Hey all I recieved my Busman cocobolo D whistle yesterday and holy cow is it beautiful just to look at. The reason why i’m posting (not try to brag about my new whistle ) is that there weren’t any instructions on what type of lubericant to put on the tunning slide. I’ve already emailed Paul my question but he hasn’t responded yet and my patience for sitting here looking at my new whistle and not playing is starting to wear out . Anyways I haven’t put it together because i’m not sure if there is supposed to be some sort of lubricant on the slide or not, and i can’t tell if there already is some, but the slide doesn’t feel slippery at all. So i’m asking those of you who already have a busman whistle (wooden) what you use. And please help i’m starting to go crazy from looking at it. Also i really don’t want to use chapstick because i tried that on one of my cheapy whistles and i didn’t really like the effect, and since this one is my “precious” i don’t want to screw it up. So thanks for any help you guys can give.
I don’t use slide lubricant on any of my whistles, because I store them apart. It’s my understanding that you should only use lubricant for slides that are stored together, because if you lube them then store apart then they’ll get gunky and bind, but if you don’t lube them and store them together then the metal will fuse. Or something.
I won’t speak for Paul, but most metal on metal whistle slides are meant to used un-lubricated, putting grease or oil on these slides just attracts dirt and grit that can cause problems/damage.
hey thanks for the answers guys. I guess i can just play it and if it need lubricant i’ll find out when paul emails me back, but untill then it’s time to start playing with it (only 20 mins a day that is, till it’s broken in )
Hi-- I’m not sure if my spam catcher nabbed your e-mail, but I don’t recall seeing it.
I don’t recommend any lubricant on the tuning slide. Definitely, dry the whistle when you’re done playing, then store it in two pieces. I recently tried to move the head of my Sindt C whistle which I hadn’t played in a long time, and the head was nearly “welded” in place by corrosion between the pieces. Took a micro butane torch to get them apart. Word to the wise…
Hey thanks for the reply, and thanks for the whistle. Absolutely beautiful, and now that i’ve played it i’m in love with it. Can’t believe that kind of sound can come out of something so small. Thank you very much, worth every penny.
this has been my experience…when I was newer at the whistle, I put lubricant on a few metal-on-metal tuning slides, and not only does it attract dirt, but also makes the slide very loose and not hold tightly
I don’t understand; doesn’t everyone have a Busman…or 2…or 3?
Some metal whistles, come with beeswax or teflon tape on the slide (Serpents, Albas, etc.) and the maker tells you to replace as necessary. Many are made to fit together without tape (Copeland, Busman, Abell, etc.) and the maker and our consensus of experience tells us no lubricants on the slide. The Vaseline and chap stick remedies come into play as an assist only after the two joints have morphed almost permanently together. I leave my metal whistles together for many moons and never have a problem. The wooden whistles and delrin whistles I generally store apart and have never had a problem. Once in a blue moon when an Abell gets tight or sticky, I’ll give a couple of wipes on the slide with 0000 (ultra fine) steel wool which works wonderfully to keep it clean and remove grit.
Baaad Phil, Noooooo! If you Abell slide is starting to bind, it’s due to silver tarnish building up, simply rub the slide parts a little with a typical jeweler’s silver polishing cloth (or an instrument silver polishing cloth, which can be found in the brass/woodwind section of your local music store) - using steel wool not only removes the tarnish, but it removes some of the slide material, and eventually it’s going to get too loose. Besides, you need the polishing cloth for the exterior bands anyway.
Funny thing Loren, I always use the ultra fine and finish with a jeweler’s cloth on my brass whistles when I ocassionally want to spiff them up, including the slides and that’s been great for 10 years. I was afraid to use the jeweler’s cloth on the Abell slide and the steel wool seems to work so nicely - I’ve only done it once and very lightly just to remove grit and it doesn’t seem as though that slide will get loose in my lifetime. But I’ll be guided; does the jeweler’s cloth leave any residue? I was actually more concerned about that. The Abell slide on this delrin D/C set is about the tightest I’ve ever experienced that still works. Guess I’ll drop Chris a line and see what he recommends as well.
THanks for the concern Loren; this is one of my favorite whistles.
hey guys this is my first wooden whistle, and i was wondering am i supposed to oil the outside as well as the bore??? i’m not quite sure and it doesn’t say on the info sheet so i figured i’d ask here to be sure. THanks
Phil, both the jeweler’s and instrument silver polishing cloths have two parts/sides- one side is impregnated with the polishing compound, and the other side is used to buff and clean off the residue. The cloth I’ve used for the last few years is a Bach brand instrument polishing cloth (# 1878) made for silver and nickel. This cloth is distributed by the selmer instrument company, and is available at tons of mail order places and most music stores that sell wood/brass instruments. I’ve been using this on my Abell, and other instruments for years - everytime my Abell slide gets a little tarnished, it starts to act up, a couple of minutes with the polishing cloth and the slide is back to normal and all the rings and the mouthpiece looks like new again as well. Plus, the slide never gets looser, because I’m not actually removing any significant amount of silver, like you will with even the mildest steel wool.
FWIW, the (brass) socket and tenon on my saxophone begin to bind when tarnish builds up. I just wipe it off with an available piece of old t-shirt or sheet or a cotton handkerchief; have had the horn for close to forty years, and it doesn’t seem to have been harmed.
What a day for Busmans, eh? My neighbor got hers yesterday too, and saved 5 of the 15 minutes of break-in time for the day for me… Bless her!!
Wow! I’ve seen a lot of them in pics, but this is the first I’ve met in person with enough time to actually get in close and personal like… Beautiful in African Blackwood… really black… very, very nice. I’m waiting for 'flush’ness and some of the local Osage Orange I’ve been promised. (I hope Paul’s price doesn’t notice inflation between now and then. )
) is that there weren’t any instructions on what type of lubericant to put on the tunning slide. I’ve already emailed Paul my question but he hasn’t responded yet and my patience for sitting here looking at my new whistle and not playing is starting to wear out 
. Anyways I haven’t put it together because i’m not sure if there is supposed to be some sort of lubricant on the slide or not, and i can’t tell if there already is some, but the slide doesn’t feel slippery at all. So i’m asking those of you who already have a busman whistle (wooden) what you use. And please help i’m starting to go crazy from looking at it. Also i really don’t want to use chapstick because i tried that on one of my cheapy whistles and i didn’t really like the effect, and since this one is my “precious” i don’t want to screw it up. So thanks for any help you guys can give.
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