad track once and it sounded quite restful, not clangy at all (at least, when I let the baseball bat do the clanging , Ok there was this one time with my ball peen hammer on a New Years Eve...).

From: "kevinh982" <juneh@ktc.com>
Subject: Bell chime from an oxygen tank?

Anyone tried making a chime from one end of an oxygen or acetylene tank? I saw one of these at a Japanese garden. It had a really low mellow sound. The length was on the order of 16". Maybe someone knows the actual length to use for one of these things. I guess I could calculate it using the formulas I've seen but would have to make a first cut to get the thickness.

Another question is, is the steel hardened? If not it could be cut with a saber saw though it would take a while. It would be good after cutting to put it in a lathe and finish the cut end, but that's not too important I guess. Or cut it with a torch and finish with a lathe, but I don't have a torch or lathe. -Kevin

From: "Jack Maegli" <jackmaegli@jvlnet.com>
Subject: RE: Bell chime from an oxygen tank?

Since I can't answer your question directly, I should shut up, but instead I will ramble. First, the bell or radial modes of the half tank will probably predominate the transverse vibration modes from the chime tube formulas you have, and as you have noted you have to know the thickness to predict either, so I would just cut the thing "long" and see how it sounds, and get a thickness measurement at the same time, and go from there. Ever think about using an angle grinder? I've cut through some pretty thick stuff with mine.

The real reason I am replying, is a friend of mine was cutting "empty" tanks of the sort with a torch and one blew and he is now missing a good chunk of his skull and an eye and that was 10 years ago and he still is not quite right. I might try filling it with water before cutting, but cannot give professional advice on the matter. Anyhow, please be careful.

From: themetalcrafter@cs.com
Subject: Re: Bell chime from an oxygen tank?

I worked as an ironworker for 20 years and then got into the compressed chemical gas business. Working primarily with low and high-pressure gas cylinders. In regards to cutting your cylinder you need to know what the contents was. DO NOT rely on the label solely. Some businesses will slap a false label on to ship it back to the vendor. i.e. putting on a
non-combustible label such as argon or helium instead of some type of poisonous or corrosive gas say like chlorine or methane. It is best to go by the type valve, distinguished by a CGA #. A CGA 580 is usually a safe bet. A CGA 350 is
usually a flammable like hydrogen. The cylinder has to be completely empty. Say you have a cylinder that says helium on the front label and it has a 580 CGA, you�re off to a good start. Secure the cylinder with a strap so it won't fall over and slowly open the valve. Let the contents bleed out to atmosphere. As the pressure drops you can slowly open the valve more. Make sure it is empty.
If when you initially open the valve and nothing comes out, DO NOT take it for granted that the cylinder is empty, the valve just may be clogged (which is common). Take a blowgun and shoot some air from a compressor while listening to make sure it is entering. (The valve has to be in the open position). Let the air bleed out. You are now ready to unvalve the cylinder. You will need a method of holding the cylinder while you use a 24" crescent wrench to turn the valve. The best way to cut the cylinder, unless you are good with a torch is with a metal cutting band saw. I tend to agree with the others leave this up to experienced people. I have seen many accidents involving compressed gases.
Safety first!!

From: "Charles" <the_righter@excite.com>
Subject: Re: Bell chime from a oxygen tank?

We have a tank chime at the UofA Extension office (Maricopa County) garden; although, it's not a "wind" chime. (Here I go again: writing about non-wind chimes... Forgive me. I'll try to keep it relevant.) It's big (5') and (need I say) heavy. The tank was cut w/a torch and finished with a grinder. Not such a big deal.
The big deal was suspending it. An "arch" of sorts was fabricated from 5 or 6" pipe. That was anchored to a concrete base.
The "bell," or "chime" if you prefer, was fitted with a large ring and suspended with log-type chain. The ring and chain - and just about everything else - were welded into place. A leather-wrapped baseball skewered on an old fire poker serves as
the mallet. A brisk whack produces a nice rich tone. Based on a couple of misguided swings where the mallet shaft struck the tank, I can say that a metallic whacker produces a painfully annoying "ping." I doubt anyone put much thought into tuning this beast. Despite that, (when struck correctly) it sounds pretty good. I can only guess how big a sail would have to be in order yield a decent wind-generated tone. And, the whole thing would probably have to be hung a few feet higher. No mean feat, in and of it's self. Dinner bell? Perhaps. Wind chime? Only for the truly ambitious. Charles

From: "sjrace2" <stephenrace@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: How about sound and price"

The site onlinemetals.com seems to have pretty good prices and terms. The have no minimum order and will cut to any size. They seem to specialize in small order business. They carry aluminum pipe and tubes. The piping is about 1/3 the cost of the tubing for the same size. According to their sales person, there is very little difference in appearance and composition. The cost varies SIGNIFICANTLY depending on wall thickness, diameter, and the length. Being the engineer I am, I took my calipers to a local shop that sells wind chimes and listened and measured. I am looking for the deep church bell kind of sound...that resonates for many seconds. To get that sound you need thicker walls and of course, longer tubes. I found a BIG difference in the wall thicknesses of 0.05" or so (which sounded a little tinny and short resonating times) and walls 0.133" thick which gave the deep tones and resonated for 20 seconds!! The best one I heard had diameter (Outside) of 1.5" and wall thickness of 0.133". The longest tube was 28" and it had 6 tubes. The cost was $123!! I actually want an even lower pitch, so I figure I need about 35 to 40" tubes. The cost from onlinemetals.com for schedule 40 Aluminum pipe 6' sections is $12. I'm in Virginia, so with shipping and three 6' sections of 1" nominal schedule 40 aluminum pipe is costs a total of $55. That is expensive, but I figure half or less than what I would pay retail.

From: cllsj
Subject: Re: Simple wind chime for webelo scouts

I had some problem posting the plans for a four chime Westminster I felt were suitable for a scout project but I've got my FTP fixed. The plans are now posted on my website http://www1.iwvisp.com/cllsj/windchimes/ chuck

From: Brew <brewmeister999@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Basic Proportions

There are some guidelines that we have learned from some hard-won experience... Fred Flintstone (Brent) and I (Brew
Rubble) do these things the hard way, through trial and error, while Chuck does it through engineering formulas and math. I would recommend his website, "Chuck's Chimes" - check the links section on the left sidebar. He's got several pre-figured around the size you mentioned.

Meanwhile, here's some rambling' thoughts on your question...

If the tubes are too far apart, the striker will pass between them in a stronger wind. They need to be spaced so this won't happen. I built a set of "Westminster" chimes where the longest 1" tube was just over 7 feet. Since they were so long, I thought I would hang them further apart, and put them on a 9" diameter top. They were too far apart and the 4" striker would pass between them. So I made the striker larger - about 5" diameter. This made it too heavy and the sail wouldn't move it enough. So I made a larger sail. It finally worked OK, but it took a near hurricane force wind to move it! (Brew Rubble at work, tinkering and wasting time)

A 7" diameter top section works well with 1" tubes spaced at 60 degrees around, with a 3" clapper and a wind sail that has at least 48 square inches surface area. 6" X 8", for example. Check out the photo section for some wind sail ideas - I have a new one that works great, as does Brent.

Windchiming can be very technical with formulas, math, aerodynamics, metallurgy, welding, woodworking, etc., but it can also be great fun and a very rewarding hobby just by experimenting and keeping that which works, and learning (and sharing) that which doesn't. Brew

From: "bmh1944" <bmh1944@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Basic Proportions

Challis;

Fred Flintstone agrees with Barney's (my sidekick tinker) thoughts and advice on chime spacing and striker diameter because such is usually up for a bit of experimentation when one twists off on a tangent of originality. Chuck's website has many good plans for various chime sets that work extremely well; so, if you're not into doing a bit of tinkering on your own, I also recommend you follow his well engineered designs.

If and when the hobby becomes addictive enough for experimentation, there's a few general guidelines that I've found useful from the many things I've read and discovered through many hours of labor and countless vulgar words. Generally (with respect to 1"OD tubes), I consider "short" chime sets to be those where the longest tube is about 3' (or less) in length and "long" chime sets as being those having the shortest tube over 3' in length. Since long-tube chime sets have considerably more swaying/rocking distance in a moderate wind, it's better to hang them with a little more distance between each tube than that of shorter sets - but not by very much. I have an 8-tube "long" set of 1"OD tubing that's hung from only a 7" diameter halo with a 4" diameter striker, and a 5-tube "short" set hung from a 5" diameter halo with a 3" diameter striker.

As Brew noted, spacing the tubes too far apart mandates the use of a very large diameter striker that's hard to move unless you've got a catamaran sail hooked to it. The best I've found is to figure an arrangement where the striker's diameter will not allow it to hit more than two tubes at any one time, and there's about 3/4" to 1" clearance (at it's middle rest point) between the striker's edge and any of the tubes; this gives the striker enough room to gain the necessary momentum for a good strike in mild wind without traveling an excessive distance to do so (and diminishing the frequency of strikes at any given wind speed). Most of my "long" sets using 1"OD tubing are hung so there's about 1.75" wall clearance between the
tubes, and most of the "short" sets have about 1.25" spacing between tube walls. Brent

From: Brew <brewmeister999@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Clutch

"However, I can never make anything simple, I would like to play a tune."

Windchimes can be listened to for hours on end because of their *randomness*. I had the same basic idea years ago while watching an episode of "The American Woodwright". Remember him? He's the guy who built replicas of the old "Americana" items, using only the old hand tools.

Well, in this episode he built a windmill driven thing that had a belt with pegs that lifted hammers that struck a bank of tuned wine bottles (add and subtract water to tune). So I just had to try it! I built a much smaller version using tuned pipes, just as we do with the chimes.

Do you know about how many times you can listen to "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head" before you run screaming into the yard and shooting the propellers off with a 12 gauge? Now if you built one with an automatic record changer on it....... Brew

From: "bmh1944" <bmh1944@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Some Questions to be answered by the Powers that be

Damyon;

While Fred Flintstone is far from being any "powers that be", I've got a little bit of insight on some of the questions you've posed from the numerous success/failure experiments I've done in times past.

1. ANY suspension method causes some degree of dampening effect because there is no part or area of any chime tube that is totally free of vibration; and, any internal obstruction also tends to disrupt the optimum internal air-column movement to some degree. The internal suspension "axle" works pretty well, but only when the axle (or other mounting method) is located at a "node" of minimum vibration (about .2242 X length of any particular tube). Even though it sounded good at the time, I've also tried the fine-wire "bucket handle" suspension method (from each side of the tube at a node point) that, for some unexplained reason, created quite a bit of dampening. I've found that a loose-fitting, node-point, suspension axle works much better than one that's soldered, glued, or welded to the tube's walls. Some of the longest-sustaining tubes I've seen have used the rubber grommet principle (at the node point) with very fine, very flexible suspension line threaded through the holes. I've found that single-line suspension (from the center of a cap over the upper end of a tube) works very well even though this is at an antinode of maximum vibration; but axle or line mounting at the upper end of a tube was very bad in desired results.

2. I've never found ANY type of "non-dampening" stabilizer that eliminates or decreases tube swing or sway (especially in long tubes). This goes back to the fact that ANYTHING whichever touches a tube (including a prolonged striker hit) will dampen the resonating frequencies to quite a degree. Depending on the general length of the tubes, choosing the best mounting method is the only real avenue to pursue in reducing sway and/or swing effects. Generally, with shorter tubes of narrow OD dimensions (less than 1" OD), I prefer the conventional line-mounting (through both sides of the tube's upper
node point) using small rubber grommets to prevent line chafing. In long-tube sets (over 3 feet in length) of tubing that's up to 1" OD, I prefer single-line, center suspension from an end cap. For anything over 1" OD tubing, I prefer using single-line, internal suspension from a loose-fitting, V-shaped, internal axle at the upper node point.

3. I've found that capping the end of a longer tube produces a small change in both the tube's resonant dynamics and internal air-column characteristics (please don't embarrass me by asking why); but the cap seems to allow the longer sustaining of some lower overtones over that of an open tube. I once tried smashing the end of a tube flat and drilling an upper suspension hole through the flattened portion; but the result of that experiment placed the tube into the "windthud"
class - and not the "windchime" area.

4. Since a resonant tube does not have the same characteristics as a stringed instrument or wind/whistle instrument, striking it at different points does NOT change the particular fundamental frequency or related overtones it produces. Instead, different striking points only excite the inherent fundamental or produced overtones to a greater or lesser degree; while different striking points can slightly affect the perceived musical note a bit, it won't be to any
degree that one could significantly change produced "musical notes" by different strike points on the same tube. Brent

From: "Maury Gilburne" <maurgil@cox.net>
Subject: Re: Help restoring a Woodstock windchime

It is me again. I forgot a couple of directions for you.

In addition to my previous instructions, do the following; Imagine the top disc is a six-pointed star. The point of the star is above where the chime would hang. Number the spaces from 1 - 6. Hang the longest chime at #1. The second longest at #4. The third longest at #5. The fourth longest at #2. the fifth longest at #3. The shortest at #6. This is so that the weight would be evenly distributed.... nothing to do with sound. When you start hanging the chimes, as I previously mentioned, start with longest one first. I failed to say " hang this one about 2-1/2" from the bottom of the top" From here on follow the instructions about lining up the centers with the first one... so that the clapper can hit all the sweet "spots).

What bmh1944 said about Home Depot and the grommets is correct. I have used them. But unfortunately, they were rubber and therefore did not last as long as I would have liked them to. It is probably the grommets that got me to go back
searching to my old business contacts. And this is new for us....The grommets that I found are a smooth plastic and will stay in place "forever" In addition, another hard to find item, is a dependable string with which to hang the chimes.
The string I found is manufactured specifically for hanging chimes. It wears well, and holds its knot. Both grommets and string are inexpensive. They are of European manufacture. The only limitation of the grommets, they come in two sizes, a wall thickness 1/16" or 1/8" Maury

From: "Maury Gilburne" <maurgil@cox.net>
Subject: Re: Reply #2 Help restoring a Woodstock windchime

One of the best documents I have ever read pertaining to windchimes is "Chuck's Chimes" at http://wwww.iwvisp.com/cllj/windchimes
Part of it is written for the techies and part for the layperson. I think your husband would enjoy reading it. If so inclined, browse thru the tech parts, but read the rest. He's going to get a lot out of it. Regardless, there is a lot of tech support available to get your husband thru to completion. In the document Chuck shows a plan for a chime set tuned to an A minor pentatonic scale. With a pentatonic scale, you have one the most pleasant sounding set of chimes. The plan shows it built of steel conduit. While it sounds O.K., the consensus is that it sounds many times better in aluminum. I have converted his chime plan to use aluminum ........... The cut to size aluminum is available (see below).

Parts shown in his plan are six pieces of tubing cut to size, three pieces of wood cut to pattern and miscellaneous supplies. It is fun and as outlined in Chuck's document, interesting and easy to make... and when you hang and listen to them, it will give you a wonderful feeling of pleasure and accomplishment. I warn you, it will become addictive. I have built them for my family, for my extended family, neighbors, charities for their silent auctions, etc,etc.

Some of the supplies are readily available locally, some, as you already know; you may have to search for. I can help you there. With a lot of time on my hands and having just about run out of people to build chimes for, yet still wanting to remain involved, I put together a supply set-up that makes available the hard to find parts and the wooden parts that your husband won't/can't build. Maury "GIl" Gilburne

to be safe than sorry. Linda

From: "Brent" <bmh1944@yahoo.com>
Subject: Novel Idea For Inline Chimes

I'm probably exposing my ignorance by the fact I've never seen this particular design used for metal tube windchimes; but I thought I'd toss it out to let anyone interested know I'm going to give it a try (while remaining open for more experienced suggestions).

My neighbor recently bought a cheap little set of bamboo windclunks that were of a vertical, 6-tube, inline arrangement with the striker being another bamboo tube that was horizontally, dual suspended (trapeze style) very close to the mid-point of each vertically suspended tube. The striker tube hung parallel to the row of vertically hung tubes with a clearance of only 1/4 inch or less. There was no "sail", and only the wind moving the tubes and horizontal striker tube was very sufficient for a lot of multiple striking action. Sometimes all the 6 vertical tubes hit the striker bar at the same time, and other times it was random hits of two or three at a time - but the effect was very interesting.

My thought was to node suspend metal tubes tuned to a particular chord (like a seventh or ninth) that would be pleasantly harmonious when all tubes were struck at the same time; then have the horizontal "striker" tube suspended at each node point and be tuned to the major note of the chord produced by the vertical tubes (so any tone produced in the striker tube wouldn't be unharmonious). Anyway the thought sounded intriguing enough to try with tuned metal tubes instead of random clunks from bamboo. Brent

From: "bmh1944" <bmh1944@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: How does one choose a wind chime?

Unfortunately, any "experts" residing in this windchime group ARE terribly biased because most of us have built windchimes that pretty well kick butt on most of the commercial chimes in both sound quality and performance - LOL.

As mentioned earlier Music Of The Spheres is probably the most well-known and premier commercial chime sets, but are fairly pricey. There are a few common brand names you'll find are sold by many of the windchime retailers on the web; but not having personally inspected or listened to most of them, I couldn't say which is the best for the money. I've seen many expensive sets that are pretty lackluster in sound, and I've also seen a few really cheap imported sets that sounded extremely good.

So, my only advice is to listen first if you can because picking out a set of commercial chimes is pretty much a crapshoot where price is not always a guideline to follow for sound quality. Brent

From: Ballou Family <ballou.family@verizon.net>
Subject: Thanks to Brent and Chuck

I finished my chimes today and they are fantastic. I greatly appreciate all the work you put into your website, Chuck, AND for the advice from both of you.
I started by cutting the longest tube to the length prescribed by the Tube Frequency / Length Calculator. Next I hung that tube horizontally through two loops of cord placed at the 22.4% distance from each end and checked tune. I found it to be only slightly flat, and ended up grinding (floor sander) about 3/16 inch off to bring it to exact tune.
I followed the same procedure for the other five tubes, cutting them one day and tuning the next. Tuning them all took a couple hours. They didn't sound bad before tuning, but they really sing now. Besides, my son and daughter are both musicians, and neither of them would have allowed me to hang them while even the tiniest bit out of tune.
The metal is carbon steel, and I decided to let them rust naturally. To that end, after drilling the holes to hang them from, I sanded them all with 60 grit sandpaper just to get the black coating off the outside, then 180 grit to smooth them up. I didn't think about the possibility of changing the pitch while sanding, fortunately there was no change.
I hung the tubes with a strong nylon cord from a heavy stainless steel ring. I used a 1/8-inch thick stainless steel disk for a spreader, maple for the striker and 1/16 inch aluminum for the wind catcher. The chimes were made from 2.25 OD 2.120 ID seamless steel pipe. Tube lengths range from 50 5/32 to 35 1/4 inches. A single strike results in a ring of over two minutes.
The scale used is a-c-d-f-g-a. MB

From: planerends
Subject: cutting of 150 # test line

I've had trouble trimming off that 130# /150# fish line after I've strung up the tubes.
The line is so tough that scissors or even a razor blade is hard to get a close cut of the line.
Try this! Use a kid's wood burner. After it is hot, just touch the line and not only is it trimmed easily but there is no fuzzy unraveling in the future!

Dumpster diving news brief!
While dumpster diving, keeping an eye open for usable free tubing, don't pass up those old style floor lamps. Many times when taken apart they provide a unique 'halo' or top hanger piece. This comes from the base. Underneath the base is a weighted metal which can be used for many things. The upright tubing sometimes can be used directly on chimes. The upper fixtures sometimes work up nice as a hanger unit for tubes. The greatest thing about this is the price! Jim of Alaska

From: "Brent" <bmh1944@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: cd

Linda;

Once you get the hard drive in your hot little hand, you'll have to take it apart by usually removing a number of small Phillips screws. After you're inside, you'll have to remove the heads and a few other little pieces of hardware to expose the actual disks. Depending on the size of the hard drive, there will probably be from two to four separate disks in each drive. So, with any luck and two old computers, you may have enough disks to make something either very
unique or pretty scary - haha.

If you or anyone else is concerned about tossing old computers with any sensitive data on them, simply erasing the hard drive or even formatting it will NOT remove the data to the point it can't be recovered by a number of techniques. Unless you have any revealing pictures of yourself or any CIA documents on your old hard drives, I wouldn't worry about anyone swiping your windchime disks for any high tech data retrieval - lol.

However, for anyone who has a business or considerable personal information on old computers that falling into the wrong hands could lead to identity theft or other unscrupulous practices against you, there's a low cost program called "Evidence Eliminator" which has three increasingly secure methods of completely overwriting any deleted data or all data from a hard drive to make it forever and permanently irretrievable. You can download a "try-and-buy" version from either www.cnet.com or www.zdnet.com that will work free for about 30 days to see how well it works and how valuable it is in
maintaining your security. While I won't use any public forum to explain things, I'll answer any personal emails about shady ways of making try-and-buy programs free forever if anyone is interested. Brent

From: "Brent" <bmh1944@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Bell chime from a oxygen tank?

Kevin;

I think someone else made a large chime from a steel pressure tank a number of months ago. I can't give you any advice there because I've never tried a tank-chime - but it does certainly qualify as a major "cajones chime" - LOL.

As far as the steel tank goes, my 45 years as a scuba diver can help a little. Almost all high pressure steel tanks are made from similar grades of steel regardless of the particular gas they are to hold. I've never tried cutting one with a jigsaw, but I know a long bladed hacksaw works just fine. The tanks are NOT made of high tempered or hardened steel, so cutting them is no more difficult than cutting plain old cold-rolled steel plate.

If any trivia is appreciated, the tanks are not made of hardened steel for one major reason - safety. There are many high pressure scuba and scba now made from a kevlar-wrapped thick aluminum tank which usually has a nominal full pressure of 3500psi, but the steel tanks are all pretty much 2200psi rated. In both cases, the tank needs to be strong, but flexible because it actually expands a little when completely filled to maximum pressure. In the unhappy event one becomes too hot (causing the gas pressure to rise extremely high), the tank will rupture and very possibly become an unguided missle.
While that is a potentially deadly situation, the soft steel tank will usually only split up the side when it ruptures. If a high pressure tank were made from hardened or tempered steel, it would soon fatigue from the slight bit of expansion that happens when it is filled to maximum pressure - but if it were to rupture, the hardened steel would fragment into a shrapnel bomb instead of splitting. Brent

From: "Brent" <bmh1944@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: TRIAL ONE - 2" ALUM

Brew;

No, I've not bothered with tuning any long tubes past the first natural frequency in the "ideal range" because past experiments have produced way too many "gotchas" with a slight change in length suddenly giving an unexpected change in perceived tone that was planned - but didn't happen. There's simply been too many past events when very long tubes (tuned for a higher overtone) suddenly went in the crapper with the next "planned" length for a particular note. In those frequent bad instances, the brain's fuzzy logic perceived an unpredicted "note" because either an overtone suddenly went MIA and
disappeared, or there was a radical change in the relative amplitudes of the overtones compared to what had existed in the previous length of tubing that produced the predicted note. I still enjoy making long tubes far out of the fundamental "ideal range", but I do that only when I'm after the "Aeolian" aesthetics of diverse, non-tuned, very rich (plenty of overtones) "chime" sound. When I'm looking for a very pure ringing note of musical quality, I choose the right OD for the
octave range and religiously hold to the "ideal" first natural tuning.

As far as where to strike the tube is a complete matter of personal preference as far as I'm concerned. A center strike on a tube tuned in the ideal first natural frequency range is probably the purest note you will get from a chime tube; but while maybe a big less pure, an end strike on that same tube is louder, richer, and sounds better to me. If you're going for a very long, un-tuned tube that's loudest and richest in sound, an end strike will still give you more bang for the whack. My best advice there is to get your tube all ready to rock and roll, suspend it, then compare the sound produced by a center strike and an end strike - then go for the one you prefer.

My preference for the best striker sound is hard plastic if you can find good Plexiglas instead of the much softer "blue tinted" cheap acrylic like most hardware stores sell. The softer stuff is OK and better (I think) than wood, but the harder clear Plexiglas is a considerable step up in performance. Since I prefer the beauty of stained wood, I use the "sandwich" method that I believe Jim Haworth mentioned in his article? The thick stained wood (on top and bottom) add good looks and a lot of mass to help give the striker a little more kaboom; yet, sandwiching the hard plastic between the layers of wood (with the plastic protruding farther out to make actual contact with the tubes) looks the best and sounds the best in my silly opinion.

I wish I could give you more definite answers to your questions; but once you get your tubes made up like you want them, you've got a lot of room to simply hang one and experiment with striker material and end or center strikes to see which combination you like the best. Brent

From: "Brent" <bmh1944@yahoo.com>
Subject: Temperature Clarification For Brew

Brew;

I'm sorry I used many words on the aluminum welding subject and failing to clarify myself on the melting/welding temperature of aluminum. I wanted to make sure you knew the aluminum melting temperatures of 650+ (depending on height above sea level) and the melting point of the welding rod you described are all in Celsius. I'm not sure why most welding stuff anymore seems to have forsaken Fahrenheit very often in favor of Celsius, but it can get confusing for anyone not familiar with that fact.

In either case, the propane torch would probably be an almost impossible tool for welding aluminum. If we use the temperature I'm more familiar with, the conversion of aluminum melting point would start at around 1200 degrees/F and the rod you described looks like it's just below that temperature at 635/Celsius. I don't know what kind of flux this rod must be coated with, but it's impossible to weld aluminum in much of anything but a completely inert environment of pure argon. It's a moot point because I think most propane torches can reach from about 1600 to 2000 degrees/F depending on the type of
burner tip you use - which can quickly blow a hole in an aluminum tube before you know it. The only thing I use a propane torch for in the aluminum welding process is to preheat the area adjacent to where I'm going to weld, you can't hit the actual spot to be welded or it will instantly contaminate the area. Anyway, I use a little digital infrared thermometer and use the torch to preheat a small area of the tube up to around 275 to 300 degrees/F before starting in with the MIG welder; if there's no preheating of the area the results will be a very crappy surface weld with no penetration.

The more I talk about the expense and hours of practice it took to get even mediocre at light-duty aluminum welding, the better JB Weld sounds. Brent

From: cllsj
Subject: Re: Temperature Clarification For Brew

Aluminum can be welded with an oxygen-acc torch as I have seen it done. Of course when I was handed the torch I promptly blew a hole in the metal. An inert gas is needed for welding aluminum to keep the oxygen out. The flame of the torch plus the aluminum welding rod flux does this. Warning welding aluminum with a torch is only for the very experienced. Chuck

From: Brew <brewmeister999@yahoo.com>
Subject: Some Observations

I've made enough chimes now that I have collected a few hints that may help those just starting out... they may not work for everyone, due to the differences in our brain/ear connection, filtered through the "Fuzzy Logic" translator chip.

ON IDEAL LENGTH:

* If your note/tube lengths for a chord or scale go outside Chuck's "Ideal Length range, its better to have the longer, lower toned notes in the "Range". The higher notes are less critical. If it is important to you to get a lower toned tube for a particular scale, then use a different diameter tube for it. (i.e. see the "A minor" set plans on Chuck's page)

NODE POINT:

* The longer the tube, (1rst natural tuning) the more critical the node point selection becomes. Even an error of a half-inch will dampen the desired primary tone and allow the overtones to dominate.

TOP HANGER/HALO DIAMETER SELECTION

* The diameter of the top hanger determines the spacing of the tubes from each other. If you get them too close together, they strike each other in higher winds. If they are too far apart, the striker can pass between them. I shoot for a spacing between the tubes that is at least the tube diameter. (2" tube = 2" spacing, and this borders on being too close, especially on longer tubes)

I compute mine by calculating the required circumference distance like this... 6 2" tubes plus 6 2" spaces equals 24". Since the diameter is the circumference divided by pi, this results in a little over 71/2" diameter. Allowing for the tubes to be hung so that their diameter falls inside the hanger, you must ADD two inches to the top's diameter, making it 9.6". (I would go ahead and make it 10", because 2" spacing IS a little close anyway)

STRIKER MATERIAL SELECTION

This is my biggest problem... and gets into personal taste.

The higher tones of the small diameter tubes require a hard, even metallic striker. No problem.

The low toned larger diameters need a softer material (wood, Plexiglas, rubber, etc.) BUT... they also need a harder "Strike", which means that they must be heavier and have enough distance from the tube to get that inertia going - which brings us to...

THE SAIL:

Jim and Chuck have this well-covered on their WebPages, and Brent has written a book on it here, but here are some things to remember...

* The sail must be heavy enough to move the striker and not just spin or swing away all by itself. I have learned to make them heavier than the recommended 25% of the striker's weight, but this requires them to have a greater surface area to catch enough wind.

* If you shoot for perfection and hang the sail exactly balanced, it will probably spin more than move laterally. I try to make one side heavier than the other yet has less surface area, so that it will "side-slip" in the wind. It can still be suspended so that it hangs evenly - you just have to experiment a bit.�� Brew

href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/windchimeconstruction/post?postID=NgiY9jYu7xVC7Xteru95dNBzLhar4mdU9Gju4L9BNub_JncxeOigKSqAt4vL1I6WN6zP1QpLng">bmh1944@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri Mar 4, 2005 10:46 pm
Subject: Re:� 7/8 Steel Conduit. Attempt

Zcat;

As I warned earlier, the Korg tuner is assuming a "harmonic" instrument, so it picks the most predominant frequency and gives you a reading. Unfortunately, if your strike has excited one of the non-harmonic overtones to a greater degree than
the fundamental, you will get an erroneous reading from the Korg.

Again, use something that you can trust as being "in tune" like a little synthesized keyboard (pianos are notoriously out of tune), and use the old ear-ball comparison to decide if you're pretty much in tune, a little sharp, or a little flat. If you're sharp, you're screwed because you can't make that tube longer, so recycle it for one of the shorter tubes. If the note is a bit flat, only file off about 1/32" at the most before rechecking the tuning each time.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember is WHERE you strike the tube. Striking the tube anywhere other than the exact middle of its length or at one end will tend to excite the non-harmonic overtones a little more than the fundamental. Usually, the best and purest note is achieved by a center strike. So, if you are going to strike the tubes manually, it would be a good idea to find the exact center of each tube, use a piece of masking tape as a guide, and draw a line all the way around the tube with a magic marker - that will be your "strike zone" for the best and most consistent note.

It is also wise to try your best to strike the tube with the same object (preferably, hard wood, hard rubber, or hard plastic with a relatively sharp edge), and try to strike the tube with the same amount of force each time. It might not hurt to experiment a little with different materials used as a striker to see which particular one seems to give the purest sounding note and most consistent performance.�� Brent

From: Brew <brewmeister999@yahoo.com>
Subject: Some Observations

From: "Brent" <bmh1944@yahoo.com>
Subject: Mark's Lonely Chimes

Mark;
�
Charles has just related some very good concepts which echo most of my past ramblings which underscore the fact that building windchimes is NOT an exact science. While the Euler-based math and physical principles used to figure resonant lengths or tubes or rods ARE an exact science in computing what modes and frequencies will be present, they DO NOT relate the relative amplitudes of each mode that will be produced - they DO NOT indicate just how each individual's hearing efficiency/deficiency will combine with the brain's "fuzzy logic" in a perception of what is being produced - and they DO NOT predict the tremendously varied degree of dampening effect that results from using different suspension methods or suspension line.

There is much good information that's been previously authored by pioneers like Jim Kirkpatrick and Jim Haworth, which I always recommend to any beginner. Once a novice has gotten the elemental concepts well in mind, then it's time to progress on to Chuck's website to get much deeper into the nitty-gritty of just how complex things can dive into the math and physics realm of this hobby/addiction/obsession.

If you go back to many past postings, you'll see that Brew, Marty, and many others here have given lengthy advice about their past and present experience while I've provided terribly wordy dissertations that will put you into a state unconsciousness almost as fast as a lightning strike. After one trods through all of the diverse, but successful, methods of achieving a good end result, it becomes obvious that getting a tube to produce some relatively predicted range of frequencies is only the first elemental step. However, what particular tone/sound you perceive (and how long it sustains) as an end result will have NO CONCRETE RULES because every different type of metal, OD, length, wall thickness, tube weight, suspension technique, type of suspension media, length of suspension media, striker composition, and strike point will all produce variables that only experimentation will fine tune into what is "best" for that particular set of chimes in your personal assessment.

My bottom line advice for any novice windchime builder is DO NOT try to re-invent the wheel. Chuck and Jack have spent many hours of research, mathematical/physics quantification, and practical experimentation to derive and post the latest, most reliable, free information on the planet at Chuck's website. Anyone who knows that Chuck would rather suck on the tailpipe of a running diesel bus than to sit down and write anything at length will fully appreciate his lengthy efforts to enlighten everyone about windchime construction. If you are not an experimenter/tinker who enjoys polishing up the
already-invented wheel a bit, or are one who simply wants to make a single set of good sounding chimes, then just use one of Chuck's very detailed plans (yup, even got pictures and stuff) to build something that will work very well.

Once you've built something using sound and proven plans, then build on those basic concepts (through experimentation) if you wish to tread into the unknown on your own. However, going into that zone of unquestionable frustration will require a high degree of patience.

I think I'm going to copy this to re-post for all new members because I'm beginning to bore myself with my own redundancy. Understand that building many different types of good sounding windchimes is very akin to providing good sex. If you don't know the basics, learn them from those who are experienced masters. Never think that you or anyone else knows everything about the subject. Always remember to build on the sound basics of what works, continue to learn through experimentation with new twists or innovations of proven concepts, and never grow complacent with mundane repetition.�� Brent

From: "Michael Ballou" <ballou.family@verizon.net>
Subject: Re: Simple and reasonable

> On Monday, March 7, 2005, at 05:26 PM, archangel14972000 wrote:
>
> Clearly harmonic sounds appear to be more reasonable to cultivate.

> What material do I use to promote the most beautiful harmonic notes
> in my soon to be attempted wind chime????
>
> Katie

Pluck a stringed instrument and you get the string vibrating over its entire length as a single unit. The vibration creates compression waves in the air, and that is what you hear.

Strike the side of a chime and you get the same type of displacement vibration, AND you create vibrations within the material of the chime itself, which propagate in four principle modes that are based on the way the particles oscillate. Sound can propagate as longitudinal waves, shear waves, surface waves, and in thin materials as plate waves.

In longitudinal waves, the oscillations occur in the longitudinal direction or the direction of wave propagation. These are also referred to as compression waves. When you strike the chime the compression wave travels directly through the chime wall and bounces back from the inner wall.

In the transverse or shear wave, the particles oscillate at a right angle or transverse to the direction of propagation. When you strike the chime the shear wave travels at an angle from the strike point and bounces between the front and back surface of the chime wall toward the ends of the tube. On contacting the end of the tube they will bounce back.

Surface or Rayleigh waves travel the surface of a relative thick solid material (more than one wave length in thickness) penetrating to a depth of one wavelength. The particle movement has an elliptical orbit. Rayleigh waves are very sensitive to surface irregularities and will follow the surface around curves, etc. This means that in a tube the surface wave will travel both towards the ends of the tube and around the circumference of the tube.

If you are using a thin walled tube you can generate plate or lamb waves. Lamb waves are a complex vibration wave that travels through the entire thickness of a material. Propagation of Lamb waves depends on density, elasticity, and material properties of the tube, and they are influenced a great deal by frequency and material thickness. With Lamb waves, a number of modes of particle vibration are possible. The complex motion of the particles is similar to the elliptical orbits for surface waves.

All of these waves travel in different directions, at different depths, and different speeds. They can interact with each other; interfere with each other, or through mode conversion change from one wave type to another.

Want it simple and reasonable; get a guitar.�� Mike

From: cllsj
Subject: Re: 7/8 Steel Conduit. Attempt

If there is a measurement to be made I always let the nearest machinist do the honors. While waiting for the machinist to find a micrometer, the other day I picked up the telescope gage and tried to get it set. When the machinist came back I promptly handed the gage over and said, "You do it". I do enough work with my hands to know that I'm no match for a skilled tech.

I know that I should always have my calculation checked and double checked before something I said is safe to fly is actually flown. I don't consider a drawing I've done checked until the machinist finishes making the part from it.

To top all that off I'm a terrible writer. Just ask my boss to has to proof read all my memos.

Please note that hardness and temper are not included in the equations for the speed of sound that I gave in my last post. The transverse natural frequency (I'm not sure about all those other modes mentioned in another post) is depend only on the physical size of the tube which I have no doubt that you measured carefully and accurately and the speed of sound of the material. So for this application steel is steel and not that much different from aluminum. At least as far the numerical value of the frequency is concerned.

As noted by others here and not just on my own experience, my calculator works fairly well for the first natural frequency. So I have trouble understand how your tubes ended up being so far off.

See I'm still a jerk, with too much ego, and a master�s degree.�� Chuck

From: "Brent" <bmh1944@yahoo.com>
Subject: Marimbas And Stuff

If I am "getting it" (thanks Brent), the marimbas resonators are resonant, but not necessarily harmonic, but the wooden keys are harmonic (like springs). A combination, and thus, more complicated than I can yet comprehend. Anybody know?

(dumb looking z-kid raises his hand and asks;)
Professor Brent, My brain is full, may I be excused?
Z

Zcat;
I'm glad you mentioned a marimba; and if you don't get too bored, I'll explain why it's such a unique instrument with no equal except for the vibraphone (vibraharp, or just vibes). I'll also have to back up and eat a little crow from my previous erroneous statement about no musical instrument being capable of producing both overtones and harmonics - ahem, would someone please pass the salt?

For the most part, a xylophone is usually only a purely percussion-type "overtone" instrument. It can have either "tuned" wooden or metal keys, which produce a fundamental frequency, and many non-harmonic overtones just like a chime tube. While some xylophones use a few resonator tubes on the lower keys, the marimba and vibraphone use resonator tubes on almost all of the keys.

Let me take a quick digression from the subject to relate a concept used in electronic RF circuits. There's a device called a "mixer" and another device known as a "multiplier"; the mixer is where two different frequencies are mixed together with an output that contains the two original frequencies, their sum frequency, and their difference frequency - while the multiplier simply takes a base frequency and kicks it up to an infinite number of higher harmonic frequencies. In both cases, there is an output filled with many frequencies; so a resonant circuit is designed to only resonate (and pass) one of those desired frequencies from the mixture for further use or processing - while all other frequencies are rejected by this resonant "filter" circuit.

Such a concept was used with both the marimba and vibraphone to literally "marry" an overtone instrument with a harmonic instrument. The keys or bars on both instruments produce a fundamental frequency and non-harmonic overtones just as a chime tube does; but the tube "resonator" is installed just below (but not physically touching) the key, and is actually an air-resonant, harmonic device (like a horn or pipe organ tube) which acts as a resonant filter and mechanical amplifier for the fundamental mode of the "overtone" key when it is struck.

The resonator tube is not in mechanical "overtone" vibration like a chime tube because it has a fixed/free suspension with a forced upper node, and has been "length/volume tuned" for a particular air-column resonance frequency (with mechanical pressure-wave amplification) like a horn or pipe organ produces. So, the resonator tube is not only a "harmonic" device, but acts as a filter/amplifier to pretty much send only the air-amplified harmonic aspects of the fundamental frequency produced by an "overtone" device to the listener - wow, is that a mouthful or what?

The major difference between the marimba and vibraphone is the marimba has hardwood keys and the vibraphone uses only metal keys; additionally, the vibraphone has small rotating disks inside each resonator tube to produce a "vibrato" effect in the output tone (hence, the term "vibes").�� Brent

From: "Brent" <bmh1944@yahoo.com>
Subject: Posting "Safety Tips" For Linda

Even though the following has nothing to do with windchime construction, Linda wanted everyone in the group to get this, and hopefully pass it on to their wives and daughters. I think it is good advice because I used to teach a self-defense course for women, so I'll post it for Linda since she was having a little trouble doing it.

Subject: Please Read These Safety Tips

We can now add to the list of victims the retired 77 yr. old TCU professor from Ft Worth whose body was found last week in Oklahoma--and the 11 yr.old in Sarasota, FL. Because of these recent abductions in daylight hours, refresh yourself of these things to do in an emergency situation...This is for you, and for you to share with your spouse, your children, everyone you know. After reading this, forward it to someone you care about. It never hurts to be careful in this
crazy world we live in.

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!

2. Learned this from a tourist guide in New Orleans. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you....chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives.

4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON'T DO THIS!) The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.

5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage:
A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat.
B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out.
IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)

6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot).

7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN!

8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP. It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good- looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked "for help" into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.

9. Another Safety Point: Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her "Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door." The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, "We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do,
DO NOT open the door." He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night. Please pass this on and DO NOT open the door for a crying baby because "Crying Baby theory" was mentioned on America's Most Wanted this past Saturday when they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana.

I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know. It may save a life. A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle. I was going to send this to the ladies only, but guys, if you love your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you may want to pass it onto them, as well. Send this to any woman you know that may need to be reminded that the world we live in has a lot of crazies in it and it's better

Links:

Making Wind Chimes by Jim Haworth

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Updated 3-24-05