swabbing the bore on wooden whistles

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Mon Jul 07, 2003 9:45 pm

I just got my first wooden whistle and am in love with it. My concern is that if I play it every day for years, and swab the moisture out of the bore each day, I'll eventually wear out the brass fitting where the two parts come together. So my question is, since my cleaning rod with the cotton swab on the end is plenty long enough to reach all the way to the fipple, what am I gaining by pulling the whistle apart? My guess is that I can leave it together and swab it that way each night. Any observations by you all?

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Mon Jul 07, 2003 11:43 pm

No, there's no need to take it apart to
swab it, if the swab goes all the way.
But generally I take such whistles
apart to store them, anyway. Best

clarinetnut · Post by **clarinetnut** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 1:14 am

I've never owned a wooden whistle, so please take this with a grain of salt, but...
I always take my wooden clarinet apart to swab it out. I tend to get water pooled in the tenon joint that needs to be wiped out. I've never noticed that the joint wears out from being swabbed. No more than the inside of the clarinet wears out, anyway. I don't know how, or if, this applies to whistles...

nickt · Post by **nickt** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 2:14 am

I recommend you separate the joints to allow the air to get in - you may miss a droplet somewhere anyway. Remember to use almond oil in the bore every so often, every 1-3 months or so, or when needed. A dab of joint grease on the slide once in a blue moon would be good too.

And just exactly what is your new pride and joy?!

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 6:04 am

It is a very good idea to take 2 part whistles apart for cleaning and storage, especially if they have a metal tuning slide. Moisture can seep into the slide and cause corrosion and possibly freeze up the slide in time. I just did a repair on a whistle ( owner had it in a back pocket and sat down... ) and the tuning slide was quite corroded.. I was able to steel wool it back for the most part, but it was still a bit pitted. Take them apart!

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 6:53 am

I got one of David Boisvert's whistles, Nick. You can see what they look like if you follow the link in this thread:

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=12647

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 9:21 am

brewerpaul wrote:It is a very good idea to take 2 part whistles apart for cleaning and storage, especially if they have a metal tuning slide.

Does this include metal whistles too? I guess I should take the Burke apart once and awhile since it has a rubber ring.

madguy · Post by **madguy** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 9:26 am

geek, I hope you're being facetious?!

I do believe Paul is referring to wooden whistles.

~Larry

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 9:45 am

madguy wrote:geek, I hope you're being facetious?! I do believe Paul is referring to wooden whistles.

~Larry

The tuning slides are brass on both types of whistle. So what's good for one will be good for the other, right?

madguy · Post by **madguy** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 9:56 am

I suppose you're right...

~Larry

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 10:00 am

madguy wrote:I suppose you're right...

~Larry

No big deal, Larry. I'm just trying to figure all this out.

madguy · Post by **madguy** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 10:02 am

It's quite alright...I've given up figuring ANY of this out!

~Larry

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 11:34 am

madguy wrote:It's quite alright...I've given up figuring ANY of this out!

~Larry

I do think that any metal to metal slides oughta be taken apart. The o-ring setup on a Burke might change that though-- ask Mike.

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 11:36 am

brewerpaul wrote: I do think that any metal to metal slides oughta be taken apart.

Every day, Paul? Or would once a week be adequate? Eventually over the years those brass parts will lose that close tolerance. Of course they can be repaired, but.....

Sunnywindo · Post by **Sunnywindo** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 12:12 pm

I would definatly take the whistle apart before wiping it out. I don't see the metal wearing out that much, I would imagine that you would run into problems with the wood wearing or cracking or something before you would ever have a big problem with the metal. I would think corrosion would be more damaging faster than a bit of wear from general use. I also thought I read something once about how it's good to store wood whistles taken apart, something to do with any possible expanding/contracting of the materials (though perhaps I remember wrong?). Anyhow, I have taken to storing mine as two pieces. I also oil it a lot more than Nick recommends. I oil mine when ever the bore starts to look/feel dry... which for right now is still once or sometimes twice a week. Maybe it's just that I live in a very dry area, or maybe it's still into soaking up the oil, maybe it's the kind of wood, but mine does seem to dry out quickly. Mine is still on the newish side, I imagine eventually it will soak up enough oil that it may not need it as often. I also wipe the metal fittings with a soft cloth to help keep any oil or other stuff from building up on them, and occasionally give the outside a light wiping down with oil as well. I don't think over-oiling is much of a problem if it looks like it needs it, so long as oil doesn't get in the wind way and so long as it seems to be soaking up the oil instead of puddling it all. After a few months, you'll get more comfortable with what your paticular whistle needs as far as oiling, etc. (Course, you only asked about swabing it out taken apart or not... but then Nick mentioned oil and....) Anyhow enough rambling...

So you say you are loving your new whistle? Wonderful! Any chance of some sort of review down the road?

Sara