I bought an Aluminum Pro-D from Song of the Sea a few months ago. They had it in stock - no wait, no problems. I am absolutely thrilled with the whistle, except for one small thing. When I got the whistle, the tuning slide was frozen. Stuck. I looked on Mike’s website, thinking maybe I’d gotten a nontunable model. Eventually, I got it freed up, and life was good. Until now. We just moved into a bigger house, and this meant that the Burke spent about 2 months in a packed box. When I got it out again yesterday - you guessed it, frozen up again. Once again, I’ve got it free, but at the cost of a couple of scratches on the mouthpiece. I’ve checked Mike’s website for whistle maintenance, and don’t see any advice, so I submit it to the collective wisdom of C&F - what does one lubricate a burke tuning slide with to prevent this sort of thing? I suppose I could just never let it sit for more than a week again without playing it…
I keep a liberal coating of cork grease on my Al-Pro, but it still sticks if I don’t move the tuning slide every so often.
I have no idea why it sticks so easily, but it’s a common problem with the newer “pro” model Burkes.
The only solution I know of is to use the tuning slide regularly and keep it well lubricated.
I’ve considered using liquid soap, but I haven’t tested the idea yet.
In general, I think it is a good idea to take tuneable whistles apart and store the pieces separately. Moisture from condensed breath can allow electrolytic reactions to take place between the metal surfaces, and it does not take much to “weld” the slide in place. It may not happen very often, but when it does, you’re SOL.
On 2002-01-20 14:19, Tim Hall wrote:what does one lubricate a burke tuning slide with to prevent this sort of thing? I suppose I could just never let it sit for more than a week again without playing it…
Tim Hall
Tim, I had the identical problem not long ago, and nearly did serious damage to my whistle. Eventually (after putting it back together where it should NEVER have come apart, and I’d been warned never to TAKE it apart) I got two rubber grippers, took a hefty dose of Jameson, and got insistent with the whistle. After that (and a second dose of Jameson as a congratulations) I gave it a good smear of Vaseline. Now once a week, whether it needs it or not, it gets a good twist.
Oh dear. . .they sound good. I started my whiskey drinking career with Tully, moved to Jameson. . .now I need to try some new ones. Thanks for the tips, Phil!
Heh, heh. . . I thought jameson was a brand name for cork grease. Well, I guess one could get their cork greased with whiskey. . . so to speak that is.
Anyway, I want a Tenor D tuneable so naturally now I’m wondering about even more variables in deciding. Are dissimilar metals being used for the whistle/tuning slide? That would cause a reaction with moisture to enhance corrosion. Or is it just the aluminum reacting to acidic saliva causing an electrolytic reaction. Where’s Mr. Wizard when ya need him?
Do any of the manufacturers of tuneable two-piece whistles say that they shouldn’t be stored apart? And can they be put back together quickly to get them back to how they were originally tuned? The reason I ask that is I’m under the impression that if you buy a Tenor D that it is tuned to low d with the slide in one position, and that the tuning capability is mainly for tuning to other instruments so as not to be sharp or flat during sessions.
Dug out the “care” instructions that came
with my Alum Pro D and it called for 0-ring
lubricant or petroleum jelly. Have been
using Vaseline for almost a year and a half.
Contrary to some others I use only a minimal
amount, applied with a Q-tip. Upon checking
yesterday, the slide moved quite easily, this
after two months of inattention.
I am fortunate to own both Burke Brass Pros and Alpros. For quite some time, I have used a small tube of Vito cork grease to lubricate the O-rings. Sometimes the slides do not get moved for many weeks. Since using this method, the slides have never seized up…I have noticed that Mike has changed the material from which the O-rings are made. I have no idea if this change was related to the problem at hand, or whether it is simply a supply situation.
Cheers to all.
Byll
When considering possible lubricants for tuning slides I think its important to actually think about purpose of tuning slide lubrication: First, the lubricant acts to eliminate air leaks between the two pieces of the joint by filling in small gaps; second, the lubricant must reduce the friction between the two pieces to allow the joint to be moved and to minimize mechanical damage to the parts when the joint is moved; and third, the lubricant acts as a barrier to oxygen and water to minimize oxidation of the joint (and galvanic action if the joint is of dissimilar metals) that degrades the joint and causes the it to eventually bind. Thus, any potential slide lubricant must meet all three of these criteria in order to function properly.
Vaseline actually meets the requirements except that it hardens over time - this is one of the main reason why musicians who play brass instruments (like trumpets and trombones) don’t use it. The other reason is that Vaseline is a bit “thick” for slides that need to be moved while playing. Vaseline works for a while (and brass players will use if they don’t have anything else) but it slowly hardens into a sticky mess that can only be removed with solvents. If you are going to use Vaseline it is better to use less than more as noted by Stan and wipe the joint completely free of Vaseline before re-applying it.
Cork grease is made for lubricating cork joints and contains components designed to keep the cork in good condition. Cork grease is not designed for metals.
Tuning slide grease (like the kind used for brass instruments) is made specifically to seal air leaks between metal-metal joints while keeping tuning slides moving freely. It does not harden over time and is a bit “thinner” than Vaseline. It seems to me that tuning slide grease is the ideal solution for whistle tuning slides because it is for this very use that tuning slide grease was developed.
I don’t know enough about O-ring lubricant to comment on it.
As far as keeping the pieces of a whistle separate I really don’t feel this is necassary - musicians who play properly maintained brass instruments (like trumpets and trombones) don’t keep the pieces of their instruments separate so why should whistles be any different?
There was a post from the man himself which I will take the liberty of copying here:
Quote from Mike Burke:
Hi Everyone,
I am posting my second message today, a record.
I tried to post to this message over the weekend, but couldn’t get registered for some reason.
I will be glad to send O’rings to anyone that
loses one, or damages one. I am wondering now if I should figure out how to include an extra O’ring with each whistle. I considered this early on, but decided I would wait to see if it was necessary. There are about 500 of the O’ring slide Ds out there now, and I have had only a few letters in which people had O’rings fall out and only three in which they were lost or torn. A spare sounds like a good idea if you put it in a safe place, and if you can find it when it is needed. What I may do is to make up some envelopes with spares in them and have them ready to post when people request them. If you need an O’ring, please email me, and I will send one right out to you. Any ideas from customers on how best to handle this are greatly appreciated.
The O’rings I use are either Polyurethane, or
Viton, both of which are resistant to petroleum products. I use a synthetic grease that comes in a tube and has a TFE secondary ingredient. Greases like this are available at hardware stores and auto supply stores.
Sorry for any inconvenience. The O’ring method of sealing the slide seems to work much better than the old method of metal to metal, but I am open to suggestions.
All the best
Mike
End Quote
On 2002-01-21 23:26, Cody wrote: can they be put back together quickly to get them back to how they were originally tuned? The reason I ask that is I’m under the impression that if you buy a Tenor D that it is tuned to low d with the slide in one position, and that the tuning capability is mainly for tuning to other instruments so as not to be sharp or flat during sessions.
Cody, the Burke whistles have a line etched in the slide to indicate the true note. It is pathetically easy to get it back in tune after adjusting it to play with others.
Thank you. I was wondering if the slide had a mark or something to get it back to tune. After all, I’m American. . . Wouldn’t want to work any harder than I had too.
