MAKING A PORTABLE WINDCHIME RACK Art Hunkins abhunkin@uncg.edu www.arthunkins.com 5/1/12 I want my windchimes to be portable. I want to be able to move them to where there is appropriate wind, to face them into the wind as desired, and to readily change location. I need a rack that is easy to set up, tear down, and that travels in the back of a station wagon. It must accommodate a mid- to large-size set of up to 8 windchimes. It must also be simple in design (so I can build it myself), and inexpensive. Here is what I came up with. Materials (all available at Lowe's): 3 pieces, 10' x 2" PVC pipe 6 pieces, 2" 90-degree PVC elbows 2 pieces, 2" sanitary PVC tees small can of PVC cement sandpaper (for deburring) Optional (basic hardware to attach chime header): 1 piece, 1/4" x 4" (or longer) eye bolt 2 pieces, 1/4" x 1 1/4" fender washers 1 piece, 1/4" x 20 nylon wing nut Tools: a power or hand saw (a hacksaw works fine) With a power saw, protective goggles are recommended, to avoid flying chips. 1.4" drill (to mount header hardware) Fabrication: 1) Cut one PVC pipe in half (5' sections). 2) Cut another PVC pipe into 4', 4' and 2' sections. 3) Cut the third PVC pipe into 4', 2', 2' and 2' sections. You end up with 2 5' sections, 3 4' sections, and 4 2' sections. 4) Deburr all cut ends. Cementing: 5) Glue an elbow to one end of a 4' PVC section. 6) Glue a 2' PVC section to the other end of the elbow. 7) Repeat steps 5 and 6 with another 4' section, elbow and 2' PVC. These two constructions form most of the ground support for the rack (they will lay flat). 8) Glue two more elbows to the ends of another 4' section. IMPORTANT: the two elbows must face in the same direction and be in the same plane. (Place this segment on a flat surface to guarantee the desired result.) This piece is the top (crossbar) of the rack. 9) Glue the odd leg of a tee to a 5' section of PVC. 10) Glue the odd leg of another tee to the other 5' section. 11) Glue a 2' PVC section to one remaining leg of the tee from step 9. 12) Glue the last 2' section to the OPPOSITE remaining leg of the tee from step 10. Note that the two tees now have their opposite legs open. 13) Lay the two 5' constructions you've created in steps 9-12 on a flat surface like two L's, one inside the other. They will look identical except that their tees will be sloping in opposite directions. 14) Glue one of the remaining elbows to the end of each 2' section (from steps 11-13) *facing directly up*. IMPORTANT: the elbows must be at exact right angles to the other pieces. These two constructions are the sides of the rack, and the remainder of the ground support. Note: once assembled, the slopes of both tees will point in the same direction. Assembly: 15) When everything is thoroughly dry, assemble. All unglued joints are friction fit. It is easiest to first lay out the ground support pieces (from step 7) in a 4' square, leaving a portion of each side open. IMPORTANT: the open portions are right side front, left side rear. Then fit the 2' sections of the vertical pieces (step 14) into the open slots. Finally, attach the top crossbar (step 8). 16) Snug up all friction-fit joints. To hang the chimes: Drill a 1/4" vertical hole completely through the crossbar at its midpoint. Be sure to keep it truly vertical. If the headpiece of your chime rigidly attaches to the bar, extend the top hole 1/2" to each side, perpendicular to the bar. (This allows for vertical adjustment of the headpiece.) After adding a lower washer to the eye bolt (plus any other hardware you require), thread the bolt through the bottom hole, then the top. Add the upper washer, then the wing nut, and tighten. The eye of the suspending bolt is 5' 2" from the ground. Space Requirements: For transport, broken down, the rack fits in a space 2.5' by 5' 4". See pictures of this project in the "Portable Windchime Rack" photo album.