Whistle Stands - How do you display your 'Favorites'?

[veloed]

Hi Guys,
Wanted to share a pic of the whistle stand my brother made for me-

How do show off your whistles?
Thanks!
Ed Gilkison

[Peter Duggan]

Wanted to share a pic of the whistle stand my brother made for me-

Looks nicely made.

How do show off your whistles?

I don't.

[Mr Ed]

Nice stand! I really like the contrasting woods used.

Mine are just in a coffee mug with pieces of CPVC pipe in it to keep them from banging around too much. The mug is nice though, it's black with a pewter bald eagle head on it.

[Feadoggie]

Ed, that's a very attractive stand. Kudos to your brother.

There have been many threads in the past on whistle stands. This is a frequent topic. A search may reveal the imagination of the collective C&F membership. Some stands are purely functional and others are more ornate. And some are re-purposed contraptions, such as these dish racks from IKEA. Up-cycling is cool.



I make whistles. When I sell them I have to display them. I have designed a variety of stands made from oak. One size does no fit all. Whistles, depending on the key, vary from 10 inches to about two feet in length. For most keys I can display them standing vertically. A simple but nicely finished board with appropriately sized holes and/or pegs works a treat for high whistles down to low A. Those simple designs do not work the best for the larger models - too top heavy. So I display them transversely on a custom rack (sorry, can't find a picture at the moment). Stands for shop use are even simpler. Form follows function.


At home the whistles are not on display, same for flutes, guitars, mandolins, ukes and banjos. While whistles are generally attractive things, I see them more as tools and not as objects of art. They only come out to play. Protective cases and bags are the norm here. Besides, I have hundreds of whistles and keeping the dust off of them would be a herculean chore if I kept them out displayed on stands. Well, there is that old Lay's Stax canister full of my favorite cheapies on the desk in my studio. YMMV.

Feadoggie

[ytliek]

Mine? Cardboard box mostly as my brother doesn't make anything.

I keep them in a whistle roll.

[Ted]

Like all my instruments, when not in use they are in their cases or bags. I have a couple of cheapies on my work bench and by my computer, but I don't consider this displaying them. They are only out when used, as their function is to make music rather than be eye candy. The "display" for me is the sound from them, not their visual appearance. Having them on a stand when not in use may leave them more vulnerable to damage than if they are stowed away, especially around kids and animals.

[whistlecollector]

Hi Guys,
Wanted to share a pic of the whistle stand my brother made for me-

How do show off your whistles?
Thanks!
Ed Gilkison

Very nice stand by the way! Mine are currently residing in an old crock butter jar:

[tomcat]

i'm not good at posting pictures, but i can describe what i use . . . quite easy, portable and inexpensive.

tools required: wire, wire cutters, nail and hammer. that's it.

i take end of the wire and bend it putting about and inch of wire coming up. (think of putting "u" at the end). then i insert the bottom of the whistle over the "u". next, i rotate the wire twisting it around the whistle (think of a barber shop pole). when i reach the top of the whistle, i add about three inches of wire and cut. i make a loop out of the three inches. this i then hang on the nail.

you then of course can remove the whistle and will discover you've created a perfectly shaped wire sleeve for your tooter. i've used it on all sizes and shapes of whistles from short to low c's, from onyx to burke - the unique shape of the whistle is "tailor fitted" by the wire.

[pancelticpiper]

Since I don't sell whistles the idea of displaying them is a foreign one; they stay in their roll.

I do have a whistle stand that I use for gigs. It's a commonly seen woodwind stand that you can buy, an X-shaped base with different available bits for Boehm C flute, Boehm Alto flute, piccolo, and clarinet.

Since I was too cheap to buy five of the piccolo bits (for the five available holes) I made my own narrow bits. I've been using this stand since the 1970s. Works fine if I'm using five or less whistles at a gig. Now that I usually have at least one low whistle I guess I could go out and buy a Boehm flute bit for it.

[MTGuru]

I display my fancier C/D whistles in a Sterilite mini crate.

http://www.sterilite.com/SelectProduct. ... &section=1

Turned on its side, it holds 18 whistles. A cardboard sheet underneath keeps the whistle bells from scratching (or being scratched). Cost: around $1 at discount stores.

My Gens live in a heavy glass flower vase near my desk, for easy access.

[walrii]

A tall desk pencil jar holds my collection of alto A down to Eb. The bigger whistles are stored vertically on a board with pegs similar to the OP's nice unit but mine is much cruder.

[eskin]

Here's the stands in my office/studio, made them many years ago from some dark hardwood and dowels...

[pancelticpiper]

But Michael, what if you have a gig? Don't you have to take all of them off and put them into a roll or something?

I'm too lazy. I just leave them in their roll and when I have a gig I grab the roll and toss it in the boot.

[veloed]

Wow - Nice whistles pancelticpiper! -and display!
What whistles have you got there? and do you have 'one most favorite' among them?
Ed g

[Mr Ed]

I almost forgot about the whistle bag I made, which should be on display along with the whistles. Quite an example of craftsmanship.