making a whistle out of an ebony ruler

[JackCampin]

I have an old ebony architect's rolling ruler. Must be at least 60 years old. No use to me as a ruler, so I was wondering if it could be made into a whistle of some sort. Not quite sure what yet, but it would be something of a custom spec (maybe a small salamuri).

Any makers out there use pieces like that?

No I'm not selling it.

[highwood]

should be possible to do

how big is it?

[MTGuru]

how big is it?

He can't tell you, because he's turned all his rulers into whistles.

I'm more interested in turning my whistles into rulers. Far more useful, IMO.

And I can't see how a small salami has anything to do with it.

[Tommy]

I have an old ebony architect's rolling ruler. Must be at least 60 years old. No use to me as a ruler, so I was wondering if it could be made into a whistle of some sort. Not quite sure what yet, but it would be something of a custom spec (maybe a small salamuri).
Any makers out there use pieces like that?
No I'm not selling it.

I have made one whistle of ebony and another blank is waiting for me to catch up.
So I googled salamuri and found it to be interesting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1SrvZwLEsA The clips I watched were all very fast players with some back up strings. Then they play two salamuri at the same time.
Have you made or played one before?

[benhall.1]

I have one of those old ebony rulers as well. I wouldn't alter mine. They're too nice as objects in themselves.

As for how big they are, most of them, including mine, as a tad under a foot, for some reason. There must be a reason for the length they are.

[killthemessenger]

I have one of those old ebony rulers as well. I wouldn't alter mine. They're too nice as objects in themselves.

As for how big they are, most of them, including mine, as a tad under a foot, for some reason. There must be a reason for the length they are.

They had smaller feet back then.

Or alternatively, they were made for fabric salesmen.

[brewerpaul]

That must be one thickass ruler.
Regular black ebony is not a great wood for whistles as it's very prone to cracking once you turn it into a thin walled tube.
Other ebonies like Mun or Black and White are more stable.
I agree-- keep it as a very cool, classy ruler.

[benhall.1]

That must be one thickass ruler.

You know the sort of article we're talking about, do you, Paul? They were apparently used on board ships for some sort of navigational purpose, as well as by architects on dry land. I don't get it personally, but there we are. They're not far short of an inch in diameter (maybe some are thicker still) and circular in cross-section. They're basically about the same size and shape as an old fashioned stick of rock. And, at least as far as the ones I've seen go, they're made out of ebony. True ebony. They have no markings on them, in my experience.

[brewerpaul]

Oh, I see. I didn't know about those. That does seem like a nice piece of whistle wood... How long is it? If nothing else, it oughta be pretty well seasoned by now.

[s1m0n]

Used right, they roll perfectly perpendicular to their axis, thus making a new line that's parallel to a reference line. That's useful for moving a compass bearing from the rose on a map to wherever your boat happens to be so you can plot a course, triangulate to lights or landmarks, etc.

[benhall.1]

Used right, they roll perfectly perpendicular to their axis, thus making a new line that's parallel to a reference line. That's useful for moving a compass bearing from the rose on a map to wherever your boat happens to be so you can plot a course, triangulate to lights or landmarks, etc.

Ah, OK. That makes sense. Thanks, S1m0n.

[benhall.1]

Oh, I see. I didn't know about those. That does seem like a nice piece of whistle wood... How long is it? If nothing else, it oughta be pretty well seasoned by now.

As I said earlier, they're mostly just under a foot in length, but I found one last night recently sold on eBay that was 38cms, so we'd need to ask Jack which sort he has.

[brewerpaul]

Hmmm... depending on what "just under" means, you might be able to get a D whistle out of one of those. An Eb for sure.

[JackCampin]

Mine is just about big enough that a D whistle could be hiding inside it. An E flat to allow for a bit of wiggle room.

But if the wood's too brittle (I hadn't thought of that) it would be a waste to try.

[benhall.1]

Mine is just about big enough that a D whistle could be hiding inside it. An E flat to allow for a bit of wiggle room.

But if the wood's too brittle (I hadn't thought of that) it would be a waste to try.

Yes, so yours is like mine - the standard length, or just under a foot. Tell you what, I'll measure it.

Well, blow me down! Did they use metric measurements for these old things? I was told by the, very knowledgable, antiques dealer that I bought mine from, that mine is nautical rather than architectural and it's exactly 30cms. Bang on. Well, at least that explains why it's just under a foot.