Old whistle

Fergmaun · Post by **Fergmaun** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 1:51 pm

I have an old whistle with the name on it quoted below. I do not know anything about it.

REGd DESIGN 848139
VICEROY
R.M. & CO LTD LONDON

This whistle was in my father family home where he comes from in Co Kerry.

The plastic Whistle Head is cracked and I would like a new one but where can I get new Whistle Head.

It is a wide bore silver grey colour with blue head part and keyed in between C sharp to D major.

john swinton · Post by **john swinton** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 2:11 pm

can yu put a pic on?

michael_coleman · Post by **michael_coleman** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 2:22 pm

Mack Hoover is very adept at making whistle heads, you ought to contact him.

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 2:23 pm

It's very unlikely you'll be able to find another whistlehead like the original.

What part of the whistlehead is cracked? I may be able to repair it for you. Does it play well? If it plays well enough to justify making the repair, I would be willing to do it without charge, just to satisfy my interest in seeing the whistle.

Best wishes,
Jerry

kevin m. · Post by **kevin m.** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 3:36 pm

I have two 'Viceroy' whistles,purchased, for a couple of quid each,via E-Bay.
They are Blue metallic painted soprano 'D' whistles with (somewhat chewed!-for a possible reason see below)) red plastic heads.
Apparently these were very commonly used in Irish Schools.
BUT,the most interesting feature of these whistles is the back (octave?) hole!

Feadan · Post by **Feadan** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 6:23 pm

Fergus, if your whistle looks anything like this one then don't bother with it. It is a way out of tune toy that won't even play two octaves.

BTW, no hole on the back of this P.O.C.
Fortunately I didn't pay much for it.

Cheers,
David

kevin m. · Post by **kevin m.** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 1:05 am

I bought my two whistles as a lot on E-Bay U.K.,after Dubhlinn identified them as the type of whistles that were used in Irish schools about thirty years ago.
I didn't expect them to be great players-I was more interested in their 'Historical' value ('Irish school type 'Flutophone/Tonette'?).
I paid about a fiver for both of em.

Fergmaun · Post by **Fergmaun** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 5:09 pm

This is the photo of the old tin whistle that I was talking about 4 years ago when I posted it last. The whistle head and body is a lighter colour as the photo shows it a wee bit darker colour.

The original plastic Whistle Head is still cracked and I have not replaced it jet.

The whistle plays well in the both octaves between the pitch of D and C#. (Flat of D and Sharp of C#)

I had the whistle tuned very near to C sharp with the original plastic Whistle Head further out wrapped with plumbers tape/dental foss and then covered with black insulating tape.

What I want is a new longer head that can go further into the whistle body.

All the best

Ferg

s1m0n · Post by **s1m0n** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 7:11 pm

That head looks very similar but not quite identical to the heads on my 80s era generations; the nickel finish gens came with exactly that shade of blue.

On the gen, the downwhistle end of the fipple protrudes a bit more above the body, and what is a ridge all round the whistle on yours is higher at the fipple and lower everywhere else on a gen. I'd suspect that the bore is standard, however, and the heads are interchangeable.

Jason Paul · Post by **Jason Paul** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 9:22 pm

I'm no maker and certainly no expert, but to me that looks like the head is too small for the body.

It's like someone took a D head and crammed it onto a C body, and split the head in the process.

Jason

Fergmaun · Post by **Fergmaun** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 9:00 am

I took some measurements of the old whistle.

5.5 cm 2.165" head length.
1.7 cm 0.669" How far head goes on the whistle body.
1.587 cm 5/8" body outside dia.
25.2 cm 99.21" body length without head.

All I need is a new head and the whistle body to be cleaned in/outside.

Cheers

Fergus

hoopy mike · Post by **hoopy mike** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 1:55 pm

Fergmaun wrote:I took some measurements of the old whistle.

1.587 cm 5/8" body outside dia.

All I need is a new head and the whistle body to be cleaned in/outside.

Cheers

Fergus

That's the same as a Gen in Bb, so a cheap and easy option would be to use a head from one of those.

stay Hoopy,
Mike

Fergmaun · Post by **Fergmaun** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 5:13 pm

I tried the Gen Bb head peice but the my old whistle body is wider than the inside dia on the Bb Gen head peice.

I took some more measurements using a Electronic Vernier Caliper

The Gen Bb body outside dia is 15.47 mm 0.609"
My old whistle body outside dia is 15.85 mm 0.624"

I sanded out the inside of the Bb Gen head peice a wee bit. I then tried to fit in on the body of the old whistle and it was not easy but very tight fit. The head began to crack.

I gave the whistle a blow with the Bb Gen head and had to cover the crack with black insulating tape to seal the leaks from the crack in the head.

I got the whistle down to Key of "D" but need to fine tune some tone hole by half covering the note hole with tape and give the whistle a good clean.

What is the best thing to use to clean the inside of a old whistle.

Will be come back soon with more news on the whistle repairs.

Cheers

Ferg

Mack.Hoover · Post by **Mack.Hoover** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 8:53 am

http://www.gamaliel.com/cart/product.php?productid=71

Or for the frugal or non-shooter, steel wool around a dowel. Cloth around dowel with paste wax to slow down further corrosion.

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