Easy Tweaking

[I.D.10-t]

So I read on-line that Clarks were made of sheet metal and so they were easy to tweak. I had a Clark C whistle that I bought in '97 and never played. I forgot about it, and then found it. I pushed down the mouth piece to provide back pressure and tone and it worked....
...but I had one of the painted ones.

The paint had separated from the sheet metal. It was bubbled and flaked off so I decided that it would be best to remove all of the paint.

In the past I have seen heat guns remove paint, so I thought that heat would work. I was worried about the wooden block, but thought it was worth a try.

So I took the whistle and placed it on tinfoil and put it in the toaster oven. I watched it for smoke, to see if the paint bubbled or if the plug burned. Removing it with hot-mitts, I cooled it with cold water wondering why it was stuck to the foil. The paint did not change. It was where it always had been, gold diamonds and all.

The solder on the back, however, melted and the seam split. Not a tweak I would recommend. It stuck to the foil because of of the melted solder.

I have a whistle that I like (I have an Oak in D ) so it is not a big loss.

[Adrian]

Bad luck mate. Next time you could try removing the paint with one of these.

[Mick Down Under]

Why wouldn't you just use a bit of elbow grease and a soft scouring pad or wet and dry sandpaper?


Mick