A couple of my whistles have a problem where they’re nice and strong in the lower octave and horribly squawky in the top end of the upper octave. Experimentation with little squares of stiff plastic packaging material and dabs of sticky-tac seems to indicate that laminating the plastic under the sound-blade works better than sticking it on top. It also seems that I want to make it so the leading edge of the bit of plastic sticks out into the window maybe half a millimeter beyond the front edge of the sound-blade.
OK, so I’ve found a solution that seems to work. Now, the problem is making it permanent, in such a way that I get my bit of plastic stuck on in the right place instead of permanently glued in the wrong place. So I have a couple of questions:
Is there a kind of glue that peels off if I don’t get it stuck into the right place? Maybe rubber cement? Or something else I don’t know about yet? If there’s not a removable glue, it seems that I’d want one that dries slowly, so I can move my bit of plastic around and experiment to make sure it’s in the right place. So first of all, I need some glue suggestions, please.
Secondly, a question to those who’ve successfully laminated plastic to the bottom of the sound-blade – how do you get the plastic in there? I’ve tried both using the tip of my index finger, which barely fits, and I fear I’d end up smearing glue all over the inside of the whistle (which couldn’t possibly improve the sound). And I’ve tried balancing the plastic on the blunt end of a nail file, and ferrying it in that way, but I don’t feel like I have good control and aim as I stick it on via nailfile. So my question to experienced tweakers is: what method do you use to convey the gluey plastic bit to it’s final destination?
Any and all tips would be deeply appreciated.