I’ve been emailing Mack recently, and I can’t give you all the details, but he’s working on a new line of whistles… (hint: think natural products).
If it’s anything like the low G he made for me… you’re in for a treat.
heh heh heh
Dave
Wow! Whistles made out of granite! 
Bamboo fiber? Wool? Rayon? Fosselized sap?
Water? Air? Sunlight?
Why not? As far as I am concerned, he has already done wind and fire!
Now where did I put my cheque book?
Bone would be viable. God knows it’s been used to make whistles before.
Hemp
There was a European company making didgeridoos out of hemp (they stopped making them for some reason). The ones i’ve seen and heard are really nice sounding and extremely durable. I’d like to see a whistle and many other instruments made from this stuff as well.
Although from what i know of the USA’s retarded laws on hemp, it would probably be illegal for Mack to use the stuff.
Has anyone tried carbon composites for whistle/flute bodies. Play melodeon for a Morris side and someone has been experimenting with carbon reeds. Seeing the price that some whistle/flutes fetch, cost factors could be discounted to a large degree.
Cow patties?
Sunflower stalks?
A friend of mine has made some excellent NA style flutes from dried sunflower stalks, so I planted some this summer and hope to experiment with them for a quena, maybe a transverse flute (just for fun, not sale)
raindrops? roses? whiskers from kittens?
“Wow! Whistles made out of granite!”
Interesting reference to granite. Granite Colorado was the place I was born.
In a log cabin. My dad was a blacksmith and did a little gold panning and mining. And he made his own skis. from a natural material and his poles were a natural material, too.
I didn’t really want to play this game, but Dave, you dealt!
“Sunflower stalks?”
And we lived in Kansas for eight years. 
Indeed! They are seemingly unable to grasp the difference between Hemp and Marijuana… also determined to ignore the numerous and highly scholarly findings that the latter does indeed have some exceptional medical qualities. Ah well… if we survive long enough as a species, we may overcome that inherent stupid stubborn streak… though I am certainly not going to hold my breath. 
I actually have a flute made out of green granite. Very pretty, but well nigh unplayable.
Mack recently sent me a very nicely done Bb made out of red gum wood. It’s very nice, especially in the low octave. Mack is an accomplished woodworker, and very inventive in his whistle making (I personally own Hoover whistles made from curtain rods, ski poles [my favorite], and even a tiny high d made from a camo arrow shaft). I figured it was a matter of time before he put the two together and started making wood whistles.
Regarding the hemp/weed controversy:
When my brother was working on his masters in political science during the last presidential election, he wandered through the union examining the booths of various candidates. He stopped at the Green Party table and began reading their platform, to be interupted by the tie-dyed, dread locked young man behind the table.
Man: “Vote for Nader, man; he’s gonna legalize weed!”
Brother: “Really?”
Man (pointing at pamphlet): “Yeah, man, it says so right there!”
Brother: “This says he wants to legalize use of industrial hemp.”
Man: “Yeah, weed, dude!”
Brother: “No, rope, dude.”
But I gues that’s more of a story for the pub. Dang, all these new forums are confusing as heck.
Anyway, we can all dance about in eager anticipation of the new Hoover line.
Tom
I am, after a good long toke on me bong. 
In Arkansas there’s a county named Hempstead, for obvious reasons. Many, many years ago, a large part of the area was seeded with hemp (yes, that hemp) for production of heavy naval rope, and the stuff found a very suitable home. There were some attempts in the late 60s and 70s to eradicate the lot, but like most weed killing endeavors, doomed to failure. When I last drove through, there were still stretches of rural roads lined with groves of flowering plants. 
Sorry to blow the rather nice myth but it is named after Hemel Hempstead here in the UK. Hempstead is a corruption of Hampstead and Hemel is the middle English for “to practice Yew long bow archery with whistles instead of arrows”.
Do NOT be in the receiving area.
Ooo…will be waiting with bated breath to hear more about these!
Redwolf