Whats it take to be a Whistle maker

McHaffie · Post by **McHaffie** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:15 pm

Walden wrote:It takes thick skin.

Now that.... is true.

CHIFF FIPPLE · Post by **CHIFF FIPPLE** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:49 pm

McHaffie wrote:
Walden wrote:It takes thick skin.
Now that.... is true.

Very

True..
When I first posted to this board My skin was like tissue paper

Now its like harden Steel

syn whistles · Post by **syn whistles** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:45 pm

What about a series of graduated steps within the industry, denoting levels of complexity. Something like the motor industry perhaps?
We could start with a whistle assembler as the basic level. This could cover people who like to swap heads and bodies with a limited amount of skill and knowledge.
Then there would be whistle mechanics whose speciality is in tuning/tweaking existing whistles into shape.
Whistle fitters would be responsible for actually making the components, and finally,
Whistle designers who set the parameters at the basic level for the whistle being made and its handling characteristics.

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:23 pm

brewerpaul wrote:
An old woodworking friend of mine liked the term Wood Butcher...

I've definately seen plenty of work from that type! Good term.

Loren

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:26 pm

P.S. Of course the other term for same would be "Hack".......

Daniel_Bingamon · Post by **Daniel_Bingamon** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 6:17 pm

syn whistles wrote: Whistle fitters would be responsible for actually making the components, and finally,
Whistle designers who set the parameters at the basic level for the whistle being made and its handling characteristics.

This makes sense, Whistle Designer also separates copying other whistles from designing from scratch.

McHaffie · Post by **McHaffie** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 10:15 pm

This is true....

Ah, so many facets to such a seemingly simple little thing.

And then you would have to have the subset of the Bob Ross memorial "Happy Accident" designers, wherin designers are responsible for implementing designs that are completely stumbled upon by accident and shouldn't really have worked, but do for some reason, so are kind of tested a bit, touched up a little and put into place!

CHIFF FIPPLE · Post by **CHIFF FIPPLE** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 2:29 am

I'm thinking of calling myself an Aerophonist
One who makes Aerophone's and studies AeroPhonics

Na'h plane old Whistlesmith is good enough for me!
hey Paul, I would not have said you butcher wood

I can tell you just love the stuff, and charm it into whistles

Ofcourse you know what they would have called old Clarke with his barrow an tin whistles.
Hey Nobby---- get ta ---- with them whistles yer ----ing Tink.
So maybe we could whistletinker as well

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 4:50 am

Walden wrote:It takes thick skin.

and lots of Band-aids...

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 4:53 am

brewerpaul wrote:
Walden wrote:It takes thick skin.
and lots of Band-aids...

Oh yes, and an understanding spouse! If you get into whistlemaking seriously, it can become a demanding mistress :roll:

Stacy-- thanks for the kind words. I do indeed love wood, but I have butchered more than one piece, alas...

Thomas-Hastay · Post by **Thomas-Hastay** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 3:47 pm

Daniel has a good point/distinction about whistlesmiths. A good woodworker/metalworker/crafty person can copy predesigned plans and sell them. How hard is it to drill 6 holes and carve a voicing?

If you truly wish to produce a whistle, or any woodwind, that can be adapted for anyones personal taste, you must study acoustics and mathematics and apply this to working shop skills. This is usually too much work for the average person without help or mentoring from a "pro"

The "best bet" for a beginner is to produce "batches" and sell them at auction(E-bay)/flea market/garage sale etc. than try to produce mass quantities on the open market. This way you can get tax free hobbie income without the need for a commercial license and 24/7 production to keep up with demand.

The choice is up to the individual. Acoustic Engineering or mimic copying of another persons designs. I can personally say that I have enjoyed my 15 years of research in Acoustic Engineering as a hobbie and all the different woodwinds I have produced for friends/family/flea markets/faires etc. as well as the history behind the designs. I hope you will enjoy your "quest" as much as I have enjoyed mine.

Thomas Hastay.

McHaffie · Post by **McHaffie** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 6:46 pm

I dunno, it is a good point, because that's a large grey area. In my 'quest' There was a lot of fine tuning in the hole placement versus the wall thickness / density of material / natural resonance once you've broken the tube with a tuning slide, then after all that's said and done, a complete overhaul of the mouthpiece design from the mainstream ideas at the time, required a slight revamp of the rest.

The percentages or ratios of length vs. diameter, wall ... (sum it up, dimensions) don't even account for it all... mostly they land you very close, then intuition and trial and error account for quite a bit also.

But I digress... my original point being... I'm certainly not an Acoustic engineer (bowing, paying ohmage to those that are. It takes work to get anywhere in any field) I've been a PC/Network engineer all my life, so I've no clue beyond the mathematics of it , trial and error, and my general intuition of music. I can't even read sheetmusic. I've learned volumes in the process regarding vibration, airflow, resonance of various materials, whys and why nots, ets, but I'd say I'm still and probably always will be a just a whistlemaker (or whistlesmith) that enjoys making, comparing, repairing, and playing whistles.

[ I deleted this WAY down because it is turning into a small novel, but this is a rather fun topic.

]

Oh, and one major difference to point out should be that I've only worked with metals. Wood is a wholly different aspect, and the only woodworking I've done with wind instruments is with Native American flutes, and I can already tell you that different woods are just like metals in the fact they make huge differences in how they are to work with and the sound they make. And I'll stop there!

We now return you to your regularly scrambled program...

-John

KDMARTINKY · Post by **KDMARTINKY** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 6:48 pm

If you a man you need a big set of balls, but if your Stacey a big set of fipples will do!

I couldn't resist.......

Joe_Atlanta · Post by **Joe_Atlanta** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 8:28 pm

I like the term whistlesmith and see it as analagous to luthier. There are luthiers who make guitars, some just fix and tweak, others who asemble, then customize. There are also luthiers (Ken Smith comes to mind) who started out as makers, who now head companies that manufacture. Ken's a good example because he still selects wood, makes design changes and does the final set up on all his basses.

Then there are the "Artist" model guitars, some of which are just standard basses with decals. Others contain a lot of design input from the player, and are really unique, or at least a good deal different from the run of the mill. However, these folks aren't luthiers. The luthiers are the people who build the guitar to those specs.

As far a whistlesmiths go, there certainly are many kinds. My personal admiration is for those small shops that continually tweak their products, working to improve them (whether from a personal vision, a simple enjoyment of trying something new, to meet the needs of customers, or any combination of these). The goal is not to become a whistle tycoon, just to build a better instrument. The originator of this thread seems to be a prime example of this type of whistlesmith and there are many others who frequent and contribute to this board. You are the people who make it easier for us as players to free the music within us. That's a very fine and wonderful thing to do. Give yourself a pat on the back (then get back to work).

Daniel_Bingamon · Post by **Daniel_Bingamon** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 8:41 pm

Hey Stacey, you could write a music book, "Fun with AeroPhonics". (Kind of like "fun with Phonics).

The term Whistlesmith to me invokes hammers and fire. Building whistles with big hammers sounds scarey. The biggest hammer wins.

I've held off from a lot of wood work in the past because my shop humidity was not good for wood. I've since moved into a new room with a decent dehumidifier. I may start doing more wood items now that the conditions are better for this.