Stuck Generation whistle head

[mabman]

Forgive the newbie question - I am attempting to remove the head from a Generation C whistle to adjust the tuning a bit.

I have immersed the head in coffee-temp. water for several minutes, but the head will not budge. I have tried heating up the water a bit more in the microwave, and leaving it immersed for 10+ minutes - still no dice.

I'm a bit leery about going hotter for fear of deforming the head, but I'm wondering what I could try next.

Thanks!

(Apologies if this has been asked before - I did try the search function, but didn't see anything relevant.)

[pipersgrip]

Joanie Madden once gave me advice to put the whistle in a bigger whistle tube, and slam it down a few times. It actually works. So if you have a C whistle, slide it in a Bb whistle tube and keep on jamming it down in there until the head pops off. So keep the C tube inside the Bb tube and lift it up all the way, but don't take it out. Then you can drop it or sling it a bit in there. I hope that makes sense.

[MTGuru]

Not doubting the effectiveness of the "Madden Maneuver" ...

Try simply wearing a pair of rubber/latex kitchen gloves while you twist and pull the head. Especially when the whistle is still wet from the water treatment, it's very hard to get a good grip. And if you stop to dry it before pulling, you let too much heat dissipate.

Yes, you don't want to go hotter or you may damage the head. 30 seconds or so in coffee-temp water should do the trick, though it may take several tries.

[MTGuru]

BTW, pipersgrip ... aka The Artist Formerly Known as The Whistle Collector ... I think your Captain Pancakes avatar or whatever the heck he is, with that disgusting wisp of syrup, may finally have outdone HypnoToad for the title of Most Disturbing Avatar.

[Mr.Gumby]

It actually works.

And it works very well too. It also directs the force in the direction you want to, and only that direction, so that the tighter fitting head like the C don't break when taken off.

[Wiz]

Here is how I dealt with it.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=78865

[talasiga]

I only had the OP problem once and it was with a new Gen that I wanted to clean after a year or so. I put the metal body end in icy cold water for an hour. Then dipped the head in hot but drinkable water for a few minutes. It worked for me but I ahve only done it once.

[straycat82]

I've done the cold to hot water trick in combination with the "Madden" technique on more stubborn whistles. Gen C's are the worst as the head and body are not matched very well. When you do get the head off you might try giving the top of the tube a sanding job so that the head doesn't crack in the future. I've had this happen to no less than three Gen C's over time because they just fit too snug.

[mabman]

Thanks, all. I don't have a Bb whistle or a wrench/washer of appropriate size (Wiz's technique), so I guess I'll have to get one of those things and try it

[pipersgrip]

BTW, pipersgrip ... aka The Artist Formerly Known as The Whistle Collector ... I think your Captain Pancakes avatar or whatever the heck he is, with that disgusting wisp of syrup, may finally have outdone HypnoToad for the title of Most Disturbing Avatar.

I had a worse one years back, but too many people pm'd me to take it off haha. It was with a guy that got frustrated with a computer and bashed his head in the keyboard.

[Flavius]

If you have an exacto knife, you may try this

[mabman]

If you have an exacto knife, you may try this

Thanks, that worked Although I wasn't twisting very hard, the head did crack slightly on one seam while twisting - not a big deal, but something I may need to seal with some glue.

[Flavius]

Sorry about that :/ It shouldn't have happened.

Since I happened to have a brand new Generation C, I decided to test my procedure again, and now I see a number of things that may go wrong: knife inserted too deeply, at a vertical angle, excursion and strength of the twisting motion... I guess that keeping the head warm may contribute to the procedure. Still, even if everything goes well, it is very time-consuming and I admit to having tried it simply to find out whether additional methods could be found.

After devoting some 1/2 hour to this and making discernible yet small progress, I decided to try the Madden maneuver. Removed the head of my new Generation Bb (standard warm water), held the tube in one hand, inserted the end of the C barrel and propelled the whistle into the Bb tube. On the 4th try the C barrel emerged torpedo-style through the other end, while the head fell gently to the floor.

Although mechanically sound and physically simple, the Madden maneuver is psychologically very demanding, and I dared to try it only because I had nothing to lose (I had purchased 3 Generations without any expectation of playing them, and they were to stay at the bottom of some drawer forever). But once the leap of faith successfully made, I must say I'm a convert. All hail the Madden maneuver!

[talasiga]

Thanks, all. I don't have a Bb whistle or a wrench/washer of appropriate size (Wiz's technique), so I guess I'll have to get one of those things and try it

All you need is
*one very long milkshake type vessel or a vase filled with
*really cold water with a few ice cubes thrown in to boot
*one coffee or tea cup filled with
*really hot but drinkable water
*a dab of (edible) oil

You should be able to find all these things in your kitchen.