The wooden plug came out of the mouthpiece. I am broken-hearted because my favourite ‘practice’ whistle is not going to be playable for the next few days? Does anyone know what type of glue I can use to fix it without poisoning myself?
Thanks,
Kaitlin
RETRACTION! DO NOT USE EITHER GORILLA GLUE OR EPOXIES. SEE MY FOLLOW-UP POST, PLEASE!!
serpent
[ This Message was edited by: serpent on 2003-02-18 15:01 ]
Hey Serpent,
I’m in the same predictament. The question at hand directly addressed adhesives, and I appreciate your advice on that.
I’ve seen that the Tin Whistle Shop tweaks their Clarkes by putting a small nail through the wooden fipple.
As a tinwhistle maker, do you recommend that at all, or would you recommend sticking to adhesives? (pun intended)
Little John
On 2003-02-17 18:13, littlejohngael wrote:
or would you recommend sticking to adhesives? (pun intended)
OUCH! That was painful. 
Whit+
So…the wooden plug came out? Man, my case was much worse…well, due to my own stupidity.
I’ve been learning how to tweak a whistle for about a week and, my best achievement so far has been the Generation mouthpiece…I only cleared the extra bits of plastic, though. The sound became (to my ears) a bit better, I think, and it was okay for me.
I should have stopped there, but recently I wanted some adventure and went as far to ‘flatten the windway’ of the Clarke original. It became harder to blow and what’s worse, no sound came out. I turned pale. So I tried to re-do it, and this time my original bent from the middle, and I injured my left index finger…
Also noteworthy is that, though mentioned somewhere in this board, a beginner should never attempt to ‘stick a Generation mouthpiece into an oven for about 30 seconds’. I put my Gen mp for probably 40 sec.s, and it became a candy. Yes, the windway did become narrower but, it became unplayble, leaving an appearance of a blue duck. Tweaking in this manner requires extreme attention. Do not think about anything else while you do it…just like when you frist drove a car!
I think I’ll buy a tweaked Clarke. 
<><
T
The puns get worse on this board all the time. Sheesh! :roll:
If you have access to a drill press, you can drill a small (1/16" ) hole through the sides of the mouthpiece and the fipple, then very gently drive a couple of small brass screws in from each side, or push a bit of 16ga copper wire through and clip off leaving about 1/16" protruding on each side. You would then flatten the ends of the copper wire by very_gently tapping the ends with a very small hammer, thus creating a rivet. If you have the smallest doubt that you’re capable of being accurate or cautious enough, try it anyhow. Clarkes are cheap. Have a little faith in yourself!
Cheers,
serpent
I have a Clarke Original C whistle. The plug came out of it, but I just used super glue jel-type, then crimped the sides like it was already done originally.
Anyway, my 2cents.
Take care all,
John
Thanks for the suggestions (and the puns). I am getting the glue tomorrow, and hope to have recovered from my ‘Broken Fipple Blues’ by Wednesday.
Thanks again.
Kaitlin
I usually just peen the sides using a nail. Put three punches into each side to force a bit of metal into the wood.This is the way Clarke used to do it, although I think they use glue now.It should hold well unless you get wild pushing the fipple plug around.
Take care, Johnz
GLUE AND EPOXY WARNINGS re. MY FIRST CUT… Please read this.
Reading the Gorilla Glue cautions, skillfully concealed under an outer label, I note:
“Warning: Keep out of reach of children and animals. Contains prepolymized MDI, Dipheynyl-methane-4.4 Diisocyanate. May be harmful if inhaled. Possibly harmful or fatal if swallowed. In case of contact with eyes, hold eyelids open and rinse with water for 15 minutes. Seek medical attention if either occurs. Prevent contact with skin. Wash affected areas with soap and water. Individuals with chronic asthmatic conditions should consult physician prior to using product.”
Epoxy warnings: "CAUTION: Weld agent contains epoxy resin; hardener contains polymercaptan, amine, and nonylphenol. Avoid contact with eyes and prolonged cntact with skin. Do not breathe vapors. For eye contact, flush with water for 15 minutes; call a physician. For skin contact, wash thoroughly with soap and water. If swallowed, do not induce vomiting; call a physician. KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN.
Neat stuff, these adhesives. So here, in the interests of safety, is a fix that is actually non-toxic and will work:
Obtain some Elmer’s Glue and a bit of fine sawdust. Mix this into a paste.
Using a nail file, scratch the inner left, right, and bottom surfaces of the Clarke mouthpiece, where the plug sits.
Very lightly dampen the fipple plug and allow it to sit until almost dry.
Apply the glue-sawdust paste in a thin layer to the plug; apply a thin layer to the inner sides and bottom of the whistle head. Allow to sit until the mix becomes tacky.
Carefully re-insert the plug and remove excess paste.
Put the whistle in a warm place for a couple of days to allow the glue to set up completely.
Drill through the dimples from the original peening with a 1/16th-inch drill. Be careful when you do this.
Press a piece of 16ga plain copper wire through the hole and clip off about 1/16th of an inch from either side.
Place the whistle on a hard metal surface and gently peen the ends of the copper wire to make a rivet. You will want to turn this over a few times to peen both ends evenly.
That is a good, non-toxic, strong fix.
My personal approach would be to simply trash the broken one and buy another. Clarke trads are cheap and plentiful.
Best wishes, sorry for the confusion!
serpent
(edited by spelling cop)
[ This Message was edited by: serpent on 2003-02-18 15:21 ]
What was wrong with the Super Glue Gel fix?
On 2003-02-18 16:14, Tony wrote:
What was wrong with the Super Glue Gel fix?
One word. Cyanoacrylate. More plastic volatiles, Here’s a word on toxicity in clinical applications:
— quote —
Owing to cyanoacrylate toxicity, their biocompatibility must be carefully evaluated before clinical application, in order to identify the less toxic compounds. Biocompatibility should be evaluated according to the EN 30993 standard.
— end quote —
This was from a lengthy paper on the use of cyanoacrylates as skin adhesives, and the recommendation was to use a dilution of 1:10 if they are to be used at all.
It sounds stupid and over the top to some, I know, but I’m not going to recommend anything I don’t know is utterly nontoxic, to be used to hold in a fipple plug that’s gonna be put in contact with someone’s mouth. End of story.
Cheers,
serpent
If you want a quick fix (though I like Serpent’s pin thing and may do it on mine) Get a hot glue gun. Works fine, non-toxic, and has the added benefit of sealing the are around the wood block so you get less air leakage.
-Jim
It sounds stupid and over the top to some, I know, but I’m not going to recommend anything I don’t know is utterly nontoxic, to be used to hold in a fipple plug that’s gonna be put in contact with someone’s mouth. End of story.
Cheers, >
serpent
I’ve in the past I always used natural bees wax, to coat my fipple plugs - but you do need to re-coat every so often.
recently I’ve been on the superglue trip, but now I’ll have to change.
Richard.
On 2003-02-19 09:28, Jim_B1 wrote:
If you want a quick fix (though I like Serpent’s pin thing and may do it on mine) Get a hot glue gun. Works fine, non-toxic, and has the added benefit of sealing the are around the wood block so you get less air leakage.
-Jim
A most sensible alternative! Same kind of plastic used in food containers, with a different M.P. Remember - the glue is hot and the metal is thin, so be careful you work rather quickly and don’t burn yourself! You can trim off excess with a razor knife. Great suggestion, Jim!
Cheers,
serpent
Well, I used the hot glue-and boy did it work well! I am happy, my whistle is happy, my family is…well, not so happy.
Thanks once again for all the help.
Kaitlin