I have been trying to remove the mouthpiece from my Generation C whistle. That sucker ain’t budgin’. Any advice? I have tried soaking it in hot water over and over. I can’t even make it turn slightly. Wanted to tweak it a bit to get the lower C to be a bit more solid. HELP! I even
(in desperation) took pliers wrapped in a towel and tried to move it…nothing. Has anyone else run into this?
Stephen 
How hot was the water?
For my Feadog, I used water from an electric hot water pot that’s hot enough to make tea or drip coffee. I put it iinto a cup, waited about a minute to make sure it wasn’t hot enough to melt the plastic, then submerged the entire mouthpiece and about a half-inch of the tube. After about 10 or 20 seconds, I tried it, and the mouthpiece slid off as if it were greased.
Hi Steven,
I removed 3 fipples just a few days ago. All were done by heating hot water in a microwave, just before boiling, 1 1/2 minutes, then dropping the flipple end into the water to soak for 5 full minutes. Put on a oven mitten for the fipple hand and a rubber gripper (jar opener patch) for the metal part (this give you better purchase). Rotate in the direction of the metal fold (not against it), looking down from the top, rotate counter clockwise. pull as you rotate. Vinegar breaks down super glue, so maybe some of that into the water may help also. Thats the only “safe” way I know.
Hey Darwin…
I did the same thing with 2 of my sweetones and my Oak. They came off without a hitch. This Generation seems to have been superglued on.
Hey Norm…
Very interesting… I’ll give the vinegar a try!
Thanks to you both! 
Generation C’s are notoriously hard to remove the heads from. Which is why Jerry Freeman offers a tweeked Walton’s C rather than a Generation - it was too much work for him to get the heads off a production lot of Generations.
I’ve heard of folks succeeding - but this is one of the reasons I bought Walton’s and Oak C whistles instead.
The only way I’ve ever gotten a fipple off a Gen C or Bb is with a hacksaw, which really puts a damper on how it sounds later.
Thom Larson at The Whistle Shop used to offer some of his whistles with the heads already loosened for tunability. He told me he was never able to remove the heads from more than about one out of five key of C Generations. I have never removed one successfully.
Best wishes,
Jerry
I got the top off a friend’s gen C one time, by heating it in the sink with
the washing up, several days in a row. (head down in the plug-hole,
which is not large enough to swallow the whistle.) A lot of that soapy
water maybe loosened something. The third time, with kitchen gloves on,
I twisted it off. (But after that, my friend lost the head off the whistle..)
Lesl
Hmmm …
I’ll have to order a couple of C Generations and do some more experimenting. I have a crockpot that I’ve installed a dimmer switch to for infinite temperature control (originally so I could use it to make yogurt). Somehow, I think that crockpot will prove useful here. I’ll keep you posted.
Best wishes,
Jerry
I had a really hard time with my Oak once because I wasn’t able to get a good enough grip, even with oven mitts and rubber jar openers. I took several rubber bands and wrapped them in series around the tube up near the mouthpiece, making a gripping surface wide enough for my hand. Then I heated it up the ususl way and the extra grip of the rubber bands (plus their insulating properties) allowed me to twist that sucker off. I didnt need rubber bands for the mouthpiece but I suppose you could put a couple on the lower end.
I haven’t put it to use yet, but I bought a bicycle inner tube to cut into pieces for this purpose.
Best wishes,
Jerry
Removing a Gen C head? My avatar illustrates the only successful method I’ve found…
Just a quick tip… not for fipple removal… but to get a louder or more stable bell note real quick, yet rather oddly, without affecting pitch or play… you can simply flare the end of your tube slightly. Carefully of course, but just a little does a lot
Anyway, something to throw into the mix.
Take care,
John
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS MERELY AN IDEA. WHILE TESTED ON NUMEROUS STUCK COMPUTER HARD DRIVES, IT IS ONLY A THEORY; INTENDED AS A SIMPLE PARADIGM SHIFT; IT HAS NOT BEEN TESTED ON A GENERATION C WHISTLE. HAD IT ACTUALLY BEEN TESTED ON A GENERATION C WHISTLE, THIS WOULD BE ACTUAL ADVICE INSTEAD OF SPURIOUS CONJECTURE.
What about putting it in the freezer for about 10 - 20 minutes? Since metal contracts in the cold and all … My ex used to do this with jammed-up computer hard drives, and it frequently worked.
I wouldn’t recommend the pliers on frozen plastic fipples, though. 
I only have one Generation C, and it came out of a box full of whistles that were burned in fire bomb up the Shankill Road. It came cheap. I got the head loose by heating the head to expand it, and cooling the tube with dry ice to contract it. Popped loose straight away. I don’t know if the shop fire affected that.
The C is merely okay, but an Eb from the same salvage box is one of those Generations that only rarely comes along. Nothing special about the look, but the pitch and tone are what makes some players buy a box to find the one.
steve
I managed to get the top off my gen C but it took a lot of hot water and a whole lot of twisting and pulling. I had bruises on my hand for a week. I wouldn’t recommend bothering with it myself.
I am going to try the vinegar solution tonight.
If that doesn’t work I will try the heat and freeze method.
It’s a little hard for me to focus on my Gen. C right now. I just got my hoover whitecap in the mail. 
Hey Jerry…
Let me know if you have any luck with the Gen. C’s that you are getting. It seems like everyone is having trouble getting the fipple removed on the Generation’s.
Thanks to everyone for their responses
Stephen
Ooh that’s a great idea. 
What type of “flair” tool did you use? I’ve got 1-2 cheepies that this would help (can’t hurt). I live 3 miles from a Harbor Freight store.
I answered a pm, but for the general population, I personally use a plumbers expansion or flairing tool that has several diameter attatchments that simply screw on and off. You just slid the end of the tube on and push down on the lever with whatever pressure it takes to achieve what you want.
For the folk who don’t want to pay so much you can just get a tapered mill bit (a smooth deburring bit, not a regular drill bit that’s going to cut up your tube, you’ll be able to easilly tell, looks like a small solid steel cone with one single trough) and gently tap it into the end of your tube expanding it ever so slightly a tiny bit at a time, testing it as you go until you get what you want.
The thinner the wall, the less you’ll have to do, and therefor the less noticeable if at all. With the tube spreader you can do about anything you want, because it will be an even, parallel, spread that will be hardly noticeable.
NOTE: IF YOUR WHISTLE IS COLOR COATED THEN SPREADING IT MIGHT CRACK THE FINISH, I DON’T KNOW. I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY HERE.
I just know this has worked for me on every occasion… many, many times… on many different brands of whistles for different people, and I’ve never had trouble. Try it at your OWN RISK.
Take care,
John