Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Many people love their Corinthian Bell Wind Chimes just the way they are. Then there are a few customer (very few) who report they make too much noise! I find this hard to believe because I had the same issue others have reported in that your rarely get to hear them chime at all. In Googling for a solution I discovered the biggest complaint (for the few that do complain, is these chimes required a really strong sustained wind in order for them to chime with any success. Personally... I tried all the suggestions on the QMT website moving them around my yard, different locations, hanging them at different heights... everything from the eves of our screen porch, to the corner of the house, to a various tree limbs around the yard with little luck . Even in heavier winds I would be lucky to get one or two tubes chiming at best. Even so.. I still believe these are the finest sounding chimes money can buy and when they do chime... the tones are most delightful and they resonate for a really long time. Anyway... by sheer luck I found the solution to get these to regularly chime without having to wait an approaching thunderstorm. I can't take any credit for this as I found it on a machine shop website. Someone named BigBoy1 who makes chimes for a hobby said there was a general rule of thumb to follow when making the wind chime "sail". (The sail is what catches the wind and moves the striker causing it to hit the chime tubes.) Per his guidelines the Corinthian Bell wind chime sails do not adhere to the rule of thumb. Strange because the quality of these chimes is unsurpassed so I figured the folks who make them would know what they were doing... but... after a two seasons of trying everything else I figured I had nothing to loose. I untied and removed the original round wind sail that came with these chimes and installed one I made following his Rule of Thumb instructions below. AMAZING!!! WIND CHIME SAIL MAKING - RULE OF THUMB INSTRUCTIONS: 1) Locate a piece of thin sheet metal. (stainless steel or aluminum) You can usually buy it at your local home improvement or hardware store. If you can't find bulk sheets you can use aluminum gutter flashing usually found in the roofing department. (HINT: Use the thickness of the original sail as a guide. Thinner material is okay but not any thicker as it needs to remain light weight) 2) Cut the new sail. The sail in square inches needs to be equal to 1.5 times the length of the longest tube/pipe in your chime. [For example, if your longest chime tube is 26 inches, then the sail should be equal to "about" 39 square inches] 3) Make the sail rectangular (not square or round) using the approximate ratio of 1 to 2 for the sides. [again, using the above example, for 39 square inches the sail would be approximately 8 5/8 x 4 5/8" ] 4) Once cut to size, drill or punch a hole in one "corner" of your rectangle. (Installing a grommet in the hole will prevent any sharp edges from cutting the string.) NOTE: Hanging the sail by a corner causes it to spin less on its own axis (unlike a round or square sail) and thus has a more random movement in the wind) 5) "Slightly arch / bend the rectangle sail (i.e. bend to give it a very slight curved shape). This prevents the sail from turning parallel to the wind and becoming stagnant. See photo to see the slight bend / arch. FYI: I used aluminum then painted them black to match the chimes. 6) Do not alter the length of the original sail cord on your wind chime (just untie the old sail and tie on the new one you just made) Optional: Although not listed as a rule of thumb, I attached my new sail using a 360 degree fishing swivel to prevent the sail cord from twisting or tangling. (shown in lower left of the photo) If needed, the clip on the swivel will also allow me to swap out the sail without having to untie a knot. RESULTS: With the new sails installed... all of the tubes now chime in the very slightest of breezes! COOL! I love my Corinthian Bells Wind Chimes... but deducted one star since I had to make this sail modification. Ideally the manufacturer would include an optional different size sail for those of us who want to hear the chimes more frequently. On the flip side... all the 5 star reviews can't be wrong, its just that I found it disappointing to be setting on my on a nice breezy day and only getting to hear a single tube gong once every 5 minutes or so. Personally in the 2+ years of ownership, my Corinthian Bells 50 inch chimes never played as well as the recordings you can listen to on the qmtwindchimes dot com website... (until I modified the sail) FYI: I have both the Corinthian Bells 50-inch and Corinthian Bells 29-inch chimes (both tuned to the scale of A) They make a perfect duet! Using the above rules, the new sail for the 50 inch chime is a rectangle 9" by 4 5/8". The new rectangle sail for the 29-inch chimes is 6 3/4" by 3 3/8" Just FYI: (Sail issues aside)... the biggest error most people make when hanging chimes is hanging them from a long string or wire. Ideally your chimes need to be hung on a hook by the original chrome ring located at the top of the chime assembly (or tie the ring to the limb of a tree) If you "add" a length string or wire between the chrome ring at the top of the chimes and the point where you are attaching the chimes, then the entire assembly will have a tendency to swing in the breeze instead of just the sail.