Hi all~ First of all, thanks for all of your support and kind comments.
I’ll be starting a new batch of whistles very shortly, so if you’ve been thinking of ordering one, now would be a good time to let me know. I have plenty of pretty timber in the ol’ woodpile
I have several whistles which have been sitting in the shop for a while, plus two partially finished ones which are not spoken for.
From top to bottom:
Eb in Imbuia
Eb in Padauk
I made these on speculation, but Eb has not proved to be a popular key, so I’m offering these two for $200 each to a good home.
D+ in Tiger Maple-- this has a small repaired crack on the back side, so it goes for $200 also. SOLD
C in stained Birdseye Maple-- note the crack between the second and third holes from the top. Again, repaire, again reduced to $200.
Pink Ivory- finished tube, can be completed within a couple of weeks with choice of stainless steel or brass.SOLD
Satinwood-UNSOLD
Paul, can you tell us how to repair a crack in a wooden whistle. There is some discussion about this on the board at the present time showing to wrap a crack with string but I would like to know how to professionally repair a crack. Thanks for your help.
Assuming the crack is very fine, I run some water thin cyanoacrylate glue into the crack and then let it dry REALLY well. Don’t try to wipe off the excess-- it’s sure to smear and be even harder to get off later. If it’s reachable, I try to get some of the glue into the crack from the inside too.
To get off the excess glue, I scrape it carefully with a shop knife. This can be a bit tricky-- if you’re not careful you’ll gouge the wood beyond repair. I hold the blade pretty vertical to the whistle and scrape. It’s not a cutting or whittling motion. When I’ve got all the excess off, I smooth the area with either 400-600 grit wet/dry sandpaper or 0000 steel wool. Then, I apply some of the original lacquer. This is usually done by mounting the whistle part on the lathe and spinning it while the finish is applied.
For thick cracks I make some sanding dust from matching wood and mix this into a bit of 5 minute epoxy glue which I then work quickly into the crack. Once that’s dry, I continue as above. I don’t sell factory seconds with thick repaired cracks. If they’re that bad I salvage the fittings for re-use and trash the wood.
The best course is always to send the whistle back to it’s maker. In the case of the wrapped whistle, the maker has also gone back to HIS maker, so that’s not possible. To partially pay off the debt that I owe to Glenn Schultz, I’ll repair any of his whistles to the best of my ability for free, although I’ll ask the owners to send me return postage. Naturally, I also fix any of my own at no cost.
I am fortunate to have one of Paul’s Ebs in pink ivory - beautiful wood and it plays and sounds well also. These are great prices - they should go quickly.
The Tiger maple looks real interesting but I’m still waiting to try out the delrin D+ on tour!
I’m not totally sure if this fits in this post, and it’s no intention of mine to hijack this post, but seeing these whistles in different woods brings to mind a question i’ve had for several months but, since i don’t really have the funds atm to purchase a wooden whistle, have never asked. To wit, does the type of wood effect the sound of the whistle much if at all, or is basically wood wood?
I notice that often blackwood whistles and flutes seem to go for a higher price than their other wood counterparts, and am wondering is it something about the sound of blackwood that makes it more expensive, or is it just because black looks cool, or is the wood just more expensive due to rarity/price but really if you bought say a busman in bloodwood and a busman in african blackwood, would they sound basically the same?
D+ is a normal high D whistle, but a bit longer with an extra C note added down on the bottom. Truthfully, you don’t often need that note but once in a while it comes in handy.
Trixle-- you’ll get various opinions regarding the sound of different woods in whistles. I personally don’t think it makes much difference. I’ve often made two supposedly identical whistles from the same wood cut from the same piece, same metal fittings etc, and they end up sounding different. To me, the major difference comes in the voicing of the whistle. Tiny variations in the dimensions of the edge, window, fipple bevel etc can make big variations in the whistle’s sound.
I tried this with one of my whistles recently. It got caught in the customs crap. The wanted to charge him nearly $85 dollars even though the package was marked as returning for repair.
Nice guy that he is, I actually wound up with a different whistle and am waiting for the other to be ssslllooowwwlllyyy returned unrepaired as well.
THAT, my friends, is the definition of customer service.
For anyone who has not tried a Busman - I’ve tried a few and I have to say that you won’t be dissapointed - Paul really knows what he is doing and is a great guy to deal with!
I have a Pink Ivory D from Paul, and its a real gem! I love it! (I’d bet that pink tube is from the same time mine was made). These are fab whistles, and beautiful as well! Here’s a poorly taken picture of mine when it was new (last July-ish). The wood is much more pink, but because of lighting issues, it has an orange undertone here…
It’s hard for a picture to capture the beauty of the timber as the whistle is very iridescent and displays many different shades when you move it around in the light. It’s a highly figured piece of timber and has some wild grain patterns in it. Not as vibrant pink as Pink Ivory, but paler and more figured. I usually reach for my B&W Ebony one although when playing as it was the first one I broke in and feel the most comfortable with. They all sound great and have that nice mellow woodsy sound one would expect with a wooden whistle. If I felt more confident in my playing ability, I would make some audio clips but alas, I am too meager in skill to do so.
I have a Kingwood Busman D that I really love. I could play it at the dinner table and not offend anyone or take it to the session and still be heard.
I am trying out an Abell right now but I think you have to play it more aggressively! It is louder and more for the session…if you want to be heard.
The Busman is sweeter and easier to play.
