So let’s see…wooden whistle makers…
Abell
Busman
Grinter
Sweetheart
Swayne
Hoover
Westin
Dion
O’brien
Milligan
Rose
Schultz
O’Riordan
Boisvert
Reyburn (heads)
O’Dwyer
Bleazey
Oz
These come to mind immediately and are listed in no particular order so I’m sure there are some that I’ve missed. Though some of these may be harder to get, most are not and they represent some of the finest made. I’m certain to have missed some.
I think wooden whistles are here to stay. 
ecohawk
Yes, I do realize consistency in craftsmanship working the wood is what matters and with most other materials as well.
I’m not so sure we all know… I don’t.
That’s the allure for me… the variety.
That’s good to hear that the wooden whistles will be around for a while.
That’s quite a list and there are a few I’m not familiar with O’Dwyer and Westin I never heard of. Any locations/links?
And another solid affirmation that wood whistles will be around… that’s reassuring.
Pat O’Dwyer is the man behind the Lon Dubh whistles, which are now also injection-molded. I say “also” in the assumption he hasn’t given up making the wooden ones.
www.londubhwhistle.ie
A friend of mine has one in purpleheart that is fantastic.
Let’s not forget Geoffrey Ellis who makes some very nice wooden whistles as well!
Cayden
Fair enough. Here are the Cliff Notes then. Heavier, harder, denser woods result in a brighter tone. Conversely, lighter, softer, less dense woods result in a more mellow tone. But wood can vary quite a bit from piece to piece so those are merely the guidelines. Many more of the characteristics that contribute to tone have to do with the design and craft of the maker.
The Lon Dubh has been covered. Weston Whistles are here: http://www.westonwhistles.co.uk/
Good list, ecohawk. There are others. I could add a dozen or more to the list but a couple of my favorites not mentioned include Brad Anderson and Erle Bartlett. Cayden has already mentioned Geoffrey Ellis. Mack Hoover has worked in wood too. There are many others who are less renowned. And remember it is a wide world and there are hobbyist as well as specialist woodwind makers throughout the Americas, Europe and beyond making folk whistles from local timbers based on local designs and traditions.
The one wooden whistle I would still love to have is the Orkon or Chromette, designed by Edward V. Powell, son of Verne Q. Powell. Fully chromatic and keyed they were made in wood. including blackwood, before moving on to Bakelite. One of the Bakelite models sold a couple weeks back on Ebay. I bailed out before the end of the auction. Anyone here have one?
Wood is good
and it has stood
the test of time
just as it should.
Feadoggie
I must’ve brainarted on the name O’Dwyer as I have heard of him and I do have the Lon Dubh, but, I never realized that he worked in wood also. Age and memory… and experience.
Feadoggie, the cliff notes were most helpful. I never knew that about the differences in wood. I just thought it was an aesthetic thing. Thank you. And its good to hear some of the familiar names to be reminded that they work in all materials. I do like hearing about the lesser known names and woodwind makers from around the world. So there are a number of names that could/should be included on the list. So many whistles…
Thanks everyone.
I have another question about wood. Does a wooden whistle shrink/grow, stretch, or other over time? I’m aware of temp and humidity changes.
My question is more about the fingering holes and window opening. Do they enlarge from wear and tear? Or is wood tough enough to withstand the usage over time?
ytliek,
Legend has it that the skin of old Sailors falls somewhere betwixt leather and sandpaper as a result from years of exposure to the ocean sun and salt. The hard fact that repeated playing by you old squids has a very abrasive effect on the tone holes of wooden whistles, said erosive action quickly leads to growing diameter of the tone holes rendering the whistle useless. Just last year there was a report of an old sailor falling into the D hole of his whistle never to be seen again. Some sort of Bermuda Triangle kind of thing! 
So given this sad but true fact, I think you should give me all of your wooden whistles as I know you would want them played by my lilly soft hands rather than not being played. And it would be a shame to watch an old salt like yourself sucked into a whistle whirlpool. Just saying! 
So get playing your metal / delrin whistles and I’ll be watching for the parcel full o’ wood to be delivered to my doorstep! 
T’is the least I can do for you, my buddy pal. 
With deep concern,
Cayden
ytliek,
Legend has it that the skin of old Sailors falls somewhere betwixt leather and sandpaper as a result from years of exposure to the ocean sun and salt. The hard fact that repeated playing by you old squids has a very abrasive effect on the tone holes of wooden whistles, said erosive action quickly leads to growing diameter of the tone holes rendering the whistle useless. Just last year there was a report of an old sailor falling into the D hole of his whistle never to be seen again. Some sort of Bermuda Triangle kind of thing!
So given this sad but true fact, I think you should give me all of your wooden whistles as I know you would want them played by my lilly soft hands rather than not being played. And it would be a shame to watch an old salt like yourself sucked into a whistle whirlpool. Just saying!
So get playing your metal / delrin whistles and I’ll be watching for the parcel full o’ wood to be delivered to my doorstep!
T’is the least I can do for you, my buddy pal.
With deep concern,
Cayden
When the story got to the Massachusetts coast it had changed somewhat in that it was reported to be the A hole. Who knows with this squid legend stuff.
Best wishes,
Steve
Give my whistles… I’d consider shoving my whistles (the cheap sharpened ones)
Buddy pal? You’re on my __it list since Monday.
D and A holes… ganging up eh? Or are we just going to run thru the chromatic scale here.
Wood instruments can remain stable a long time. Look at the number of old flutes kicking around. Of course the whistle is a little bit different - being more delicate in its dimensions.
But the answer to your question really depends on the particular piece of wood and the processes the maker uses when making the whistle. Some wood is more stable than others meaning it is less prone to shrink length or width wise. That is one of the reasons African blackwood is so popular for woodwinds. When we say a wood is dimensionally stable we mean it should not change dimensions much. Wood is a living product. The cells in its structure contain moisture. Once cut and if left alone it will give up that moisture and shrink. Some woods will shrink uniformly along the length and width and others may not. Some timbers will twist as they shrink. So a maker has to first select good wood from a supplier they trust and who hopefully has treated the timber well as they process it. Next the maker has to season the wood themselves which basically means they let the wood become acclimated to the environment in the shop. That can be done by regularly measuring the moisture content or by weighing the wood periodically to see how it is changing. Different makers will have different points at which they begin to work the wood. Then as the wood is cut, turned, bored and otherwise machined it has to rest for a time between every major process to further see how it reacts. That can be time consuming.
Another approach is to stabilize the wood artificially. A lot of bowl turners and pen turners do this so they do not have to fuss with the moisture loss over time - and no patience. Stabilization can amount to using a variety of chemicals to replace the water and oxygen in the wood using vacuum and/or pressure. There are also chemicals that seek out the moisture in the wood and act to replace it at regular atmospheric pressure. Remember that wood is rather plastic to begin with. Cellulose and plant structures in general were early natural models studied by chemists and materials scientists as a model for making plastics. Stabilized wood, sometimes referred to as plasticized wood, has the cell structure of the wood with the water and air replaced by other chemicals.
Then there is torrefied wood, which I remember being used by David O’Brien in the past. That is essentially wood which has been dried under pressure and high heat so that once complete there is no longer any moisture or other element left to give up. That is very stable wood. It’s a difficult process though - get it wrong and you have a pile of cinders.
As for the effect on the tone holes and the labium over time again that depends on the maker’s methods and design. Thin walled whistles might be more effected than those with thicker walls. The labium can be a very thin piece of wood. Some makers will treat the blade even if they do not treat the rest of the whistle’s body. It can be as simple as brushing CA glue onto the blade as they finish the head. The cyanoacrylate glue soaks into the wood and will essentially plasticize the labium. The same can be done for the tone holes if desired. But many of the exotic woods really do not need this since they are rich in resins that are pretty much natures plastics anyway.
Bottom line - woods that are appropriate for woodwinds are generally not going to be much of a problem provided common sense is used in caring for the instrument.
Hope that helps.
Feadoggie
Hey now Lad,
I gave you a chance to rub my Irish noggin for luck right before those names are were picked. I even had my lucky NYPD shirt on at the moment. Did you not see the BIG GRIN on Dave’s face when I made you the offer? Dave realized my Irish mojo was running hot, me winning that nice new Browning not that long ago. So take me off the $h!t list before I hit on the Power Ball cause if I do, your wildest WOAD dreams are on me my Brother!
OVER AND OUT MATE,
Cayden
I should’ve thought of the old flutes and their history. I don’t follow that but I do know flutes have been around a long time.
Wow, Feadoggie, you’re like an encyclopedia. The various woods fascinate me… and I wish I was a woodshop guy. But I do enjoy tremendously watching craftsman at work with wood. Mystic Seaport here just hosted the annual Wooden Boat Show a month ago… it’s about the detailing and finishing, with all of the tools (even the tools fascinate me) that gets me going. To be young again…
This vid has been posted before, but, I love it and will keep posting it. The vid should’ve been rather two hours and twenty seven minutes. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZvl7KBZh2g
Any others like these around?
P.S. I did do a search for the John Sindt workshop vid and cannot locate it in the archives of the people who made it. Someone may have stashed a personal copy away though. As a last resort I may ask the man himself.
There are a few videos around you could look at. Many videos about flute makers are applicable. It’s only the noise maker that is much different on a whistle. The recent film Jem Moore produced about Patrick Olwell shows a lot of his shop. Here’s the teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nwyTbD_Pn8
Recorders can be very much the same as a whistle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiSW6LPchSc
Same with pipes - lot of those out there. It’s all about boring, turning, drilling and tuning
Yeah, the Sindt video seems to no longer be around. I can’t find it either. I do not think I have a copy saved locally either. That man has some serious machinery. His make mine look darned dinky.
Tyrone Head has some very detailed videos on his site of each step in his methods. He’s a member here. His methods are just one way to skin the cat, so to speak. Keep in mind that his shop set-up is perhaps one extreme of what a maker may utilize. Others may be much more simple and yet others may be more production oriented. So look at them if you haven’t. http://www.theflutemaker.com/tutorials.php
There is a series on Irish TV TG-4 profiling various makers of instruments. You can dig through YouTube for some of those. Search on “Ceird an Cheoil”. There’s one on Hammy Hamilton and low whistles. Beautiful shows. Here’s the low whistle show:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5opfML0QpRM
I was infected with the wooden boat disease years ago. It’s a different type of activity than making instruments. While it looks to be detailed it is really more brute and blunt force than making whistles (or guitars). But the sawdust is all the same. Both are good ways to spend a day.
Feadoggie
Terrific vids.
Amazing that I make a post and see what shows up on the menu!