Blame this on a severe case of WhOAD, an overabundance of time to think, and/or laziness, as you prefer. This thought was partially spurred by my current whistle storage system: a drumstick bag. Because I don't want my whistles getting scratched, each is wrapped in a piece of old T-shirt before it goes in the bag. Said pieces of T-shirt can get rather recalcitrant during the wrapping process, and space in the drumstick bag is already getting to be at a premium.

My latest brilliant--or crackpot, depending on your perspective--idea is to put them in a toolbox, such as this one. Of course, if I go that route, I'll need some foam in which I can cut a slot for each whistle. A plastic tackle box of adequate size, without fixed dividers, may also do the trick.

Is there any reason I should not store metal and plastic whistles in a metal toolbox? Or perhaps there is nothing wrong with my current system? If the latter is the case, then I need to figure out how to operate the sewing machine and stitch up "socks" for my whistles (which would eliminate the need to wrap them), and just purchase another drumstick bag when the need arises.

That's a 'serious' tool chest, not even all mechanics have one!

Personally, that is definately overkill......

Look for something in a tough plastic/polypropylene, it will be lighter & won't scratch any of your whistles; maybe a fishing tackle box(?).

For me, I just put them in a drawer, none have got scratched yet, & I've been doing it for some time now - even mixing plastic, brass, & aluminium together.

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Keith.
Trying to do justice to my various musical instruments.

I'd prefer for a wooden box rather than metal, if I was to go the box route (which I won't). There's a crowd selling wooden things on ebay, including loads of different boxes : search_box is their trading name.

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My brain hurts

When we start collecting things we like to access them easily. This may work for you. Having fun is sort of the point. Depending on the case, there may be a liner in the drawer already, designed to keep wrenches from banging about. Decades ago this plasticy rubber stuff was really good and stable. Though i have run into various things in the past decade where plastic I had assumed to be just as stable turned into a sticky gooey mess over time. So just keep that in mind.

I have a similar toolbox in wood I purchased long ago, two of them in fact. One of them is filled with tools in the basement. The other is upstairs with various gizmos from various hobbies.

Mine both appeared at Lowes and Home Depot around Christmas seasons.

I just made a stand out of a piece of heavy 2X4. Drilled variously sized holes and inserted dowels facing upright. The whistles fit onto the dowels

I have my whistle roll that I take to gigs and keep in the practice room which holds all the whistles I play.

As I've said I prefer not to have multiples of things, so any whistle that's not in the roll has two fates:

1) if it's worth anything I sell it on Ebay.

2) if it's not worth anything it gets tossed in a drawer.

The drawer thus has random useless things like Generations that don't play very well and loose Generation tops etc.

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Richard Cook
c1980 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle

I imagine you have amassed quite a number of whistles, and I'm curious: how do you store them?


I'm striving to avoid such a thing...and I already have one whistle that will be consigned to that fate sooner or later. Once I get hold of an Acorn and an Oak (and possibly a Clare), I'll be off buying sub-$15 whistles entirely.

The whistle stand is one of those things that won't work for me. Unless I bolt it down, it wouldn't be at all cat-resistant. Other things I collect have to be stored in a spot that the cats can't access!

So I went with a lighter and less expensive solution: these Cubby Cubes. Once I line them with foam that has a slot cut for each whistle, I'll be set and ready to go. (One could probably legitimately argue that I take "a place for everything and everything in its place" to extremes.) The drumstick bag will stick around in just in case I might want to travel with a few whistles.

As an aside, the company who makes the Cubby Cubes also has some nice pistol/flute cases on offer.

Pringles tubes! I reckon they'd be ideal for temporary whistle storage. Get one of the kids to paint them up...

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You can play beautiful music on an ugly flute
My musical endeavours on my blog

If they were stuffed with foam, they could well be. How one would do that, though, I've no idea. And I have no kids to turn loose with paint.


And I have now ordered up one of said pistol cases. The Cubby Cubes, quite frankly, weren't the best choice. If the 14x12" referred to internal dimensions, it would have been a different story.

My partner crocheted these for mine

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You can play beautiful music on an ugly flute
My musical endeavours on my blog

As you've found, in the States an easy and abundant solution to all flute and whistle storage needs is looking for gun cases. My flute travels in a pistol case I bought for $12 on Amazon, along with 4 whistles. Hard plastic, padded foam on the inside, and protects everything inside very well. At this point it's a veteran of many transatlantic flights with no issues whatsoever. Just search "pistol case" on Amazon or Walmart, you'll find a ton of them.

Of course, none of them are very nice-looking, and a nice wooden box from eBay or Etsy both looks more traditional and can support someone other than the Walton/Bezos families, so Mr. Gumby's suggestion is also a great idea.

The crocheted whistle bags are very nice. I lack that particular skill and the desire to develop it, but I may well get some felt and sew up similar bags.


"Form follows function" is another old adage that I hold dear. One of those nice wooden boxes may be placing too much emphasis on form. If my cats knocked it over, I'd probably be upset. If they knock the pistol case over, no big deal...it's a little more easily replaced. And I purchased it directly from the manufacturer, so no Walton nor Bezos wallet is fatter.

I have often thought about adapting a keyboard case for whistles. You can find them from most music stores on line. The trick is to find one long enough for your biggest whistle but not longer than you need.

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https://mnsongwriters.org/members/greg-connor/

At home, my whistles and flutes live on a shelf, in their individual cases. Outside the house, any whistles up to about Bb go in a rucksack with my flutes, and I have one of these padded clarinet bags for anything bigger than Bb.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clarinet-Straight-Thicken-Adjustable-Shoulder/dp/B01DJX0NAG

I just have this.



I can unroll it at a gig and look down and quickly grab whatever I need for the next song (hence the Day-Glo labels).

Not enough room onstage for a big box, nor enough time to go digging around through such to find the whistle I need.

One trouble: the huge 36 inch long Bass A doesn't fit. Not that I really need it for gigs.

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Richard Cook
c1980 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle