What Wood for Whistle and Why? (New related question added o

elendil · Post by **elendil** » Fri Feb 21, 2003 9:28 pm

wood for a whistle? as i recently posted, i got a new sweetheart "professional" D about 3 weeks ago. $135 for a northern birch laminate. good laminates have the layers glued with an acrylic, so you get something with the stability of a polymer and the looks of wood. to me, wood has a bit of a sustain, as well. it plays very nicely indeed. also, about 25 years ago or so i bought an olivewood kung recorder. beautiful wood and very nice sound.

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Sat Feb 22, 2003 2:57 am

On 2003-02-21 22:28, tinuviel wrote:
...about 25 years ago or so i bought an olivewood kung recorder. beautiful wood and very nice sound.

25 years ? You're safe : time out, we can't sue you any more.

Sunnywindo · Post by **Sunnywindo** » Sat Feb 22, 2003 12:04 pm

Thanks you all! Lots of good comments.

On 2003-02-19 18:06, Doc Jones wrote:
Have Glenn or Paul make you a whistle from whatever wood makes your heart go fast. You won't be disappointed.

Yeah. That's the trick isn't it? Whatever wood makes your heart go fast. Been there... but it's looking like I'll have to go with another. Still not really decided... maybe bloodwood? Does anyone have a whistle made from that, if so what's it like? Oh dear, so many good woods.

All this has brought one of those wild chancey ideas to mind. Is cottonwood a hardwood and has anyone ever heard of making a whistle from that? There is a very large, old cottonwood tree at the farm that I grew up on that would be kind of cool to have a whistle from for sentimental reason. Two possible problems though. One, is the wood even a suitable kind? Two, the tree has died and been pulled down. It has a huge trunk, the question with it would be if cottonwood wood would work, is this wood still solid within the trunk or has it begun to rot? I've not checked it so I'm not sure what it's like anymore, but the memory of this tree does hold a special place for me... so it makes me wonder if there is a possibility here. Any thoughts?

PhilO · Post by **PhilO** » Sat Feb 22, 2003 12:21 pm

I generally prefer metals and plastics, but love African blackwood for wooden whistles. I find that it holds up best, requires least maintenance, and provides a wood so dense that it's close to metal or plastic in sound. It's also quite beautiful when set off by sterling silver or any other ferrules.

I say generally, because I do still enjoy my TW, Busman, (Abells covered above), and Grinters.

Cheers,

Philo

elendil · Post by **elendil** » Sat Feb 22, 2003 12:36 pm

just a further word on the northern birch laminate that sweetheart uses. birch is very hard and fine grained. these laminates are used alot for flooring and cabinets: excellent properties, but not that attractive. the lamination, since it uses an acrylic glue, should make them pretty impervious to moisture, also the combination of hard, fine grained wood with a polymer glue should make them pretty vibration free and allow for thin walls. the new sweetheart, by the way, has a curved wind path in the fipple.
25 years ago? well, that was a guess. it could have been longer!

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Sun Feb 23, 2003 3:11 am

On 2003-02-22 13:04, Sunnywindo wrote:
Thanks you all! Lots of good comments.

It has a huge trunk, the question with it would be if cottonwood wood would work, (...)...
Any thoughts?

Pickin up cotton
Za pain in the bottom
Owwww Looord!
Let me timber
That cottonwood tree...

Sounds like a great idea for a blues low whistle! Don't forget a lot of chiff and breathiness! Ask Wombat for full details on the tone and scale... (or search it here, round Autumn last year).

Beside, you'll never have moisture problems with a kleenexwood whistle...

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Sun Feb 23, 2003 5:00 am

I've made a couple of Bloodwood whistles, and liked working with it. It has a nice smooth grain and finishes nicely. It truly is a dark, blood red. In time, it may turn more brown, but I've never kept one around long enough to see that happen.

jim_mc · Post by **jim_mc** » Sun Feb 23, 2003 9:47 pm

Denser woods tend to be closer grained and less porous, and so are less prone to instability due to radical changes in humidity.

Ebony seems to me to be the wood that makes instruments lacking in character and color. I like the sound of blackwood and have had good luck with the long term stability of blackwood instruments.

Boxwood makes a nice sounding instrument, and plays even better after time.

That's one of the things that makers aren't necessarily taking into account - that the character of a wood instrument might change after it leaves their hands.

I'm currently lusting after a Healy fife in purpleheart. Skip got some purpleheart timbers that were left over from building the replica of the Amistad. It's a gorgeous wood.

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Sun Feb 23, 2003 10:04 pm

What about snakewood? It is very beautiful but I understand that its dust is quite hazardous when it's being lathed or sanded. Has anyone ever heard of a whistle made from it?

McHaffie · Post by **McHaffie** » Sun Feb 23, 2003 11:11 pm

Ok, since there has evolved ideas on metals, etc. I will have to put my $.02 in here....

Wall thickness, type of metal, makes a very noticeable difference. In some cases a HUGE difference.

Consistent shape and size does not make everything equal if you are dealing with different materials. (ok, just don't go there.)

thinner the wall, more mellow and resonant tone. Thiscker the wall, the more brighter or possibly solid the tone.

Yes, windway design, blade angle, overall fipple - mouthpiece design makes a very large impact, but I will still hold w/ my experience using different metals (copper, brass, aluminum, steel (gawd was that awful to work with!), etc.)) that material makes a noticeable difference.

An physics does apply to this idea as well.

So I stand on my original ground... I think that no matter what materials you work with, whether it be wood, metal, plastic, or otherwise, that you will in fact have variations in tone or 'flavors' (I like that definition, whoever used that) AND of course you will have varying degrees of how much that change is per material. Ok, everyone got that? Good, cuz I'm not sure!

OK! I'll shut up now.

Thank you for your time and efforts regarding my rambling

Nite!
John

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 1:00 am

Does anyone have photographs of some of these woods? Rosewood I know, and purpleheart (my daughter has a rocking horse my dad made with purpleheart inlay...it's really lovely), and I did see the photo of the pink ivory someone posted a while back, but I don't know that I've ever seen cocobola or bocote.

Redwolf

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 2:39 am

If the hardness of the wood is a consideration, cottonwood may not be a good choice for making whistles.

It is very soft and not at all moisture resistant. The surface tends to swell and turn fuzzy when it's wet, and it will turn grey or black and grow mold easily under wet conditions. Technically, though soft, it is a hardwood because it's a deciduous tree, but it isn't considered a quality wood.

At least that's my recollection. Please feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken.

Best wishes,
Jerry

rbm · Post by **rbm** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 2:45 am

On 2003-02-24 02:00, Redwolf wrote:
Does anyone have photographs of some of these woods? Rosewood I know, and purpleheart (my daughter has a rocking horse my dad made with purpleheart inlay...it's really lovely), and I did see the photo of the pink ivory someone posted a while back, but I don't know that I've ever seen cocobola or bocote.

Redwolf

Hey Redwolf have a look at Paul Busmans site, it has photo's of cocobola and bocote and some other fine whistle woods.
Richard.

Jetboy · Post by **Jetboy** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 4:19 am

I am based in the UK and have just started to make whistles in wood. So far I have used pearwood, African Blackwood, Ebony and Violet Rosewood. The pear is quite soft so is very easy to turn, in a lovely golden colour. Ebony of course has got to be the best but expensive to get wrong. The nicest one I have made is with a Blackwood shaft and a pear fipple joined with a copper band. Very pretty, especially as the Blackwood frequently comes with a flash of golden wood in it and this gives the whistle a unique signature. These are not craftsman whistles, more hobby stuff but they all play nicely. If anyone is interested in talking further about this, reply woodhouse.uk@lineone.net

I also use copper. These are superb, loud instruments, ideal for large informal sessions where you can hear yourself play and just as importantly, be heared.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 1:26 pm

On 2003-02-24 03:45, rbm wrote:
On 2003-02-24 02:00, Redwolf wrote:
Does anyone have photographs of some of these woods? Rosewood I know, and purpleheart (my daughter has a rocking horse my dad made with purpleheart inlay...it's really lovely), and I did see the photo of the pink ivory someone posted a while back, but I don't know that I've ever seen cocobola or bocote.

Redwolf

Hey Redwolf have a look at Paul Busmans site, it has photo's of cocobola and bocote and some other fine whistle woods.
Richard.

Thanks! I had looked at Paul's site earlier, but it didn't seem to be working...after I read your post, it suddenly dawned on me that I probably needed to re-enable Javascript, and sure enough...that was the problem! (if I can't read a site and others can, Javascript's usually the culprit).

Now I'm REALLY drooling!

Redwolf