Bent Sindt High D

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ebgt
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Bent Sindt High D

Post by ebgt »

Hi

I've had a Sindt High D for a number of years. Last night I had an accident and bent it (quite badly - the 2nd hole from the top is crumpled).

Have had a look around on these forums and want to confirm what my opinions are:

1/ Get a tight fitting piece of dowel and force it down the tube to straighten (don't really want to do this as I know it won't be pristine)
2/ Take it to a specialist instrument repair company & get them to do it (does anyone know of such a company in London & is it the kind of thing that they could repair perfectly?)
3/ Try and persuade Mr Sindt to fix it?

Keen to hear any other options...
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Re: Bent Sindt High D

Post by Byll »

Option 3 is your best course of action. Yes, John is a busy guy. However, he is also a really good guy... My suggestion is to contact him, and get your whistle repaired by its maker.

Best.
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Re: Bent Sindt High D

Post by kkrell »

Assuming London, England, than I'd take it to a woodwind instrument repair guy instead of shipping it out of the country to John Sindt. Dent removal is a common repair, particularly on student instruments. A brass & woodwind repair technician should have the mandrels and tools to straighten and smooth, and it should be pretty inexpensive.
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Re: Bent Sindt High D

Post by puipui »

Option 4. Put your Sindt head on a body of Generation D or Feadog D.

Try googling on "Bloomfield's GenSindt Hybrid Tin Whistle".
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Re: Bent Sindt High D

Post by ebgt »

Thanks for responses. Yes - I'll probably try to get John to repair it.

In case that doesn't work out, though - if anyone has used a good instrument repair company I'd appreciate the name/URL.

Cheers
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Re: Bent Sindt High D

Post by kkrell »

ebgt wrote:Thanks for responses. Yes - I'll probably try to get John to repair it.

In case that doesn't work out, though - if anyone has used a good instrument repair company I'd appreciate the name/URL.

Cheers
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Re: Bent Sindt High D

Post by brewerpaul »

Can you post a picture?
Shipping it back and forth across the Atlantic will be costly. I agree with a woodwind repair service. Call local schools and ask who repairs their band instruments. This is not a difficult repair even if it doesn't end up cosmetically perfect. It will be pretty darned good.
There's a company here in Frederick MD that does instrument repair all over the country*. It's http://www.musicarts.com/. They don't do overseas, but I'll bet if you contact them they could recommend someone in London.
As another option, perhaps John Sindt would sell you a new body. The head is the part that requires the most machining so a body might not be all that costly.

*I visited the Music and Arts facility to see if I could get a bit of woodwind joint cork and they gave me the grand tour. It was mind boggling-- bins and bins of old and new repair parts, old and new instruments and a huge number of repair craftspeople's work stations, both wind and strings. They also gave me the cork I needed, no cost.
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Re: Bent Sindt High D

Post by whistlecollector »

ebgt wrote:Thanks for responses. Yes - I'll probably try to get John to repair it.

In case that doesn't work out, though - if anyone has used a good instrument repair company I'd appreciate the name/URL.

Cheers
I'd actually vote against asking John to fix it.

In wanting to play a whistle, you sought out a professional whistlesmith to make a whistle for you. I.e., John Sindt.

Now that it's bent out of shape, why not seek out a professional woodwind repair tech to fix it?

As for the other options, personal experience screams *Don't Try No. 1!* You'll just end up jamming the dowel into the bend, the wood will compress and become stuck fast. Now you've got two repairs that need doing but at least the repair tech will have a good laugh!

Without seeing a picture of your whistle, I'd think the repair is technically simple enough. The tech will secure the whistle and (carefully) shove a tool down the tube that will straighten out the bend and remove the dents. Results may not absolutely perfect, because the structure of the metal itself has been deformed, but the instrument will be entirely serviceable.

I had a bent whistle I took into the shop not too long ago along with another job. (An old aluminium Perri in C) Took about two minutes to get the tool and straighten out.
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Re: Bent Sindt High D

Post by Mr.Gumby »

Shipping it back and forth across the Atlantic will be costly.
I don't know about shipping it back but from here to there will be under a tenner, not a lot more anyway.

Someone I know sat on his Sindt and got a new tube in no time at all. FWIW.
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Re: Bent Sindt High D

Post by ebgt »

brewerpaul wrote:Can you post a picture?
Image
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:evil: :puppyeyes: :boggle:
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Re: Bent Sindt High D

Post by kkrell »

Yep, standard woodwind repair, should be easy, should not cost much, tech can provide an estimate.
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Re: Bent Sindt High D

Post by Loren »

kkrell wrote:Yep, standard woodwind repair, should be easy, should not cost much, tech can provide an estimate.

Going to have to disagree here: The location of the dents (involving the tone hole), combined with the sharpness of those creases, will make are really good repair challenging, that is to say, the tube will never be properly cylindrical again in and around the time hole.

I'm with Peter on this one, contact John and ask about a replacement tube.
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Re: Bent Sindt High D

Post by Loren »

I'll add that it can be repaired, I'm not saying it can't, but to get it repaired really well, would cost more than it's worth. And that's assuming you can find a really good woodwind repair tech, but many are mediocre at best, and a lot just plain suck, I'm sorry to say.
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Re: Bent Sindt High D

Post by whistlecollector »

Loren wrote:
kkrell wrote:Yep, standard woodwind repair, should be easy, should not cost much, tech can provide an estimate.

Going to have to disagree here: The location of the dents (involving the tone hole), combined with the sharpness of those creases, will make are really good repair challenging, that is to say, the tube will never be properly cylindrical again in and around the time hole.

I'm with Peter on this one, contact John and ask about a replacement tube.
Fair enough.

I'd only note that a woodwind repair tech is entirely competent to handle a bent flute or metal clarinet. A metal whistle will be little different. Much easier to repair, cos there's no chimneys or rods or keys to deal with.

Will the metal of the tube be the same again? No. As I said before, the physical structure will be changed. Will that seriously impair how the whistle plays? Probably not. If it did, we wouldn't have repair techs at all. We'd just write to the manufacturer every time an instrument gets a ding or scratch or bend in it, asking for a whole new body or joint.

Getting a new body is, of course an option.

Might as well just buy a whole new whistle from John and call it a day!

By the way, as my C&F civic duty, I'll just note here that I am more than happy to offer my services as hopelessly bent whistle repository: I accept all models of Sindt, Copeland, MK, Overton, etc. (Also cracked wooden flutes by Sweet, Copeland, etc.) And all AT ABSOLUTELY NO COST to the C&F whistling community!
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Re: Bent Sindt High D

Post by ebgt »

Eventually got this repaired by a nice, helpful guy - this is his website:

http://roycoxbrassrepairs.com

Really pleased with the result. Plays like new.

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