Whistlesmiths

Bagfed · Post by **Bagfed** » Sun Apr 21, 2002 9:51 pm

I am about to acquire a lathe to add to my vast arsenal of tools and I was wondering if any of you have had experience with turning a wooden whistle.
I have started to noodle how to go about it.I'm thinking I'll have to cut a piece of stock in half and hollow it out with a router and then glue it back together. Then turn the outside round to the proper thickness. Cut off the ends and glue a fipple plug into the one end. Grind the curve of the mouthpiece. Drill and file the fipple. Drill the finger holes. Sand out the excess glue inside.
Where craft becomes art is in knowing how long, how wide, how thick the thing should be.
I was also wondering how you would go about sizing and placing the holes.
Going in, I know I am going to put out some un-playable prototypes, but I was hoping to get a head start by learning some other's experiences to avoid.
Also, I know mineral oil is used for wood salad bowls. Is there a better sealer/finish for whistles?
Thanks,
Aaron

ErikT · Post by **ErikT** » Sun Apr 21, 2002 11:19 pm

Hi Aaron,

It looks like you have a fun project ahead of you. I do have one comment, and that would be that I would not recommend the routing of the bore in this case. Since you have a lathe (or will) you might as well drill it. It will take some time and you'll need to purchase a bit (or boring bar) capable of the depth that you need, but in the end, I think that you'll have a better whistle (better aesthetically, not necessarily sound - though that depends upon how well you clear the glue that seeps into the bore).

Just a thought for you

Have fun.

Erik

Bagfed · Post by **Bagfed** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 6:57 am

I havn't used a lathe before and I don't have much confidence in my ability to hollow out a narrow bore with consistency. The material would have to be chucked at one end and supported from underneath on the other, right?
Aaron

daveboling · Post by **daveboling** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 8:02 am

On the drilling of the bore, I believe that there are tailstock pieces that allow the feeding of a drill bit through the middle. I think that Delta wood lathes have this capability.

ndjr · Post by **ndjr** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 8:28 am

One guesses that cutting, routing, and gluing the bore would have an effect on the acoustic properties of the wood, though how significant this would be is not clear to me. I expect that it would be more difficult than it seems to make the bore uniform and circular in cross-section. It would also doubtless affect the response of the wood to changing humidity, with implications for cracking and the like, and I am not aware of any whistle or fife makers who use this approach. As the others have suggested, I believe you would be happier with the results if you drill the bore.

Practice with some inexpensive bits of wood to build confidence before you try it on a nice piece of African blackwood.

In reading some posts by and about whistlemakers on this board, I understand that it is good practice to let the newly drilled and turned bore set for a period of weeks or months to stabilize before finishing the whistle. Perhaps some of these folks can provide more detail.

Kevin Popejoy · Post by **Kevin Popejoy** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 8:43 am

Here are a few guidelines that may be helpful. I use these methods in pipemaking but they apply to wooden whistle making.

Equipment needed:

3-jaw chuck
steady rest
jacobs chuck with morris taper arbor
center drill
suitable drills, e.g., D-bit, twist bit, or gun drill

The workpiece is turned round and mounted in the 3-jaw chuck. The free end is mounted in a steady rest. My steady is a shop made affair utilizing a standard 1 inch inside diameter flange bearing. The free end of the stick is turned down to 1 inch outside diameter and socketed into the bearing. This leaves the end of the stick exposed for drilling. The center drill is installed in the jacobs chuck which is mounted in the tailstock. The center drill is a special cutter used to establish a well centered pilot hole. This starting hole is enlarged with a succession of drills in an effort to maintain a well centered hole. Once the proper size hole is established, bore drilling can commence. Care must be taken to clear the chips at regular intervals. Failure to do this will result in a wandering bit as it is forced off course by the chip buildup. As you clear the chips it is a good practice to rub the business end of the bit with bee's wax for lubrication.

That's the general idea. A gun drill (read "expensive") simplifies the process considerably, as it automates chip clearing. If you decide to go completely off the deep end and get into conical bores there are additional tools and steps required.

I should add... as you progress with these techniques, think safety at all times.

When you buy your lathe, pass on the cheap ones with a fixed center on the tailstock. You will require a tailstock that accepts morris taper tooling. This can't be over emphasized.

Kevin Popejoy

Bartleby · Post by **Bartleby** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 9:28 am

As an amateur instrument maker, I'm sure enjoying this thread. Here are my humble observations/suggestions:
1. I've heard of builders of wooden instruments acquiring old junker pianos and salvaging the soundboard to make instruments. This makes sense to me, because the wood is already aged and has been subject to years of musical vibration. In this part of the country, old upright pianos are readily available and can be had for a song. Think of how many bores you could turn out of a piano soundboard!
2. Is wood a good choice for making a fipple, or even a whistle for that matter?
3. I agree with the other posters about drilling the bore. The OP seems reluctant to do so. When drilling the bore, I'd suggest using a bore blank that's big enough to leave room for small errors. IMHO, a good craftsman makes errors like anyone, only a truly good one knows how to correct his errors! After drilling, the lathe could be used to reduce the blank to the proper size, right?

_________________
...always after me Lucky Charms!

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Bartleby on 2002-04-22 11:30 ]</font>

Patrick · Post by **Patrick** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 4:13 pm

The Native American flutes usually use a piece of wood that is split, has the bore hollowed out, then is glues back together. The fipple design is quite a bit different from a tinwhistle's but can be very effective.

If you do a web search, you can turn up quite a bit about how to make these things. The one thing to remember is that most seem to pentatonic and they are generally solo instruments, so don't count on the tuning being right if you use directions designed for one of these. Still, the fipple and bore are interesting to look at.

-Patrick

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Tue Apr 23, 2002 5:17 am

Dang! I tried to post a somewhat lengthy answer to the original post concerning the technical difficulties of wooden whistlemaking, only to find that it never made it onto the board. Oh well, subsequent posters covered most of the ground, so just let me reiterate that this is not something to be undertaken lightly on a whim. If you just want to make some sort of whistle, try PVC, copper, etc. Tooling up for wooden instrument making is expensive and time consuming. However the results are very satisfying, and if you have the true urge for it, best of luck!

DazedinLA · Post by **DazedinLA** » Tue Apr 23, 2002 8:29 am

This is a great thread!

There seem to be quite a few members who have some experience in making their own whistles. I'm new to the Board, so I dont know if this is a standard/tired old thread, but I'm very interested in starting to make my own whistles in a wide range of conventional and unconventional materials, and it would be fun to discuss this with like-minded folk.

Is there a core group of us who are so masochistic as to torture ourselves in pursuit of crafting the perfect whistle? I for one would be interested to know, and Id be happy to share my thougths and findings once I get going (Im in the process of getting tools and etc assembled).

Kevin
dazedinla@aol.com

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Tue Apr 23, 2002 8:43 am

Patrick, I tried to quote your post in my reply but the board wouldn't let me.

Anyway, you're right that most people who make native american style flutes use two routed halves, or even two hand carved halves. I knew one person that turns the outside of the flute on the lathe but I'm not sure about the inside. That person is Terry Austin of Kokopelli Flutes. He also teaches a class in which the students make flutes using the two halves method. Here is a webpage where he describes the class in detail:

http://www.kokopelliflutes.com/nativeam ... ption.html

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: avanutria on 2002-04-23 10:47 ]</font>

Thomas-Hastay · Post by **Thomas-Hastay** » Tue Apr 23, 2002 12:11 pm

Have a look at <a href="http://www.malvernrecorders.com/birth.htm">Malvern Recorders Site</a>. This site has a great deal of visual information on Recorder making that can translate to whistles.

I use similar techniques,ergo,I use a router with a bit that is undersized,epoxy(not glue)the halves together and finish with a series of hand-held shell augers of increasing size through a hollow tailstock or steadyrest.

You can drill a full bore with the hollow tailstock(halfway,flip over,finish)or use a "steadyrest" like hollow-form turners use to create vases etc.

An easy way to make the headpiece is to shave a convex 30 degree angle on one end of the bore and a matching concave 30 degree angle on the headpiece. Then cut a window in the headpiece with the lower side open.when the 2 pieces are glued together they form a window and a labium ramp. This type of voicing is seen on the Susato whistle and is easy to master on the lathe.