Hi Loren,Loren wrote:P.S. Nice looking whistles Mitch! Interesting choice going with the Nitro.......
The bands are cast, or perhaps laser engraved?
How are you stamping the serial numbers? It looks as if you could use an indexing head, to keep everything lined up and spaced out evenly.
Loren
I used nitro because it penetrates so well, dries fast, produces a good hard surface and does not alter the color of the wood. In the case of the Masur bjork, I was surprised just how much it took - the danger was that it would become a "plastic" whistle with some wood imbedded in it. But as it turned out, the wood imposed itself (which was part of the objective). I know the materials should not matter to the sound, but I find that each wood has an influence. It could be as banal as the way each responds to the tools, but the exploration is something I never tire of. It would be a shame to totally dominate .. be like losing a friend.
The bands are cast. To start, I did the casting myself, but now I get them done by a casting company off the original molds (less ouch-per-whistle
). As you can imagine, lost wax casting can be a little imprecise so there's a lot of stretching, squeezing and machining to get the tollerances right. I am investigating alternate methods. But for now the result satisfies what I set out to do. I will go looking for an indexing head - many thanks for the suggestion! For now the serial numbers have a kind of crazy charm, but it can be better.
I know what you mean about unsuitable woods - The very first tunable whistle I made used an Asian ebony - very beautiful wood: a pleasure to cut and work .. BUT it would crack and warp if one looked sideways at it let alone breathing on it ... and if sunshine touched it, the damn thing would start moving in wierd and entertaining ways. Shame really - when it was not cracked and moving, it sounded nice.
