Hi folks,
I thought I’d give my chieftain D whistle a good cleaning. As a standard rule I always give it a good swabbing out when I am done playing it.
Well to my dismay the mouth piece is stuck. I tried soaking it in warm water. It will not budge. WHAT MUST I DO? (Yes folks it is a tunable whistle if that question crossed your mind 
)
Laura
Is it tunable? If its not then the mouthpiece probably won’t come off…Most non-tunable ones are one piece whistles (as far as I know anyways…I’m probably wrong)
Brent
Laura,
Use hotter water and warm the mouthpiece only if that fits OVER the body and needs to be expanded while the body remains Unexpanded. If the body fits over the head then heat only the body.
The only time this came up for me was on a whistle I bought used that had been together for I don’t know how long. I had to take the extra step of putting the whole thing in the freezer then taking it out and putting the head only in a stream of hot steam coming from the spout of a tea pot of boiling water. Then with the whistle wrapped in two of those rubber pads used for getting traction while removing lids, I twisted and pulled simultaneously. It came apart.
In the future it’s probably not a good idea to store a whistle assembled - or twist it occasionally.
Hope this works for you.
Clark
[ This Message was edited by: clark on 2002-01-10 08:35 ]
Yes it is tunable. Yes I am sure…I just have not had to adjust it once I got it in tuned
I suppose I would not have to worry since it’s where it’s suppose to be. My concern what if I am playing along side… Like for instance a Hammer Dulcimer and need to adjust my whistle in a pinch.. Those HD have a tendancy to go out of tune quickly.
So I need to get this problem fixed.
On 2002-01-10 08:37, hillfolk22 wrote:Those HD have a tendancy to go out of tune quickly.
Hey! I resemble that remark!
Laura, try this. . .get two of the rubbery kind of jar openers to get a grip on each side. Get a shot of whiskey. Drink the shot of whiskey. . .grab the whistle and be INSISTENT. Then lubricate the blasted thing and vow to yourself to do this more often so that it doesn’t seize up on you again.
Worked for me!
Tygress wrote:
… get two of the rubbery kind of jar openers to get a grip on each side …
This is a good suggestion - if you don’t have any “rubber jar openers” simply peel the smooth top surface (nylon or plastic) off a rubber-backed mouse pad and then rip the pad in half and, voila - you now have two nice, grippy, flexible rubber pads. That’s what I did to rip the head off my Waltons LBW (and for taking the stuck lid off a jar of Cheez Wiz).
Failing that, if your whistle is a Chieftain then perhaps you might consider contact the maker, Phil Hardy, directly. I am sure he would have some suggestions for you.
[ This Message was edited by: garycrosby on 2002-01-10 13:30 ]
Get a grip…I like it…I thought about pulling out the pliers but aluminum alloy and pliers would most likely not mix well
How do you pull up a quote from another?
I will try Phil.
When it comes to whistles, “Grippy rubber pads good, pliers bad”.
Seriously, the modifed rubber mouse pad grips unbelievably well and won’t damage the surface of your whistle - give it a try. I have another possible solution but it involves liquid nitrogen so I am a bit hesitant to suggest it 
[ This Message was edited by: garycrosby on 2002-01-10 15:31 ]
On 2002-01-10 14:41, hillfolk22 wrote:
How do you pull up a quote from another?
There’s a little button that says “quote” at the bottom of each post. Hit that, delete the parts you don’t want, add your reply behind the [/quote] tag, and voila! Of course you can also just use the (qoute) (/qoute) tags (use square brackets instead of parentheses). If you do…
it looks like this.
/bloomfield
[ This Message was edited by: Bloomfield on 2002-01-10 15:37 ]
On 2002-01-10 08:37, hillfolk22 wrote:
Those HD have a tendancy to go out of tune quickly.
I have to say that I definitely do not agree with that statement. Because technically, if an instrument is never actually in tune then it can’t go out of tune!
Brent
This topic was discussed several months ago…where’s my mind when I need it…I was having problems with trying to remove the head joint from my Copeland. I finally took some of the rubber waffle weave stuff and took it to the shed. I might even have whacked it once…fully padded and then used a wrench or pliers (still havily padded and it worked. Even had a discussion with Mike Copeland about it… Gm
Make a joyful noise!
[ This Message was edited by: Grannymouse on 2002-01-10 23:31 ]
YIPPIE!!!
My Whistle is now unstuck!!!
And I did not even require the (Whiskey) or the pliers 
Thanks to all for their suggestions. It was Clark’s suggestion that worked for me. The hot water and the rubber grippers.
Found a whole roll of (hunter green) rubber gripper for a buck. Now I need to find another good use for the rest of the stuff.
I removed the little string that was used to seal the tube to the mouth piece and replaced it with sinue (spelling Yikes!) Its the stuff that primitive leather workers use in place of catgut. Anywho, I thinned it out a wee bit and put it on the whistle and then used cork grease on it. Works great!
And from now on… I vow that I will keep it clean and give the mounth piece a good turn after each usage.
Thanks again to all
Laura
On 2002-01-10 15:36, Bloomfield wrote:
"
There’s a little button that says “quote” at the bottom of each post. Hit that, delete the parts you don’t want, add your reply behind the [/quote] tag, and voila! Of course you can also just use the (qoute) (/qoute) tags (use square brackets instead of parentheses). If you do…
it looks like this."
Ah… IC…
Thanks
/bloomfield
[ This Message was edited by: Bloomfield on 2002-01-10 15:37 ]
[Quote}
“I have to say that I definitely do not agree with that statement. Because technically, if an instrument is never actually in tune then it can’t go out of tune! ”
Brent [Quote]
If there was a little icon for opening a can of worms then I would insert it.
Hammer Dulcimers are tunable. Some better than others… for instance my HD gets in tune.. by the time you are finished with the top you gotta start all over on the bottom.
Seriously I have a friend who has a floating sound board for a top and I am impressed it stays in tune (When the weather conditions are just right )
[ This Message was edited by: hillfolk22 on 2002-01-11 07:57 ]
I’m glad to hear your mouthpiece is now unstuck with no damage to your whistle
I removed the little string that was used to seal the tube to the mouth piece and replaced it with sinue (spelling Yikes!) Its the stuff that primitive leather workers use in place of catgut. Anywho, I thinned it out a wee bit and put it on the whistle and then used cork grease on it. Works great!
I use Teflon pipe thread tape in my Chieftain and it works fantastic - I use good stretchy stuff from a plumbing supply store (not that cheap crap you buy at department stores like Walmart - its worthless stuff for both whistles and plumbing). Teflon doesn’t easily breakdown or adhere to anything so there is no need to move the joint regularily or to store your whistle in a disassembled state. Additionally, Teflon tape is cheap, easy to use, and a roll (about $2 CDN) will last for years. Plus, a person should keep a roll or two around the house for leaky plumbing, loose nuts (leave it alone Dale), and so forth.
I’ve actually been toying with the idea of a machining a couple of grooves into the inner part of the joint and putting in O-rings but I haven’t been able to bring myself to do it - I have a friend who is a skilled CNC machinist who has kindly offered to do it for me should I decide to take the plunge.
[ This Message was edited by: garycrosby on 2002-01-11 14:17 ]
On 2002-01-11 14:02, garycrosby wrote:
I use Teflon pipe thread tape in my Chieftain and it works fantastic - I use good stretchy stuff from a plumbing supply store (not that cheap crap you buy at department stores like Walmart - its worthless stuff for both whistles and plumbing). Teflon doesn’t easily breakdown or adhere to anything so there is no need to move the joint regularily or to store your whistle in a disassembled state. Additionally, Teflon tape is cheap, easy to use, and a roll (about $2 CDN) will last for years.
Hey thanks for the tip. I’m going to take a little trip to the hardware store and purchase the tape you mentioned.
Do you still need to lubricate it with cork grease?
Laura
No, you don’t need to lubricate it with anything because the two pieces are separated by the tape. The tape will compress slightly when you slide the joint together (I push the joint together and twist it simultaneously) and will fill gaps through which air might leak. The trick is to get the number of “wraps” of Teflon tape right to fill the gap (in the joint) without making it overly tight. If it takes a lot of pressure to assemble the whistle then you’ve used too much tape; if it is loose or it leaks then you haven’t used enough. FWIW - my Chieftain D takes about 3-4 wraps (each overlapping about 50%).
Good Teflon is a quite “stretchy” when you pull it tight, is nearly opaque when held up to a light source; has a name brand on the packaging; is often labelled as “premium”,“high density”, or “premium density”; and is made from genuine DuPont Teflon.
Crappy Teflon tape stretches very little (and then snaps); is often nearly translucent when held to a light source; generally has no name brand; and is made from generic PTFE.
In Canada, good quality Teflon tape is about $1.50 per roll whereas cheap stuff can be had for as little as $0.35 per roll - IMO you get exactly what you pay for.
Gary
P.S. I learned all about Teflon tape from my dad who is a retired plumber.
Had this problem recently with a Copeland and a Burke and used petroleum jelly successfully
Gary,
Thank you.
My husband is a construction electrician. Journeyman Wireman to be exact.
He works for I.B.E.W. (for any of those brothers out there. HEY )
He has worked with many plumbers in his time.
He claims he has the good plumbers tape.
We shall see (now that I know what to look for )
Thanks again
Laura
[ This Message was edited by: hillfolk22 on 2002-01-12 08:47 ]
[ This Message was edited by: hillfolk22 on 2002-01-12 08:46 ]