So all you whistlesmiths and whistle whittlers. I’m thinking it would be fun to try and make a whistle.
If a guy wanted to be really serious about making whistle-making a real hobby what kind of equipment/tools would be needed?
Doc
Visit Daniel Bingamon’s website. He has listings for books and equipment. http://www.BINGAMON.COM
Personally, I own a set of titanium drill bits, a pipe cutter, vernier caliper, steel wool, files, sandpaper, tapered reemer, hacksaw and miter box.
Brass & aluminium tubing can be purchased at model airplane hobby shops.
Good luck!
Gary
Personally, I’ve found the essential tool to be the credit card.
Sorry, Doc. I just had to say it.
Scott
“Close doesn’t count except in handshoes and horsegrenades.”
[ This Message was edited by: ScottStewart on 2002-10-02 10:15 ]
Now this topic could prove useful …
The answer to this depends on what type of whistle you wanted to make. To make simple whistles from already existing tubing eg copper, PVC, hand tools and perhaps a drill press would suffice.
Wood is a whole other animal… For starters, you’d need a lathe, preferably a metal lathe which is capable of very precise work ( tolerances in the low thousandths of an inch). You’d need special drill bits, etc to make bores. A drill press for fingerholes, with a drilling jig to consistently space and line up the holes properly. Lots of hand tools,finishing materials, etc.
I’m not trying to discourage anyone, but this is not to be undertaken casually. On the other hand, you can make perfectly serviceable, playable whistles from simpler materials and have a lot of fun and satisfaction doing it.
A Metal Lathe is also useful for turning fipple plugs and tuning couplers.
Matierals, PVC, Copper, Brass, Nickel-Silver, Wood, Delrin
Coping Saw
Band Saw
Belt & Disc Sander
Digitial Calipers
Accurate Tuning Device
36" Ruler marked in millimeters and inches
Permanent Markers
Drill Dress (variable speed)
Drills
Drill Sizing Template
Deburring Tool
Dremal Hand Tool with Extension Cabble and assorted bit.
Center Drilling End Mills are good for cutting 3/8" and larger tonholes. Screw
machine drills also work well and have less
chatter than long ordinary drill.
Sanding Paper and Wire Brushes
Please don’t cut the pipe with pipe cutters - the sharp edges weakens the sound.
If you do use a pipe cutter - sand and deburr the edges
Just to name a few!
[ This Message was edited by: Daniel_Bingamon on 2002-10-02 16:22 ]
Retiring from 40 years of carpentry helps toolwise. The trick is adapting them from two by fours to tubing.
I have twelve whistle stands, eleven kinds of fipple stock, ten sets of files, nine kinds of templates, eight tools for marking, seven racks of tubing, six drawers of parts, five Dremel tools, four drill presses, three sanding tools, two turning lathes, and a branch from a pear tree.
Email me for serious answers.
Mack
Mack,
You need more tubing. I scored on some 1/2" OD aluminum with 0.05" walls. Need an early Christmas present?
Gary
Would you bring it when you visit, Santa Gary?
There will be cookies and whistles for you.
What about the fipples? Are people using some kind of milling machinery?
Doc
From my perspective (I use chrome molybdenum tubing for some whistles) cobalt drills are better than titanium coated for staying sharp in very hard materials.
Metal lathes, while useful and quite precise, are only absolutely necessary if you intend to do a lot of wooden whistles to very close tolerances like Paul. I use a Ridgid monorail wood lathe with a set of Record centers for turning hollow tubes, and a 5/16" shell auger for the initial bore. That setup allows me to center-drill up to 24 inches of stock. To do that with a metal lathe, you’d need to spend a couple thousand dollars - 24-inch beds don’t come cheap.
Once the main bore is done, I mount a chuck on the tailstock with a long 1/2" drill bit, center it up, and simply follow the pre-drilled hole by sliding that assembly toward the headstock. No failures to date. It isn’t quite as precise as a commercial setup, but it works fine for me, and the whole shootin’ match cost under $500.00USD.
Simple metal and plastic pipe whistles can be made with minimal tools - a hand drill, some sandpaper, a few files, a tubing cutter, and a hacksaw. A small vise with plastic jaws is also a good investment.
If you want to go crazy like I did, you can get the stuff I use -
2 - 1-hp floor-standing drill presses, 1/2" capacity
2 - 1/4 HP 15000 RPM flexible shaft tools
1 - 14" wood-cutting bandsaw (Delta)
1 - 8" metal-cutting bandsaw (cheap junk)
1 - 12-speed small (360-lb) milling machine
1 - small (3" x 18") belt sander
1 - bench grinder with coarse and fine wheels
1 - set of end mills
1 - face mill holder with milling cutters
1 - 1-lb brass hammer
1 - 2-lb copper hammer
1 - 12-oz ball-peen hammer (polished face)
1 - 4" drill press vise with plastic jaws
1 - 6" bench vise with plastic jaws
1 - 6" milling vise
Silicon Carbide sandpaper in 200, 320, 400, 600, and 1500 grit
2 - 6" fabric polishing wheels with mandrels
3000 grit silicon carbide polish for steel
Red (jeweller’s rouge) polish for copper and brass.
1 - set of 2-cut jeweller’s needle files
1 - set of 4-cut jeweller’s needle files
A few mill files in 6" and 8" length
1 - small propane blowtorch
Silver-bearing lead-free plumbing solder, acid flux core
1/8" flux-coated brazing rod
Various Dremel grinding and cutting bits
1/8" Roto-Zip tile cutting bits
Set of Titanium Nitride coated drill bits
Set of cobalt drill bits
Various hand-made punches and dies for setting the blade, etc.
Home-made holding stands for whistles in progress
White cotton gloves for handling polished metal
Various utility knives, pliers, rulers, and other measuring equipment
Whatever you decide to do, remember to buy tools of as high a quality as you can afford. Cheap tools are rarely a bargain. That cheap-junk metal cutting bandsaw I have works, but it’s a pain to use, and I will be replacing it with a good one as soon as I can afford it.
Finally, also whatever you decide to do, have fun at it!!
Cheers,
Bill Whedon
On 2002-10-02 20:21, Doc Jones wrote:
What about the fipples? Are people using some kind of milling machinery?Doc
I just saw the material close on the bandsaw, and use a belt sander to do the final shaping.
Cheers,
Bill Whedon
My fipples are Delrin. The 1/2" size is a near perfect fit to my 1/2" bores-- if they are a bit too sung, I chuck them in the lathe and take them down bit by bit with 400 grit sandpaper, or a flat file gingerly applied. Once they are cemented in place, I sand them to the proper profile with a drum sander chucked in the lathe. Finish sanding by hand.
On 2002-10-02 17:48, Mack.Hoover wrote:
Would you bring it when you visit, Santa Gary?There will be cookies and whistles for you.
Mack, Check your private messages,
Whistle Claus… er…I mean ‘Gary’