I’d wanted to order a tunable Low F urgently from Tony Dixon thru my sis in the UK. She’s coming home for the Chinese New Year in Feb, and she could bring it back with her – huge savings on postage.
But she hasn’t heard from Tony despite many emails and phone calls. He hasn’t returned my emails as well.
So having had some work leave to clear, I made one myself out of UPVC pipe and a cork from a bottle of Rhone wine (well actually, a Gigondas). Why this wine? The cork diameter is fat enough to fit snugly into the pipe I’m using (abt 3cm internal bore). Bordeaux-type bottle corks were too skinny. And no, I’m not a wine geek nor did I open a bottle just so I could use the cork.
Cork does not have a smooth surface, so I stuck a clear piece of plastic (from a name tag holder) on the part of the fipple forming the windway.
No drills were used (I don’t have one). Just some files and sharp cutting or piercing objects. And lots of patience and care in using the sharp thingys.
It doesn’t have the greatest tone nor is it tunable, but hey, it works! Low air requirements, doesn’t clog that much, respectable volume.
Its bad points:
the last 3 notes of the 2nd octave are tough to hit without adequate breath pressure – tend to be flat unless you blow really hard
The bottom F is sometimes hard to hit cleanly (there’s a slight buzz, not sure from where)
diameter is a bit fat – when you play the C# fingering and other notes requiring few fingers, you tend to worry that it’ll drop out of your hands.
I know cork may not last (rot/disintegration/mould), so experienced whistle makers out there, what should I do?
I don’t see myself doing this often, so any suggestions that enable improvisation with items/materials commonly found at home would be much appreciated.
I’m sure I’ll still get myself a proper tunable Low F eventually, but meanwhile, I’m quite excited by the results of my whistlemaking exploits.
You may have a mild case of WhIM (Whistle Improvement Malady) I have had this condition for years, and have found no cure.
Very early stages can be identified by a feeling of being too poor to buy a whistle so “I must make one” or “I’ll just buy a cheap one”
A mild case can cause an urge to make tunable whistles from nontunable.
It progresses to shamelessly tweaking rolled tin whistles and filling cavities in plastic whistle mouthpieces.
As it spreads, everything long and hollow looks like a whistle. Wind chimes, plumbing pipe, curtain rods and tent poles, yes and even ski poles are unsafe in your presence. Files, X-acto knives and Dremel tools become very appealing.
It is infectious and contagious. There is a tendancy in some to give more emphasis to making whistles than to playing them.
Sufferers get an unquenchable thirst and unsatisfiable hunger for an impossible expectation: to make a perfect whistle.
Yes I’ve got WhIM and think there’s been a contagion of WhMD (whistle making disorder) going around Colorado lately. After eying Macks tools and all the handmade whistles at The Gathering I know I’m going to bebloodying hands sooner or later. Now I wonder if that 1/2" OD tube would make a nice quiet whistle? - Joel
I also tried making a low F this weekend. I had a sweetone C whistle that I picked up to use the fipple as in the bloody hands instructions. I noticed that it would fit in a 1/2 inch schedule 40 PVC connector if I wrapped it in teflon tape. Then I picked up some 1/2 inch schedule 40 PVC pipe (a 10 foot length was 98 cents) to experiment with. The big advantage is that I can toss away the mistakes and keep the mouthpiece.
I used the flutomat calculator to get the dimensions, but was suprised that the tube needed to be almost an inch and a half longer than calculated to get the bottom F note.
The lower octave is pretty close to in tune, but the upper octave is a little flat. I still have some filing to do so it might get closer. It was a lot of fun, but it really increased my respect for real whistlesmiths.
You may have a mild case of WhIM (Whistle Improvement Malady)…
As it spreads, everything long and hollow looks like a whistle. Wind chimes, plumbing pipe, curtain rods and tent poles, yes and even ski poles are unsafe in your presence.
Files, X-acto knives and Dremel tools become very appealing.
oh my goodness, Mack! You’re right!
I am starting to look at objects differently!
Except that I have absolutely no desire to use power tools and drills. Material must be workable with the simple tools I have at home. So stuff like metal pipes don’t pique my interest.
Angelo:
I used the flutomat measurements as a starting point, too, for a rough estimate of the length of the whole pipe.
Due to the large internal bore of the pipe I used, the barrel’s final length was shorter than calculated on the flutomat spreadsheet; but it was a good gauge to how much pipe to begin with.
Bit by bit, I blew and cut little rings off the end of the barrel until I got the low F note.
I got really confused by the rest of the spreadsheet info because there were measurements for more than 6 holes. So I gave up and used the simple formula (L/2, L/18, L/12) to estimate the location of the 6 holes.
Tuaz,
The flutomat has 2 calculators. One for a 6 hole flute and one for an 8 hole. Make sure that you use the one for the 6 hole to make a whistle.
The funny thing was that even though the overall length didn’t work. The hole size and placement did. Maybe I was measuring from the wrong point. I used the midpoint of the window on the fipple. Anyone know if this is right?
Angelo, could you post the link for the flutomat 6 hole spreadsheet? It can’t be in the excel file I have, because that has only 1 worksheet (the rest are empty), and it’s the 8 hole one.
Anna, I think you should make whistles with that great raw material.
Once when our young friend and hopeful ski racer–Barbie broke her leg, she stayed with us in Aspen. Her adjustable aluminum crutch sure looked like a flute to me, so I was playing it when she suddenly needed it. It wasn’t so easy getting that flute back into crutch mode in time!
Oh, and if you do decide to send the ski poles, cut them into whistle lengths first for ease of transport and toss the baskets and handles. Or make sculptures from them. Or wind chimes.
Thanks, Angelo.
No wonder I didn’t have the 6 hole one; I was using Peter Hoekje’s Excel file, not Pete Kosel’s web calculator.
Hmmm, you’re right about Pete’s measurements being short of the mark.
