Someone in Holland just asked me if I ever sent a whistle on a “tour” like some other makers have done. I’ve been hesitant about sending a somewhat delicate wooden whistle around the world, not knowing how long it might have to sit in hot/cold delivery trucks, people’s front porches, etc. However, with the Delrin whistles I now make, this is less of a concern.
Can anyone here suggest how to arrange such a tour? I was considering taking names and addresses for a period of time, then arranging them geographically and printing the list to enclose with the whistle. Each player would cross their name off the list and send the whistle on to the next address on the list. I might add a place where people could add comments or suggestions so I have some player input when the whistle finally wends it’s way home.
I’d appreciate any suggestions other whistlemakers might have regarding tours they’ve sent whistles on, as well as suggestions for board members in general.
I am NOT taking names yet.. just considering the feasibility of this. Thanks.
IF you ever send to the Continent… might as well go through Brittany during tne first week of July, so the other Chiffers attending it can give a try to one of your instruments 
I’d sure would like to try some of your timber.
Wherever, it might be a good thing to consider building a hard crate out of PVC–not only against crushes but to damp out moisture and temperature shocks.
ELSE… if you fear for the wood, send a Delrin model!
hi paul
well the way you describe it, is indeed the way it is done most of the time, have a look on this forum www.gaeliccrossings.com where are some messages about tours and how they are done I think, too.
additional idea is, besides arranging the list with adresses geographically is that you should ask people to send it insured and airmail only each time.
and I think maybe there IS a way to send a wooden whistle on a tour because when you would normally make one to order, it would also go on airmail wouldn’t it…but I can imagine, trip after trip takes a lot from a whistle.
so, if in doubt sending a delrin on a tour, that would be fine too!
greetings
berti
hi paul
well the way you describe it, is indeed the way it is done most of the time, have a look on this forum www.gaeliccrossings.com where are some messages about tours and how they are done I think, too.
additional idea is, besides arranging the list with adresses geographically is that you should ask people to send it insured and airmail only each time.
and I think maybe there IS a way to send a wooden whistle on a tour because when you would normally make one to order, it would also go on airmail wouldn’t it…but I can imagine, trip after trip takes a lot from a whistle.
so, if in doubt sending a delrin on a tour, that would be fine too!
greetings
berti
I vaguely remember hearing something about Terry McGee having some trouble with customs and import VAT when he first sent a “Roving Ambassador Flute” to Europe. EU wanted to collect on the full value of the flute even though it was claimed to be a manufacturer’s sample.
This is only a vague recollection, but you might want to be sure about that before you get started… I don’t recall hearing how/if the matter was resolved.
For logistics, you can always email Terry. He’s very good about answering email in my experience.
For safety, you might want to consider sending it in a container made from PVC plumbing. If you use 2" pipe or so, you can pack a swab and wick humidifier with it. You can also glue a cap to one end and have a screw-on cap on the other end, which should seal it pretty well in the cargo hold of the vehicles that transport it (against pressure changes, etc.). Again here, I suspect Terry could be of help.
hm I live in europe myself and I have had a lot of things coming from the USA to me without any problems so that leaves me curious.
I would be sorry if it turned out to be true and make you put the whole idea off…hope terry can help you out 
berti
I have alot of delicate instruments( helicopter parts) sent to me from Europe, and they are all packaged by people trained to do so. It might be worth checking out a packaging company for advise on using dessicants in the packaging to absorb moisture if sending a wooden instrument. The dessicant packs can be reused, if dried out .
Paul - Terry McGee (terry@mcgee-flutes.com) did send one his flutes around and it went on tour through the US and EU as well and, I recall, Australia where he is. I don’t recall any specific problems other than there being a long wait for it to travel. As a flute - wooden - people kept for a week or two in order to do a fair trial. Terry’s a great guy to converse with. You can follow some of his vast knowledge on http://woodenflute.com
BillG
Right now there are 2 Syn tours going on over at Gaelic Crossings, and awhile back there was an Alba Tour. So second the suggestion that you go over and check it out. The members involved (some of whom post here too) would be happy to let you know how it works.
SwtCaro
Another source of information on how to negotiate the trans-Atlantic and/or Pacific crossings would be Stacey of Alba Whistles.
The most important thing to do would be to include a chance for me to play your whistle against my Bleazey (mopani) and Thin Weasel (blackwood). Timing would be for the upcoming SF get together that Tony just announced.
The important thing is to include me in the tour. Just for good karma!
g
I have sent a Chromatic Whistle out on a tour.
I can’t stress enough on making a container that will hold the whistle steady and protect it from damage. I had to make repairs on it and replaced a could of key seats which were torn off.
I plan on sending it back out, just haven’t had a chance. Too many things going on.
I suggest that you set up a whistle tour like this:
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Get the names/addresses/email addresses of the tour destinations.
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Sort the tour destinations out by locale so that each step is not a large distance.
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Have the whistle return to home base when it goes out of the country and send it out yourself. You might want to connect with someone overseas as the overseas coordinator.
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Some postal systems are very slow. I sent a package to Paris in mid february and it took until mid april to get there.
Thanks for the suggestions Daniel (and everyone else).
Dan-- did your foreign people report being charged large import taxes for your manufacturer’s sample?
FWIW customs can be a bit of a hassle, unlike what berti above says I have had a lot of hassle from Dutch customs in the past re instruments, usually they insist on taking 20 percent of the value off you. Irish customs are mixed, fedex would only deliver an uilleann pipes chanter marked as as ‘sent over for repair’ from Canada [for one of my pupils] after taking twenty percent and another set of pipes sent to the neighbours was stuck in customs too [they said they would consider a refund after the repair] but whistles sent airmail through the regular post came through without a hitch.
Deliveries here are extremely quick, packages take two days from OZ or US, once even a next day delivery, posted here, delivered San Fran. England seems to take that bit longer but Germany, Netherlands etc one or two days to and from Ireland. Don’t know about France.
as you can see paul, it can really depend on the customs themselves regarding whether they have a good day or not …even people in the same country can have different experiences! maybe I was just “lucky”?
berti
IMH Experience with EEC customs:
DO NOT insure the instrument: the Customs will hop on the insured value, take VAT + import tax on it–roughly 20~25% of the value, depending on the country.
Also, an insured package is more likely to disappear than an non-insured one. I just lost a Copeland low D because of some fancy shipping 
. On the other hand, ordinary parcels just DON’T get lost! Make what you will of this, but my interpretation is: DO NOT let potential thieves know the commercial value of what you send…
NEVER send through UPS, or FedEx, with an insured value–they’ll collect the tax fees directly, then obidiently transmit to the customs; with some luck, the process won’t get you more than two to three weeks extra delay…
DO send through good ole USPS, “Global Priority Mail”. On the green customs slip, fill in the value for your manufacturer’s cost, not full retail value. On the same slip check either “Gift” or “Commercial Sample” and the customs will let it go no problem–or I never saw such a mishap with, believe me, some experience…
In a bizarre world, isn’t it refreshing to learn that good old national Post systems just work fine and DON’T lose snail mail, or plain “parcels” and deliver these in about six to eight working days?
On the return trip to USA, one should fill in the same customs green slip data, adding “returned to manufacturer” in the Item description field, is all.
Of course, it’s better to describe the item as “penny (or “tin”) whistle” than “fancy baroque wood instrument thing”
Paul–
As has been mentioned, there have been a few tours going on lately, mostly organized over on GaelicCrossings. Generally, the maker posts that there will be a tour, and those who want in on it send a PM with their name and address. The whistle goes in the order in which the PMs were received. This was slightly modified in the case of the current Syn low D tours, where each of the two tours had a single person in Europe and the rest in the US. The Europeans were moved to the beginning or end of the tour to minimize international shipping.
Each person keeps the whistle for 3 weeks, then they pay postage to the next person on the list. Mr. Syn includes a list of all the people on the tour and their addresses; Alba has each person PM their address to the person who will send the whistle to them. Each tour has been limited to 6-10 people, just so it doesn’t last for years. I think that’s part of why Mr. Syn has been sending out two at a time, so the tours can get to more people in a shorter time.
Just so you know, two of the whistles Mr. Syn has sent on tour were wood – one in Lancewood (we named him Lance, of course) and one in Ironwood (we named him I. Ron Wood). Both seem to have gotten through the tours with no trouble, and one of them is being donated to the Jerry Freeman raffle.
Oh, and one other thing. Alba is giving away the low D that’s on tour to one of the participants in the tour. That’s popular.
Steven
Oh, you think!!!