Chiff and Fipple Forums

So I had a high D whistle printed on a 3D printer using a design from thingiverse.com. I cleaned it up and put the 3 pieces together. The pieces (fipple, a short section above the holes, and the lower section with holes) fit together well, and I sanded the outside of the section with the holes to smooth out the printer lines). I can play g, a b, c and D, but I can't play d, e or f. It seems like I can't blow soft enough to make the note without breaking octave.
I am new to tin whistles and this is my first attempt to make a whistle. Any tuning ideas?
Thanks.

Mike

Try trimming the blade (a.k.a. labium, or splitting edge) back so it is farther away from the exit of the windway. Go slowly--tiny fractions of a millimeter at a time. Depending on how the material works, use a sharp knife, sharp chisel, file, or maybe an emery board. Ensure that the underside of the edge stays clean. In my view, it is not important that the splitting edge present a sharp edge to the airflow, only that it be straight across.

BTW, the Helmholtz-style naming convention is to use upper-case for the lower octave, D to B, lower-case for the next octave, c to b, and c' and d' for high C and high D. But I think I got your meaning.

Thanks for the recommendation on the fipple - I'll try it this evening. Also, that for the help with the notation!

I also have a thread about my feadog that I almost ruined, and I've tried applying what I learned there to this whistle. I've added a small piece of credit card under the blade on the fipple, but I can only get the whistle to make a sound when playing a B (or sometimes an A too). Here is a photo of the 3D printed whistle next to my feadog. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

https://ibb.co/1XT0sZZ

Mike

A leak could cause this problem. Why three sections instead of two?

You might try some cork grease, chapstik, or wax gasket on the joints.

chas wrote:A leak could cause this problem. Why three sections instead of two?

You might try some cork grease, chapstik, or wax gasket on the joints.

three sections would be a lot easier to print on a lot of 3d printers, which have a limited print area. I ran into that same issue when I was experimenting with 3d printing a few months ago. While a big company like Shapeways can 3d print on huge, expensive machines, most home/hobby level machines would have a bed size too small to print a whistle body in one piece.

I used a design from Thingiverse that has three sections. The fipple is one section, the holes are are the second section, and the third piece is a blank (no holes) piece between the fipple and holes.

I put chapstick on both joints but really ddin't notice much of a change, but when I removed the little piece of credit card that I had attached to the blade, I found I could play G - C/Cnat. It just gets screechy on the lower notes.

Wanderer wrote:

chas wrote:A leak could cause this problem. Why three sections instead of two?

You might try some cork grease, chapstik, or wax gasket on the joints.

three sections would be a lot easier to print on a lot of 3d printers, which have a limited print area. I ran into that same issue when I was experimenting with 3d printing a few months ago. While a big company like Shapeways can 3d print on huge, expensive machines, most home/hobby level machines would have a bed size too small to print a whistle body in one piece.

Thanks, mon, makes sense.

Which 3D whistle did you use?

I have printed one off, and have some problems.....

EDIT I printed off a three section constant-bore whistle. I think it was https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:581661 but I am not at the machine at present. It sounds very much like the one that you describe.

The head looks as if it should fit over the tube - its that sort of style - so I 'cleaned off' the top of the tube and inserted tube into head. I got very weak notes that were out of tune. When I compared the whistle to a 'real' one I realised that it was way too short. The tube is not long enough to insert into the head. I will print out another short section of tube and remedy this. As a work-around with the tube only just inserted into the head the notes get a lot stronger.

Another thing that could go wrong would be gluing the section with holes the wrong way round. Post an image and it should be obvious to us.

HTH

Phil -
Yes, that's the design that I used. When I put all of the pieces together the whistle is about the same length as my other whistles. I'm hoping to get a new fipple printed so I can try again.
Thanks!

Mike

Reading all of the above, I'm curious why the interest in 3D printing the body of the whistle. Seems like a simple metal tube and a drill press would be easier and cheaper than trying to print it. Given that the whistle head is more complicated and the more detailed part of the instrument, printing effort might be more focused there.

What am I missing?

Best wishes.

Steve

Alaskamike wrote:Phil -
Yes, that's the design that I used. When I put all of the pieces together the whistle is about the same length as my other whistles. I'm hoping to get a new fipple printed so I can try again.
Thanks!

Mike

My mistake trying to recess the tube into the head then.

Steve Bliven wrote:Reading all of the above, I'm curious why the interest in 3D printing the body of the whistle. Seems like a simple metal tube and a drill press would be easier and cheaper than trying to print it. Given that the whistle head is more complicated and the more detailed part of the instrument, printing effort might be more focused there.

What am I missing?

Best wishes.

Steve

Nothing, Steve. Nothing at-all. *I* am missing a drillpress, a selection of bits, metal tubing...... and a burning desire for more constant-bore whistles I do however have access to a 3d printer at work and thought that I would learn about it doing something vaguely interesting. As a production technique it leaves a lot to be desired..... a lot of finishing required, it seems. I have a vague idea that I might use some CAD software to reduce the window-width for a much quieter whistle (save on bluetack).

Pretty much the same here. I have a drill press, but it is buried somewhere in my garage. We also have a 3D printer at work, and I thought it would be a good way to learn aboout the printer and make a whistle.
I've also come to understand that I enjoy making things more than I like using them, although I hope to keep learning how to play the tin whistle for many years to come.

After reading Steve's comment I decided to try an experiment. I took the copper body of a feadog and put my 3D printed fipple on it - with a ring of blu tack to seal it. It actually worked! It wasn't anywhere near being in tune, but I could play a scale with it. So my next task is to find a piece of 15mm OD copper (or PVC) tubing. I think the 3D printed body is just too porous.

Mike