I am hoping everyone doesn’t mind my posting this. I know the topic has been covered, but I haven’t seen many links offered up. So I am hoping to have a single post where people, like myself, can find links for online stores that sell oils, bore mops, cotton pipe cleaners, etc. that can be safely used to clean and protect wood whistles.
Thanks in advance,
Matt
Yes, and we should probably sticky it. And perhaps in the flute forum, as well.
Truth be told, you simply don’t need a lot of fancy supplies to take care of wooden whistles. For a cleaning/oiling rod, I use a bamboo chopstick. I used a sheetrock knife to split the small end (careful!) about 1 1/2". The resulting slit is springy enough to securely hold a gauze square or piece of cut up T-shirt for oiling. To dry the bore, I use a cotton bandana twisted diagonally. I use a home-brewed recipe for bore oil courtesy of the late great Glenn Schultz. It’s a 5:1 mix of LIGHT olive oil and almond oil with a couple of drops of vitamin E oil added to prevent it’s turning rancid. That’s the whole deal.
I do exactly as Paul said with one or two twists. You know those flags that some businesses put in your yards around 4th of July? I use the dowels those are on – they’re like 3/16 or 1/4 (5-6.5 mm). And I saw the ends with a fine saw blade. (I have a half-dozen of these of different lengths; you need a pretty long one for a low whistle or Pratten flute.) I use scraps of silk from my wife’s hobby (sewing) as swabs, as they don’t leave any lint in the bore. I use the Schultz mixture, with a scrap of cotton rather than silk for oiling. I keep the oil in an old hot-sauce bottle, in the 'fridge when I remember.
Total investment: whatever the oil costs; everything else is leftovers.
Anyone know a good online place to buy the all cotton pipe cleaners?
No need to go online. Being the all cotton pipe cleaner is simply a matter of willpower. Just repeat, “I am the all cotton pipe cleaner,” until you are the all cotton pipe cleaner.
Yes, I should either not post when I’m tired, or make sure to read what I write more carefully. I’m going back to edit now.
At least I didn’t compare it to “be like the palm tree”…
I saw that!