I spent the last few months getting a couple of whistles out of an old log.
All you wood guys will know what I mean -this was cut back in the 1970’s in the arid center of NSW Australia.
I was given it by the guy who taught me how to work wood.
And I have been looking at that old log for 6 years or more.
So I cut it and rested it for a long while, and finally milled and bored the thing - it produced only 2 whistles.
The figure in it is exceptional.
I knew it would be .. but figure in wood is not a promise of results .. a whistle has to be played, and if the wood is too figured, the probability of warping is high, so I don’t usually make whistles out of this stuff.
However, this wood is so old and stable that it had to be done.
I have cut hundreds of pieces of wood - this log was so hard that I had to re-sharpen my tools.
This is no ordinary wood.
So I got 2 whistles out of a log.
Because of the extreme figure, it produced 2 whistles which I followed to completion - according to the wood.
One turned out as a good solid performing whistle, the other turned out to be a wild beast.
If you are interested in either of these, please PM me?
Best regards
(edited to add the pics of what got made:
After finishing, the wild-beast and the solid performer converged to make 2 nicely expressive and reliable instruments.
Both will perform solidly and both can be pushed hard to yield a wide expression.
After final finish these are nearly identical with 131 being very slightly louder of the 2.
Both are capable of a very wide range of timbral expression beyond what I normally expect of gidgee.
The additional effort was worth it - thank you old log!!!
Mitch
Mitch,
Or Stick, Which ever of you who saw those two whistle in a log and took away all that wood to get to them I commend. That is dedication!
I am a bit concerned about the economics but I do admire the dedication…
It sure would be a treat to see the before and after photos.
Unfortunately, I didn’t take a snap of the log - but I can go take a pic of the half of the log I couldn’t use.
Then I will post a pic of the finished whistles as an edit to the original post.
I’ll go out and snap the off-cut half and post when I have it.
Dunno it this works- the Mods will tell me, but I have no way of seeing if this link is valid.
And
I have posted the finished images to my website at http://www.ozwhistles.com/shop/ozwhistles./and as an edit to my original post.
They don’t look much in a pic, but the final test this morning surprised me as it often does.
I look forward to getting these into the hands of players.
I am ultimately at their service - and the music makes it all go round
(Edit: links fixed and PS: You are right Mack - It is true that the economics of whistle-making can be a huge challenge - there is certainly no accumulation of wealth in this lifestyle. Doing these special off-book projects is a significant economic risk, but economics is only a few percent of life .. there is a vast difference between “work” and “job”. I count myself lucky in finding my work and being able to share it with our community.)
My yard woods would be:
Aspen that sprung from neighbor’s roots,
Maple that grew from neighbor’s whirly seed,
Mulberry from seed carried in by wind or bird,
Crabapple that wasn’t supposed to fruit, but did,
Non-fruiting flowering cherry that has sour cherries this year,
Neighbor’s lilacs that died for lack of care,
Catalpa imported as a bean hidden in some transplanted peonies.
Roses inherited from Mom’s and sister’s gardens.
Apricot from a discarded pit that bore three fruit this year
Haven’t harvested whistles…yet.
I received what was, in it’s early stage, called the “Wild Beast” yesterday and it was beyond perfect. The sweetest sound I’ve ever played.
Photo below on the glider on the front porch where I love to sit and play.
