Some wooden whistlemakers (Rose etc) put the male half of the tuning slide on the head of the whistle while others like Glenn Schultz and myself to it the opposite way with the male on the body tube, and the larger female part on the head.
Can anyone see a good reason to do it one way or the other? I have been considering reversing my slides for one simple, practical reason. Doing it the other way would shorten the unassembled length of my whistles enough that they would fit nicely into one of several commercially available jeweler’s bracelet boxes which would serve as a simple but effective case. I would especially like to hear from whistlers who own whistles made both ways. Thankis
My Grinter Low D (thanks NickT…) has the male part up. Makes it shorter when packed, true.
Technically, I guess one advantage is the, er, drool is less likely to penetrate in the assembly this way. And it seems the actual case. My aluminium whistles tuning slides with an external sleeve (Alba, Kerry Pro low D) function reversely, and do get some “soap” (water + grease) at the joint.
I agree with Zubivka concerning the “drool” factor. That is the way plumbing pipe works; the male end is “upstream” making it less likely to collect anything between the two parts of the pipe.
Paul, I’ve made them both ways and settled on the male side top because of both the “leak factor”, and the length.
(edit) It’s more of a pain for me to do it that way, because of the way I do the joint, but it also keeps me from having to PTFE all three barrels on a multi-tube set.(/edit)
I’ve played two side-by-side in front of the spectrum analyzer, and don’t see any diff other than could be accounted for by normal chiff. Don’t hear any, either, but I really don’t trust my ears in that respect, hence the scope! 
Cheers,
serpent
[ This Message was edited by: serpent on 2003-01-02 11:57 ]
Well, Paul, I was doing my monthly bore oiling of whistles and flutes and took stock of the tuning slides. You and Glenn are the only ones putting the male half on the shaft. All the others (Michael Grinter, Phil Bleazey, Ted Wilson, and Chris Abell) have the male half on the head.
I don’t know if there’s any significance to it, just thought you’d like to know.
If it doesn’t adversely impact the sound, I’m for anything that makes for a shorter whistle when it’s taken apart. I’ve started using leather cases with inserts that are made to hold cigars. Nice cases but a slightly shorter whistle (when taken apart) would help the fit.
Not willing to give up any sound just for a better fit though. I’ve got Busman on the way but my Blackwood Weasel is shorter than my Rose when taken apart.
my 2 pennies worth
jim