I like my chieftain low D,
however it’s roughly finished.
The holes aren’t chamfered,
indeed, they’re a bit sharp
(not musically, physically).
I thought I’d get used to
this, but it actually
can be slightly painful.
Well I figure I can go over
them, or round and round
them, with steel wool,
but I’m a bit nervous that
I may change the pitch.
Advice?
On 2002-11-17 00:59, jim stone wrote:
I like my chieftain low D,
however it’s roughly finished.
The holes aren’t chamfered,
indeed, they’re a bit sharp
(not musically, physically).
I thought I’d get used to
this, but it actually
can be slightly painful.Well I figure I can go over
them, or round and round
them, with steel wool,
but I’m a bit nervous that
I may change the pitch.
Advice?
Jim, chamfer means to bevel at a 45° angle and this would certainly create an intonation problem on a well tuned whistle.A slight radius is what you need.I wouldnt use steel wool to do this as it will leave sightly marking around the hole perimeter.Alloy is very soft and de-buring each tone hole with the rounded handle of a needle file is an effective and easy method to give a smooth and subtle radius thats very comfortable on the fingers. Mike
Jim,
Unless you’re skilled with files and/or metalworking, don’t even think trying to radius those tone holes yourself - I say this as someone who has had some formal metal/silversmithing training. I also speak as someone who has seen the results of another person’s efforts to round the edges on a similar whistle by using steel wool/sandpaper.
Have the job professionally done, leave it alone, or get a new whistle - messing with it yourself will only lead to heartache. Hear me now and believe me later.
Loren
I don’t mind unsightly marks
so much, not on this whistle, which
is for the street.
I may try a bit of steel wool.
I was trained as a silver smith, too!
Can make things dissappear with
steel wool.
Or maybe I’ll leave it alone. I think
I’m pressing too hard. Thanks!