Weekenders’ posts about his Burkes clogging have gotten me wondering if we can identify any pattern of clogging that’s more associated with certain materials. Burkes have a Delrin fipple block, I believe. I had understood that Delrin resists clogging, but Weeks and one or two others are reporting problems, at least with certain whistles.
Would anyone care to report:
What material(s) they’ve had clogging problems with and
Which material(s) they’ve never had problems with?
Perhaps we can explore the question of whether it’s the material itself that’s the issue, the geometry of the whistle, or some other as yet undiscovered factor(s).
I’m asking this because I intend to produce a lot of whistles eventually, and I want to be sure I make the best choices of materials. This information should be of benefit to anyone who makes whistles, and of course, to anyone who plays them.
One thing I’ve noticed is that every whistle that I’ve ever had notable problems with in terms of clogging had a round style fipple plug. Syn and Burke are the first two that come to mind. Both use delrin but I’m not convinced that it’s the delrin and not the shape of the windway. I’ve never had recurring problems like this with any straight windway whistle and some of those that I own have a smaller height than the Burkes. I’d say the fipple style plays a likely part in it.
I’ve never owned a wooden whistle but of all the whistles I’ve owned clogging has never been an issue. Sindt, Humphrey, Jerry Tweaked Mellow Dog and Gen, Hoover White Cap, all the cheapies … Feadog, Gen, Clare, Oak…
my low whistle is aluminum with some sort of plastic inset (don’t know if it’s delrin). the mouthpiece looks like this:
any ideas about clogging remedies would be much appreciated… especially because I really can’t afford another low whistle, as much as I’d like one. I have to make do with what I’ve got somehow.
I know absolutely nothing about whistle making, so that makes me uniquely qualified to voice my opinion.
If the fipple temperature is less than body temperature, there will be condensation. And the more humid the air, the more condensation there will be. Mother Nature says so.
So what would happen if we made fipples of materials that stay warm or absorb heat quickly from the lips and the breath?
Burke (NB brass D)–severe clogging problems, similar to what’s been said in the other thread–delrin and brass fipple.
Sindt D–very mild clogging problems, but once it’s warmed up no problems–delrin and brass fipple.
Humphrey D–zero clogging problems–all delrin (acetal) fipple.
Cheapies–zero clogging problems (well, the Oak sometimes has a slight problem)–all plastic fipple.
Conclusion–fipples made with all plastic/delrin/acetal seem to be the most clog-resistant.
The Humphrey has virtually the same fipple design and dimensions as the Sindt–the Sindt clogs a little and the Humphrey not at all. They both have curved windways, and seem to be narrower than the Burke, yet clog less than the Burke, so dimensions/windway design may not be as critical as the material the fipple is made from.
Which material(s) they’ve never had problems with?
None, although wooden whistles have generally been good.
And by wood I mean all-wood whistles, like Swayne and Bleazey and Grinter, although I had a blackwood Bleazey that I had clogging problems with. I treat all the wood-with-metal-mouthpiece-and-delrin-fippleplug whistles with Jet-Dri, and that helps a lot, as do wooden fipple plugs.
Actually, the old-style Burke Wide-bore Brass is also very good, clogging-wise. I find it much better than the new ones with the CNC Delrin windways.
interesting, i have had the opposite experience. both the WBB and my Copeland d have similar clogging issues that i haven’t had with the black tips. both have similar brass ceiling/delrin floor windway designs.
also the Alba Q1 clogs pretty easily, which is an aluminum/tufnol? combination.
all of the whistles mentioned sound lovely, however.
For some reason I’ve had problems with my newest feadog. Otherwise, like everyone else, the cheapies have not been a problem, Clarke Originals clogging the least. I don’t know if that is because of the wooden fipple or the large, curved windway. My old Chieftain low D clogged pretty badly (aluminum). I don’t play my Sindt D enough to really know…does anyone want it? Shaw A, no worries beyond normal cleaning needs. My Shaw low D takes a bit of extra cleaning in the windway, but doesn’t clog near as bad as the Chieftain did (keep in mind that the lower pitched Shaws now have metal rather than wooden windways…nickel I think).
I have always guessed (perhaps incorrectly) that the windway design and dimensions have almost as much effect on clogging as the windway materials… I have noticed that the low backpressure whistles like Dixons, Clarkes and virtually all of the cheapies seem to clog less than the whistles with higher backpressure (and smaller windway heights). If a windway exit is small, a given amount of moisture would obstruct a larger percentage of the exit’s area (clog more)… This of course is just conjecture, but it seems true…
