I live in a area where moisture is constantly changing from rain one day to bright sun the next it messes with wood and don’t get me started on the reeds in my pipes… stable HA HA HA what is that… Michigan weather is not someting I call predictable at all.
But I have looked up before and in the forum history about caring for wood whistles.. But I still like to bring it up anyways, heck it just gives people a chance to write a little more…
But what is the best method or oil for using in your bore… I have two weasels and sullivan and another woody on the way. What oils do you reccomend and how do you care for your?
I break-in wooden whistles the same as I do Irish flutes. I oil the bore and outside with LeBlanc Bor Seal. For the first month, I oil once a week; then once a month for a year, then about twice a year.
For playing break-in, I play no more than 30 minutes a day (broken up into 10 minutes segments) for the first week, then an hour a day in ten minute segments for the next three weeks. Then I figure it’s pretty much played in.
BTW, I swab out the bore after each playing session. I use raw silk for the swab.
I store wooden instrument in plastic pistol cases and regulate the humidity in the 60% to 65% range.
Your Weasels were made right in Michigan by Glenn Schultz. His recipe for whistle oil is 5 parts LIGHT olive oil to 1 part almond oil, with a few drops of vitamin e oil added to retard spoilage (pierce a few vitamin E capsules with a pin and squeeze the oil out). Use a cloth swab to apply a light coating of oil to the inside of the whistle when it starts to “look dry” (Glenn’s words) through the finger holes. Don’t over-oil the blade area.
I use a bamboo chopstick as an oiling rod. Use a sharp knife like a sheet rock knife to split the thin end of the stick for an inch or so. The resulting split will hold a scrap of old bedsheet or t-shirt nicely and the bamboo is less likely to damage the delicate blade of the whistle than a metal flute cleaning rod.
brewerpaul thanks for the info… yeah I bought one recentley and was not sure exactly I mean I know how I care for my pipes and the wood with them but I play with bellows so mouth moisture is not a issue just humidity and such…
But thank you for the in depth description along with all you others I like to hear how people care for them seeing as I am a long time whistle owner but am just now really getting into wood whistles, so I want to make sure I am taking care of them right…
Couple more points..
First, don’t overly fret about the care of wooden whistles. They’re quite durable. My own Thin Weasel D is about 20 years old.
If they do develop cracks, these are usually quite repairable. Contact the maker. In Glenn’s case, this is not easy but I’m his surrogate. I’ll repair his cracked whistles free-- just pay postage both ways. I owe Glenn bigtime and this is my way of at least partly repaying that debt.
Avoid extremes of temperature. Leaving a wooden whistle in a closed car on a hot day is really asking for trouble. If your whistle has been at a very high or low temperature, allow it to come to room temperature gradually in it’s case. The sudden changes are the worst.
yeah… that is a heck of a way to show your appreciation… cheers to you on standing behind glenns work. And as always thanks for the advice and comment always helpful to get the down low on everything from some one like you who deals with wood as you do.
Thr reason for oiling a whistle or flute is avoid cracks. It’s pretty much agreed that this is accomplished by slowing the absorption/drying cycle in the wood.
When I purchased a Casey Burns and a Terry McGee Irish flute; both makers stipulated a “bore oil” rather than a vegetable oil as almond oil and or olive oil can become rancid even after adding vitamin E as a preservative.
Using silk as a swab eliminates the tendency of cotton to bunch up in the bore and get stuck. This is more of a problem in a conical bore flute than a cylindric bore of a whistle. Plus silk does a better job of polishing the bore. That’s why good commercial swabs are made of silk. Silk also dries quicker than cotton so it’s easier to maintain.
One tip I got from Terry McGee is to keep your oiling swab in a small sealable container to eliminate waste. If you are using vegetable oil, it’s also a good idea to keep the container refrigerated. Best, Cyril.
but I’m his surrogate. I’ll repair his cracked whistles free-- just pay postage both ways. I owe Glenn bigtime and this is my way of at least partly repaying that debt.