I have a piece of 3/4" copper pipe that I’m going to make a low whistle from. So far I have the end plug fitted.
I want to make a low-d whistle. Does anyone have a suggestion for a starting length?
I’m kind of thinking of tapering the bore by putting a wooden “cone” inside it – either that, or maybe various lengths of copper wire. That might be the way to go since I could solder them in place. Might be heavy though. Thoughts?
I’d need a little more info to be able to offer much advice, but I’ll try anyway. What key of low whistle? If you are thinking of D, the pipe is probably too narrow. Maybe F or G would work. What style of fipple/mouthpiece will you use? The pipe is probably too thin-walled for its thickness to be used as the airway height. I would not worry about a tapered bore- the difference it would make would not be worth the extra trouble and added weight.
Thanks!
Low-D is my first choice, but G will be my second if D won’t work.
I’m making a flat spot on top of the plug, and bending the edge of the pipe down, like on an original clarke.
Sounds good! Maybe you have seen these DIY plans from Dennis Havlena?
http://dennishavlena.com/low-d.htm
His low D is made from a standard 1" aluminum shower curtain rod. It’s been a while but the last one I bought (from Home Depot or Lowes) cost less than $10. And you should have enough length to make at least three whistles. It works. Havlena plays one of his low D’s at about 2:30 into this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLhRtV1xKiM
Have fun. Let us know what comes of your efforts.
Feadoggie
I did see those plans, and I’m kind of basing my work off of what he has. I also made a high-d whistle from 1/2" copper pipe a long time ago and it worked out well.
What do those aluminum shower rods look like? I’ve looked for them a number of times but all the ones I seem to find are painted steel.
It’s pretty low-end stuff. It won’t be sitting with the designer shower curtain rods. Maybe they don’t carry it anymore, as I said, it’s been a while. Here’s what I can describe though. I just discovered that I have one I didn’t use yet down in the shop. It comes in a transparent poly bag/wrapper,(sorry I threw that out ages ago or I could get a maker and model for you) along with two lightweight aluminum flanges and screws to mount it on the shower walls. The pipe is five feet long, so you’d only get two and a half low D’s from it. The outside diameter measures one inch. It is rather thin walled, about .03". You can calculate the inside diameter from those two measurements. That’s not a bad bore size for an inexpensive low D. It is a welded seamed tube. You may want to orient the seam toward the backside of the whistle tube and you would want to file the seam out where you place the plug in the head end. It is polished and coated so it stays shiny until you scratch it up a bit. It is very easy to bend/squash and drill, maybe too easy if you are eager. And it was dirt cheap as I recall. I’ve moved on to other techniques and materials since I last used one of these shower curtain rods. But if you are handy it’s got to be one of the least expensive and quickest ways to get yourself working a low D.
Feadoggie
Thanks a ton! With that description I’ll be able to find them if they still have them.
I have found several of the I’’ aluminum shower tubes at garage sales, and resale shops for a dollar or less. From a garage sale they do come with a dent or two, but if you plan it next to a cut the dent can be easily pushed out with a wood dowel.
Have a look in a garden-center. I found nice 1" aluminum tubes. They originally were ment to be the shaft of garden tools. They had a wall of around 0.05". And they were very cheap.
D will work… not sure why anyone would think it wouldn’t… people have been making D flutes from copper pipe for decades.
For those of you not familiar with plumbing - there is nothing 3/4" on 3/4" copper tubing, the outer diameter is 7/8" and the wall thickness varies depending on whether you use type K, L or M - none of which have a 3/4" measure to them.
They make fine Low-D, however copper does take a little time to heat up to your hands and breath - This affects tuning.
'Tis true. K may be your friendliest bet, having a wall thickness @ .032, whereas L comes in around .040. I have never worked with M, so I cannot comment on it’s wall thickness. But definitely take what Daniel said about tuning into consideration - especially if your whistle won’t be tunable. Be sure it is good and warmed before cutting or voicing the tube for tuning. 
It takes at least 15 minutes to warm up the reeds in my pipes, so I don’t think I’ll have any real trouble with warming up a bit of pipe. 