I began handcrafting wind chimes and chime trees around the same time I learned how to solve partial differential equations by separating variables, as a sophomore at UTD in Prof. MacAlevey's class. This helped me take ownership of my education and provided some intuition and appreciation for wave phenomena.
To assemble a wind chime, I first formulate a tuning and calculate the appropriate lengths of the chimes using the relation \(f \propto \ell^{-2}\), where \(f\) is the frequency and \(\ell\) is the length of the chime. I then procure the metals (6061 aluminium alloy), make the appropriate cuts using a hacksaw, fine-tune the bars with a hand file, and finally string the chimes together. The strikers are made of hematite, and the windcatcher and hanging base are 3D-printed. Below are some of my favorite results.