Wow. It just occured to me that Loose Fipple would make a good name for a band. But that’s not why I’m posting this.
The wooden fipple in my Clarke Original has come pretty loose. What’s the best/easiest/safest way to make sure it stays in place? Any ideas are welcome! Thanks!
A.J.
duct tape 
I have not tried this on a Clarke but I think it should work!
Take a center punch or nail with a sharp tip and place it at the side of your mouthpiece perhaps a 1/4 inch from the end of the metal.
Hammer the nail or center punch making a small divit in the whistle. Do this on the other side of the mouthpiece. This should effectively hold your fipple in place.
Failing that, drip some crazy glue down the sides of the mouthpiece. Lightly sand off any glue that dries on the wood where you put your mouth.
Again, these are only suggestions!
Best of luck,
Sandy
Thanks a lot for the suggestions! I’ll give it a try and hopefully won’t have any more problems.
A.J.
Assuming that it’s loose enough to remove, first note where it sits and mark a line around the metal with a sharp pencil onto the wood. Then remove it. Clean the area where the wood rests in the metal, with a little ball of steel wool. Now coat the unmarked area of the wood with any “5-minute” epoxy and re-insert it gently. Smooth any extruded epoxy around the opening at the back, and let it set for however long the manufacturer’s suggested “cure time” is before playing.
This serves the dual purpose of not only getting the fipple securely back in place, but also sealing around it to prevent the prevalent Clarke “squeak!” when shifting octaves.
Best wishes, 
serpent
~*~ Serpie-Pie
per edit: If you don’t understand why, don’t worry about it…
[ This Message was edited by: serpent on 2003-02-01 15:54 ]