Making Bamboo Wind Chimes

                                                                                                                                   By Jim Haworth

We didn’t always have professional weather forecasters that told us what weather to expect. Our ancestors were able to make pretty good short-term forecasts by knowing local weather patterns and making observations to compare with their own experiences. Even without instruments they were able to see the direction and speed of the wind, cloud formations, the temperature of the air on their skin, etc. to help them determine what sort of weather was coming. By using tools like weather vanes and wind chimes they could get an indication of what weather to expect.

In my area of the world, a wind from the north or northwest means a cold front is passing bringing colder weather or perhaps rain. A wind from the northeast means a storm coming in from the ocean, especially in the winter.    By placing different sounding chimes in particular sheltered areas and listening to the intensity of their sound, you can hear a change in wind direction and speed. This is how people, for thousands of years, have used wind chimes.          

Consider making bamboo wind chimes. It is natural, renewable, and easy on the environment. Its chimes produce a soft, relaxing sound.

Bamboo plants are living organisms, its stalks, called culms, are divided into sections by nodes or diaphragms. The walls vary in thickness, density, hardness, and amount of water, which is affected by humidity. Because it has so many variables, it is almost impossible to perfectly tune its chimes to exact notes as it is in metal tubular chimes. Lovers of bamboo don’t mind this. Many people say the sound reminds them of geese talking, branches rubbing against each other in the breeze, or the sound of water bubbling over stones in a cool mountain glen.

There are a few limitations to working with this material, so you should understand them and learn to cope if your project is to be successful.

Although the culms may crack as they dry, this is not something to be concerned about as it is a natural process. Some people purchase dried culms at crafts stores so cracking becomes one less thing to think about. They can still split as you work with them, so be prepared to accept this.

Bamboo is a grass and will grow in a large part of the globe so you may be fortunate enough to have a stand of this marvelous plant nearby. If you would like to dry and work with your own green bamboo, then this next section is for you.

If you already have a supply of bamboo that is ready to turn into chimes, scroll down to the tools section and go on from there.

 

How to Harvest and Dry Bamboo

For the purposes of making a bamboo chime, it may be better to begin working with the bamboo while it is green or at least only partly dried. This may prevent some of the splitting that could occur as it dries.

 First of all, there is no one best method to dry the material. Some will produce more splitting; others will make the culms split less. Various methods work better for some people than others. It’s not worth arguing over which is the “best” way to dry bamboo. If your method works for you, that is all that matters.

Use mature culms about three years old, not more than seven. Too young and the strength will not be at maximum, too old and the canes will be brittle. The older bamboo is before harvesting, the more silica it has and the less moisture. Dry out of the sun so uneven bleaching will not mar the evenness of the color. If you dry them in sunlight, turn them from time to time so they don’t become paler on one side.

 The lower two-thirds of the culms are generally stronger and less likely to split. The bottoms have greater strength, thickness, and the nodes are closer together. You may have to use the upper part for chimes anyway; since they may be of the smaller size you want for your chimes. Cut more pieces from the tops to make up for greater likelihood of cracking as they dry.

 Find a place to store your homegrown bamboo; you never know when you’ll need a long pole or two.

Sometimes you will run into one of those species of bamboo that split no matter what you do. Try another species. Leave the leaves attached when you cut the stalks. The leaves will draw out much of the water and then drop off. Stack upright as loosely as you can, perhaps against a wall or place then horizontally, tic-tac-toe style, but in no case let them rest on the ground. Bamboo rots easily. Air must be allowed to circulate to prevent the growth of fungus, which live on the sugars in the culm. Fungus will deteriorate the strength of the stalks and the stains will be uneven and deep.

Air-drying will take from two weeks to several months depending on temperature, humidity, amount of water in the stalks, etc. Some people let the stalks dry for three years, the theory being that the ones that haven’t split will not split later. Some believe cracking can be reduced by breaking through the nodal membranes with a long drill bit or a piece of rebar. The rebar is rough, and if you work it up and down after you punch through all the nodes, it will help ream out the nodes. You should bore out the nodes anyway so the sound will be better. Chimes will be muffled with the nodes in place because they inhibit the walls from vibrating and producing the sound. You may also cut the pieces to length while they are still green or semi green and then let them dry naturally. This way the final stages of drying will take place after the chimes have been completed and you may experience less cracking.

If you keep cracking the culms when drilling out nodes, wrap masking tape tightly several times around each node. Use the back of your fingernail to press the tape down to really adhere it. It may strengthen the node enough to keep it intact when you drill.

No method of drying and working with culms will prevent splitting entirely. Expect it. Even if a chime splits later, some people still enjoy the sounds. You may want to use only split pieces to make chimes. See how split bamboo sounds to you. Hold a piece loosely and tap it with another bit of bamboo. Like the sound? Go with an all split bamboo chime or perhaps mix them with whole round chimes.

Harvest when the weather is drier to cut down drying time. In some parts of the world there is a definite dry season. In others there is a dry period of several weeks in the middle of the growing season, even though there may be occasional showers. Temperate areas have a winter when the plants go dormant. Late autumn and the winter are when to cut here. After the dry season or in the spring, the new shoots will start up and you could damage them as you harvest the older stalks.

To cut down the stalks, use a razor sharp handsaw for larger pieces and a sharp knife for smaller ones. When harvesting bamboo, keep the stalks upright and don’t let them lean over when you cut so your blade doesn’t get pinched.  A pinch may cause a split at the bottom or make a small fracture you can’t even see that splits later as it dries. Support the longer pieces as you cut them to size so they don’t split. Avoid scarring the culms when cutting, drying or storing, it improves the appearance of your final product.

Get help when harvesting if to make the work less taxing and quicker. For instance one could hold the culms upright while the other cuts and another carries them away.   There are now battery powered reciprocating saws with rechargeable power packs. To lessen splintering, saw partly through one side then complete the cut from the other side to meet in the middle.

 

Preserving Cut Bamboo

Freshly cut bamboo has its own problems if left untreated, such as attacks by powder post beetles whose larvae burrow into the tissue and leave behind a fine powder. A pile of shredded, powdery bamboo is only fit for the fire. Fungus will decay the bamboo or leave it stained with gray, black, blue or brown discoloration. Bleaching will help, but the correct drying and storing will help to prevent these problems.

There are many are many products out there to treat and preserve the culms. We, however are not going to recommend chemicals, as there is just too much we don’t know about their long term effects on ourselves or the environment. Many countries, including the U.S., do not have official institutions working with bamboo that may give us guidance into the safety of chemical preservatives. We are on our own in most cases.

For years people have used boron or boric acid to treat bamboo. With proper precautions it has worked very well, but this may change in the future as research continues.

  Traditional Methods of Protection (Without Chemicals)

Controlling starches and sugars after harvesting

In bamboos, sugars/starches are the principal nutrients for insects and fungi. Lowering the nutrient level helps bamboo become less attractive to its enemies. This is accomplished by:

      1.      Cutting bamboo in the dormant season when much of the nutrients are stored in the roots.

      2.      Harvesting at maturity (3 to 7 years) when sugar is lower.

     3.      Dry culms upright for a few days with leaves and branches left on. Plant cells continue to live for a time as the leaves draw out the water and use up some of the stored food as they continue their normal life processes. Thus, the level of sugar and starch content is lowered.

      4.      Another method is to immerse the culms completely in water for 4 to 12 weeks. Drilling or knocking out the nodes first will shorten soaking time, as the water will work from both sides of the culm walls. A dash of detergent or soap will help the penetration of the water. The water-soluble carbohydrates will leach out, leaving little food to feed insects and fungus. Then air dry until the culms are free of moisture.

Baking over open fire

Another traditional preservation method is to bake green bamboo over a gentle fire. First apply oil over the entire surface of the culms, and then rotate constantly. Use vegetable oil; it stinks less than, say, used engine oil. Be careful not to get the stalks too close to the hottest part of the fire for obvious reasons. Careful, gentle heating will slightly char the wood, which is an effect some people strive for. Some believe the heat decomposes starch and sugars. Others think that as the water evaporates, the oil soaks into the culms, thus making it unpalatable for insects and fungi. Whichever theory is correct, the end result is the same.

Use common sense when working with fire. Carelessness increases the possibility of a sudden bamboo fire burning up your carefully harvested stock.  In some parts of the world a smoky, smelly, open fire will attract the attention of the authorities.

Hot flame processing

Some recommend the quick fire method where the newly cut culm is heated along its entire length with a propane torch.

My grandmother used to take a large iron skillet and pour a couple of pounds of sugar into it and heat it until the sugar melted into a liquid brown mass. When it cooled, the liquid became a brittle, somewhat sticky layer about one half inch thick in the bottom of the pan. My grandfather would them take a hammer and gently break it into bite sized pieces and give it to the grandchildren for a treat.

Heat also transforms sugar in the culm into another form.

First, the green or slightly dried culms have their nodes holed, either with a drill or a piece of rebar. The water in the bamboo tissues will keep the inner part from burning, only the outer surface will have a superficial brown color imparted to it. Carefully using the propane torch will result in a uniform brown color. Careful scraping or sanding will remove some of the brown to give you the look you want.

The propane torch flame is moved up and down the culm, rotating it until it turns dark brown on its surface. It can be left this way or immediately coated with wax, which melts and the excess is carefully wiped away. The sugar probably hardens somewhat like glue and stays pliable, if it doesn’t get too hot and become brittle. Experimentation and experience will teach you to know when to stop the heating. The bamboo will not be entirely dry, but it can air dry for a couple of weeks to finish off the process.

This doesn’t work so well with dried bamboo because much of the water will be gone and heat may change the sugar into a form that will not be elastic, making the culm more prone to splitting and cracking.   

Tools for making bamboo chimes

These are just suggestions, you may get by nicely with a few tools such as a portable drill, a saw with fine teeth, and a sharp knife.

 

      1.   A Dremel type portable grinding/cutting/polishing tool.

      2.   Drill, either cordless or wired.

      3.   Sharp knife 

      4.    Box cutter/razor blade.

5.    Small files, flat and rounded.

6.    Small saw with very small teeth such as a hacksaw or Japanese pull saw.

7.    Power scroll saw or band saw. -$100 to $150 at Sears

8.    Drill press.

9.    Crafting wood carving knife with an assortment of blades.

10.   Sand paper.

11.  Glue gun or use liquid Gorilla glue (expensive but great for outdoors or indoors).

12.  Wood burning set to do inlays.

How to make the bamboo chimes

You can suspend the chimes one of two ways. You could drill two holes opposite each other in the sides to put your string through or suspend them from the very top of the piece. When you drill out the bamboo nodes, leave the very last one at the top of the chime and drill a very small hole down through the node. Then later, when you assemble the chimes, snake your string down through the hole until it comes out the bottom of the chime. Tie a big enough knot in the end of the string so it won’t come out of the small hole and pull it back up until it catches at the hole. For both suspension methods you will probably want to cut the culms so the top node is about one centimeter or one half inch from the top end of the chime. This produces a neater appearance than having the nodes at random places near the top.

Suspend chimes from half a coconut shell, a larger diameter bamboo piece, (perhaps splitting it in half and put it over a line of bamboo chimes like a roof), driftwood, and an interesting tree branch. There are many pictures of bamboo chimes on the Internet. My favorite place is the Ebay.com auction site. If you use the search feature and type in bamboo chime, you can see examples of how others have set up their chimes. Perhaps you will be inspired to copy one or two of them.

If you drill out through bamboo, you cause splintering. When you drill completely through the stalk, you will often have small splinters on the outside of the culm where the drill bit emerges. Use the masking tape to tightly wrap around the area where you want the holes and drill through the tape to minimize splintering. If there are splinters, use a razor blade to carefully cut them off, then remove the tape. Drill the holes soon after cutting the stalks to size. That way you can throw away any mistakes and try again.

Try drilling completely through both sides with the smallest drill bit you have. Now put in the larger drill bit. Then drill into one side then the other side toward the center of the culm. This should cut down the splintering around the holes.

The entire chime assemble is supported by a ring at the top. It should consist of some non rusting material. You can cut a quarter inch wide ring from one inch copper pipe and de-burr it. An item called a quick link will also support the weight of the chime assembly. It is oval in shape with a  small nut on one side that closes the link. A plastic ring is OK, but the sun's ultra violet rays may weaken it in time, and it does hold a lot of weight.

Some chimers use those large swivels you can buy in the fishing section  of some stores. The swivels have a snap at one end, like a safety pin anduse a closed swivel at the other end. Use only the stainless steel variety  rather than the brass kind. Steel ones are more expensive but they will hold up much longer, will  not corrode and are stronger.

Attach three or four four strings, wires, or chains between the ring and the cap that supports the chimes. Try to keep the assembly level because this will affect the way the chime hangs. Keep your eyes open when in crafts stores, flea markets, garage sales and so forth to find non-rusting plates or rings that you can use to suspend your chimes from.

Each chime may be hung with its own string or you could use one long string and weave it through each chime up through a hole in the top, then down another hole to the next chime. Finally, it is tied and all chimes are attached to the top piece with one string. The advantage is that each chime can be easily adjusted up or down to get the effect you want. If the line breaks, however, more than one chime may hit the ground. Best hang it in a spot with a soft landing underneath.

  You can suspend the chimes so that their bottom ends are roughly at the same level. Perhaps you may prefer that the chimes are the same distance from the top. The clapper can be placed in the middle of the chimes or near the bottom. Some people use two clappers.

The support cap should be made of wood about five inches in diameter for five or six chimes. The round should be hardwood about 3/4 inch thick. Sometimes we go out to the woodpile with a chain saw and cut the pieces we need from appropriate sized logs. They  give the chime a rustic look and no two are alike. Polyurethane or paint will help protect wood from the effects of the weather. If you are handy, you could cut round pieces to hang the chime.The top may be constructed of exterior plywood or boards.

 Why not use a shape that corresponds to the number of chimes--triangle, square, pentagon, hexagon. Use a ruler, protractor, and compass (remember it from school? Pointy leg and pencil leg) to make sides which are then cut with an ordinary wood saw. An article on drawing and cutting out various shapes can be found by clicking here.

 Let's talk about the strings. When you make bamboo chimes, you may suspend them with plastic string or monofilament. Any place that sells fishing supplies will stock monofilament line. The labels will say something like six-pound test, ten-pound test, thirty-pound test, etc. This tells you how much weight it will take to break the line. A six-pound test line will be much thinner and easier to break than a thirty-pound test line. Get a higher strength line, the flimsy line won't last long especially hanging in the sun's UV rays. Monofilament is a kind of plastic and is slippery, so special knots must be used to hold properly. Use a sheetbend knot or fishermman's knot to secure your monofilament line. A double square knot works well. The internet has illustrated instructions on how to tie these and other knots.

 

Square knot

Trimmer line for electric weed whackers is much thicker than fishing monofilament and may also be used. Be sure it isn't  so thick you can't tie it into knots easily. Twisted or braided Nylon string is very sturdy and comes in different colors. A drop of quick setting glue(Crazy Glue)will secure the knots of slippery string.

After we drill small holes into the support cap, the chimes may be hung. Don't place the string up against the sides of the chime, it could reduce the sound.

You will find it is a challenge to keep the top piece level when you use different length chimes. Try putting a temporary string through the holes of each chime with a fish hook at the end of the string to hang the chimes and experiment with their positions. The fishhooks will allow you to move the chimes around rapidly and get the best placing for balance. Simply mark where hooks are and drill a hole on each side of the mark for the chime. It takes some trial and error work to get it right.

 We usually make the striker or clapper of hardwood in a round shape, although plastic will work also. Craft stores sell wooden wheels that are used for making wooden car models. These are good. We also recommend round wooden balls about one inch in diameter. The balls are small enough that in a strong wind, they can leave the circle of chimes and strike them from the outside. We then coat the balls with polyurethane and drill two holes in the middle with a very small drill bit. The string is suspended from the support, passed through the striker and tied to the sail.As an alternative, use a chime in the middle as the striker. It will rub against the other chimes and make sounds even in a light breeze.The sail is the part that catches the wind and moves the clapper. It should be light and have sufficient area that it can move in a light breeze. A piece of glass or heavy wood will take a stronger wind to move it. If you have really strong winds, the sail can be eliminated.

For sails, light plastic, aluminum, thin wood are a few things that will work. Our current favorite sail is a CD disk that the Internet services flood the mails with. Drill it near the top edge, seal the edge of the hole with polyurethane so the aluminum in the disk won't discolor. Now tie it to the clapper string. The ones that are shiny on both sides put on an enjoyable show when the sun reflects off them. OK, it's not as much fun as a bug zapper and a six-pack, but then, we're easily amused.

 

 

Some of this article was lifted from a piece I did on making metal tube wind chimes. http://www.geocities.com/teeley2/chimeart.html 

Articles on creating your own silverware-http://www.geocities.com/teeley2/silver.html or glass chimes-http://www.geocities.com/teeley2/glass.html.

If you would like to join others of a free message board and exchange ideas about non-metal wind chimes try: notmetaltubewindchimes.

 

We hope these instructions will help as you make bamboo wind chimes.