I’m looking to make a tin whistle from bamboo using Guido’s Low Tech Whistle Guide and would like to know if it is feasible to use these instructions with bamboo instead of PVC. I have never made a whistle before in my life, and have no idea what I’m getting into, so if you guys have any advice that would be amazing. (I know where I can get free bamboo, too, so that’s not a problem)
In order for those instructions to apply to making a bamboo whistle, I think you’d have to get the bamboo to at least roughly the same dimensions as the PVC you’re emulating. That means boring it out on the inside and also (maybe) turning the outside diameter down too.
I’ve made a couple of bamboo whistles in this way and they’ve come out quite nicely. Of course, I have a metal lathe, gundrill etc to do the job pretty easily.
I run a “musical instruments” booth at an annual event my church holds and crank out about 200 bamboo flutes over three days, to give to the kids. I use a red hot poker to drill the holes and breach the sections (those solid things blocking the bamboo segments). The poker is a piece of 3/8" steel…an axle from an old BBQ grill, set in a wood handle and ground to a dull point on the end. Yup, the Low Tech whistle tone hole placements will get you close. Just make your holes small and tune them up with an electronic tuner,using the second octave. Transverse flutes/fifes are easiest to make but with some time, a fipple is easy to construct with the right size dowel rod and an Xacto wood rasp needle file, and a very sharp wood chisel I make from old screwdrivers. Use sandpaper slivers to finish the labium. The hot poker technique is fast and accurate but you’ll need to wash/sand your new whistle or leave it on the patio a few days. Your house will smell like a smokehouse. I’ve made high D whistles and fifes as thick a 1" across. 1/2" ID bamboo is about right for a whistle. One of the best/cleanest sounding fipples I’ve ever heard was on a bamboo whistle made by an old Ethiopian guy. Took him about 10 minutes and it looks CNC machined. The holes are all wrong or I’d be playing it. 
I too have a metal lathe (works great for wood!!) and if you can find some very straight bamboo, you can machine it cylindrical and cut a perfectly sized fipple plug hole to fit your dowel rod. If you don’t have a lathe, a bench belt sander or drill press drum sander will get you very close. I’ve tried planes and spokeshaves…no good on bamboo.
Bamboo sounds great…nice sweet tone if you can get the fipple right.
1st time whistle? You are going to go through a learning curve where nothing seems to work right and a couple hours per whistle will end up in the trash. After 3 or 4 tries, you’ll learn what works and what doesn’t and end up with more whistles that the law allows…hope you get it right the 1st time. That’s the beauty of bamboo and PVC. It’s practically free and you can give your artwork away and maybe get a kid interested in music.
That’s the beauty of bamboo and PVC. It’s practically free and you can give your artwork away and maybe get a kid interested in music.
I couldn’t agree with you more! It’s kind of like those MasterCard commercials, isn’t it? “Brand name brass high D $200. The look on a kid’s face when you hand them their first whistle - priceless!”
Feadoggie
I couldn’t agree with you more! It’s kind of like those MasterCard commercials, isn’t it? “Brand name brass high D $200. The look on a kid’s face when you hand them their first whistle - priceless!”
It’s the look on their parent’s face that gets me.
Stay hoopy,
Mike
Thanks for all the suggestions!!
BTW-- make sure that bamboo is thoroughly dry and cured before you try to work it otherwise it’s sure to crack at some point.
I suggest you join “The Pipers Guild” Of Margaret James. This is an International group dedicated to the Bamboo “whistle”(including easy construction).
server error, double post
Hi
Lot’s of good advice already given, but I think I’d start with a couple of PVC whistles to get the hang of it. 1/2" CPVC hot water pipe or PVC electric conduit have given me good results. By good results, I mean whistles that I prefer over many commercially made ones, even over some whistles costing more than a couple of good dinners.
Get yourself an electronic tuner or use tuning software on your computer. I prefer drilling and tuning the holes one by one and then fine tuning at last. (It’s easier to compensate for minor errors if you make the whistle tunable.)
Owen