DIY whistle tools

[emtor]

Since there's a whistlemaking frenzy that seems to be going on around here, here's some tools that will come in handy when making whistles.

Below is a tool for making perfectly rounded fingerholes to an exact diameter of your choice.
Note that the handle and the cutting tool are two different tools.
You really need two of these,-one for small holes, and one for making large holes.
The reason for this will become obvious when trying to make low-whistle
F#-holes.
Long before reaching the desired diameter, the tip will reach the other side of the tubing and prevent further cutting-action.
For those larger holes you could buy a cutting-tool with a larger diameter, but the angle of these tools is just too steep,
and will make the hole-chimney v-shaped.
A better idea is to buy two small-diameter cutting-tools, and grind off a big chunk of the tip of one of them.
Now, the tip won't touch the other end of the tubing so quickly, and you'll be able to make larger holes.
<img src="http://vargaswhistles.com/temp/0holetool.jpg" border="1">

Now, here's the tool I truly hate.
It's a tubing cutter, but they seldom work.
They're designed to CUT, but instead these dummies tend to make threads in the tubing instead
by wandering from side to side on the surface of the tubing. If you own one of these, throw it

<img src="http://vargaswhistles.com/temp/0tubingcutter.jpg" border="1">

Below is a better way of cutting tubing to length:
<img src="http://vargaswhistles.com/temp/0blacktape.jpg" border="1"> <img src="http://vargaswhistles.com/temp/0tubetape.jpg" border="1">
Use transparent tape and a marker-pen.
Color the edge of a length of tape with the marker and stick it onto the tubing.
Then cut it using the black edge of the tape as a guide.

When guiding-tape is applied, use this tool for cutting:
These come with a handle, as seen in the image, and without a handle.
The Excel company makes a version of these, and any decent modeller's hobby store should have them in stock.
You can cut PVC with them, but also copper, brass and aluminium with ease.
<img src="http://vargaswhistles.com/temp/0_saw.jpg" border="1">

[Plastiman]

Hi there emtor,
Love the look of that tapered reamer thingy for cutting soundholes. It would certainly be a lot quicker and more accurate than the ol' rat tailed file. I'm going to chase up one of those asap. Totally agree on the tube cutter, tried one once and gave up. I just use an ordinary old hacksaw and eyeball, and do the final tuning with a flat basmati file. I quite like Guido's idea of an elliptical end, and build a few like that. It doesn't seem to make any difference to the tone, and looks quite neat I think,
Cheers,
Ian

[Plastiman]

Have I been censored here? Anyone familiar with tools will know that there is no such thing as a basmati file, but there is one that starts with bast...... I'll leave it at that I think,
Ian

[emtor]

hehe, your b-word got censored? It happened to me too not long ago.

Get two of those reamers, and do a test. -Make a hole in a 25 mm. tube and see how far in it goes before the tip reaches the wall on the other end. Measure how much of it is on the inside of the tube, then grind off what's on the inside. Now you've got one reamer for small holes, and one for big ones since the one you grinded will go deeper into the tubing without hitting the wall on the far side.

[scoutcow]

Very helpful! But the biggest problem for me when making whistles is the fipple. How to get them into the correct diameter and still let them remain perfectly round.

[Plastiman]

Yeah, I thought it was a bit of a laugh, here in Australia the famous B word can mean be a term of affection, like "How ya goin' ya old B......", a descriptive term, like "It's been a B........ of a day", or an insult like" You are a total B........".
I myself missed out on being a B...... by a matter of months, a fact I figured out at the age of fifteen when I noticed my birthday was in November 1953, and Mum and Dad got married in August 1953. I still get a laugh out of that.
Thanks again for the tool tips,
Cheers,
Ian

[Plastiman]

Hello Scoutcow,
In the absence of a lathe to make round fipple blocks, I start by cutting my stock square with a small bench saw, then cut the groove with a router mounted under my bench. Then to the vice, planing off the corners to make it octagonal, then careful sanding with a 750mm long strip of emery cloth, starting with coarse, and going to fine and testing all the time with a piece of the tubing I am using. I can make enough round stock to make three or four blocks in about 10 minutes this way. Needless to say a lathe would be better.
Making aluminium whistles I just centre punch each side to hold them in place, then drop a small piece of beeswax down the open end, heat the tube until it runs through and dunk it in cold water to set it. This seems to work fine here in the subtropics (40deg. C yesterday, about 30 today).
It's all a bit labor intensive, but for me it is something I do for fun and occasional profit.
Cheers,
Ian

[Thomas-Hastay]

I agree that cheap pipe cutters stink! A good one still needs an internal wooden block/dowel to make a cut without deforming the end inwards. I use a diamond metal cutting disc in my mitre saw. You can use a cutting disc in your Dremel Tool too. Some "Milling Bits" have a concave tip and cut from the outside edges. These are pricey, but effective for toneholes.

Please have a look at this...(Fun!) Discovery Ch. "How a Recorder is Made".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiSW6LPchSc

You may find this page helpful too

http://www.recorderhomepage.net/tools.html

More links...
http://www.mimf.com/link.htm#flutes

[Tommy]

Tubing and pipe cutters do a good job for a plumber. But for whistle accuracy I could not find one either. I tried both the tubing and the pipe cuter brand ''General'', and found the tubing cutter would not track straight enough. Their pipe cutter tracks straighter but the pipe cutting wheel pushed its way through more than cut leaving a ridge on the inside. That's ok for plumbing. I replaced the pipe cutting wheel with their pvc cutting wheel and found it did ok for pvc but a little dull for copper and aluminum. I took the pvc cutting wheel and mounted on a small shaft then placed it in a slow speed electric drill. Then rotated the wheel on a wet stone to produce a very sharp cutting wheel. I put the pipe cutter in a vice so both my hands are free. Then when marking the brass, aluminum, or pvc with a knife to give an accurate place for the cutting wheel to start. Put the tube in the cutter with the cutter wheel just inside the knife cut. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN THE ADJUSTMENT WHEEL. Just enough to hold it then rotate the tube with both hands to steer it straight. When it has cut a line all the way around. Turn the adjustment wheel slightly in, and rotate till it turns very free. If you look at the adjustment wheel as a clock only turn it the distance of one minute at a time.
Soon it will cut through and you will see the cut start to open on one side.
Should be able to hold both pieces of the tube and pull the opening closed to snap it apart. If you continue on in with the cutting wheel it will leave a ridge inside where the thicker part of the cutting wheel wedges in. With a little practice this will not take long at all.

[Kaldor]

Hey all. I used a pipe cutter for my aluminum blanks, and found that while the tool DID leave a burr on the inside, a de-burring tool was all I needed to fix that. It would work equally as well on plastic, and most softer metals, but you need a very sharp or a diamond file to take care of harder steels if you use those materials. With my plastic whistles, I used a piece of nylon cord to cut it, and a file to clean out the inside.

I hadn't thought of using a wooden dowel block to keep the material from deforming, though.