Cracked Feadog heads

[Wanderer]

Recently, I reviewed a Feadog & Feadog Pro. Since then, a few people have posted that their heads have cracked for various reasons. My own heads have cracked as well. I posted some pictures in another thread but wanted to give this topic it's own thread to hopefully catch as wide an audience as possible.

here's some selected posts from the other thread:

It's difficult to see it in the picture, but here's the crack.... or at least I believe it's a crack, it could be a very deep scratch too...

I'll post pictures of my crack when I get home,

But FIRST, I'm going to wash my mouth out with soap.

It's difficult to see it in the picture, but here's the crack.... or at least I believe it's a crack, it could be a very deep scratch too...

That looks like the same kind of defect mine originally had.

Eventually, they became:

Yep, mine is in the same place Greg. Looks exactly like your "Green Top". But like I said mine was i believe self-inflicted due to the experiment with plastic heads and dishwashers....

Lesson learned: Extreme heat and plastic don't mix, but the good news from my experience is the Chieftains are clean and sterilized....

Has anyone else experienced a cracked Feadog head like this? I'm beginning to suspect that there may be a weakness in the whistle head and would like to let the guys over at the Feadog company know about it if that's the case. I'd also feel bad if folks bought Feadogs based upon my review if they were going to crack shortly after purchase.

If you've got a new Feadog, please share your experiences!

[Jack]

My Feadógs have done that as well. They're obviously made with a different kind of plastic compared to Generations or Waltons.

[barstool]

Actually this kind of defect is common to molded plastic parts. The weakness is formed when the plastic meets itself at the farthest place from the gate, or entrance of plastic into the mold. This type of defect has a specific name, although it eludes me now. It is caused by the plastic not joining itself properly. This is usually caused by a fault with temperature, or injection speed, or both.

~B

(edit) It is called a weld line.

[Redwolf]

I had this happen with an Oak once. No sign of anything wrong...I was just playing it and suddenly the head cracked fell into two parts.

Redwolf

[Jack]

I had this happen with an Oak once. No sign of anything wrong...I was just playing it and suddenly the head cracked fell into two parts.

Redwolf

I actually remember the pictures of that!

[Feadin]

I have sent a mail to Paul McCarron from Feadog asking if he has any reports about this. Will let you know his response.

[khl]

Just checked my Feadog (bought it in early May). Sure enough, it has a slight crack. I probably wouldn't have noticed it yet, but it's there--about like the picture of the black Feadog head (where it almost looks like a scratch), but running the same length as the picture of the green one and in the same area.

[Jerry Freeman]

A large number whistleheads of various brands I've inspected have a line that looks like a crack where the molten resin meets at the top of the mold. In most cases, even though it looks like a crack, it isn't a crack and never develops into a crack. However, as you can see from the photos, sometimes the whistlehead does fail along that line. I can't tell from the top photo if there's an open crack there or just the line that looks like a crack.

Best wishes,
Jerry

[JohnPalmer]

My very first whistle was a Feadog my Dad brought back from Ireland over 20 years ago, and it developed a slight crack on its backside. I repaired it with JB Weld, and it works fine.

JP

[regor]

Yep... say no more, the picture tells it all, there's a definite pattern:



Roger

[Jerry Freeman]

Yup.

That line is normal, but it shouldn't crack.

Best wishes,
Jerry

[barstool]

The weak lines are usually white-ish.

(I have some molding exp. having run the molding department where I work for 2 years. I am no technical expert on molding though I was the production supervisor)

~B

[Whitmores75087]

Mine is cracked, just like the picture above. I fixed it with crazy glue (super glue).

[billw]

Paul Busman put me onto a really thin superglue that will do the capillary-action thing well - I ran out and tossed the bottle, but hey, Paul, what was the name of that? Since then, I just warm the area of the crack or other void, and put a drop of just about any of the truly liquid cyanoacrylate (Super Glue) adhesives on it, and they tend to heal.

In the case of the Feadog head (mine hasn't cracked after around 6 years), I'd suggest VERY carefully removing from the body, gluing the crack and rubber-banding it shut, then later gently fitting it back on the whistle with more glue. If it's real tight, then put some 320 grit sandpaper on a dowel rod and use that to gently ream out the end where the whistle seats, until it is merely snug, not real tight.

Kind of a lot to go through for an inexpensive whistle? Well, hey, people who like 'em like 'em, and for you, they're worth the trouble! That's how I'd fix mine if it cracked!
Cheers,
Bill Whedon

[Daniel_Bingamon]

It's likely that the brass is fitting tight enough to cause the weak part of the mold to crack. A way to fix this is to take the head off, removed some of the material with an Exactol knife and reattach the head with a soft glue or teflon tape. This will relieve the pressure and prevent the cracks from getting larger.

The brass can expand slightly due to heat. In fact, the method of removing heads by steam and hot water could crack a weak Feadog head.

A similar thing happens on flute headjoints. Many good wood flute makers will actually turn down some of the brass/nickel-silver material in the tuning joint so that the wood can expand and shrink.

John, on that JB Weld, that's strong stuff. Good idea.