Making an Elder whistle - TUTORIAL

[fred gordon]

Very nice Jon. I think I could even follow that. Just the thing to get my grandaughter on to.:You_Rock_

 

[Lucyc]

Hmm - I'd post a picture of mine but I've had the same trouble - not much sound
I think maybe I didn't have a big enough hole - I'm gunna try again..

EDIT: Woop wooop - success! Yay - thanks Jon! I'm absurdly proud of it..
Picture, as requested:

Isn't it awesome?

 

[redandshane]

Great tutorial
I have got the elder tubes drying
my 8 year old daughter is enthused & my 12 year old son s pretending not to be but was taught by his little sister to do this after she read this so....
Cheers

 

[Wannabe Woodsman]

http://bayimg.com/bAJimaABJ

here is what i made based on your guide. i made 3 whistles which make very clear tones at totally different pitches, and expanding upon the idea i made a necklace and bracelet out of elder with the pith removed put onto a leather shoelace. i think it looks rather cool

superb guide i had no problem making these!

i would just like to ask how did you make that flute? i mean ive read the guide you posted links to but all the woods he posted are unknown to me and are probably not native to britain and certainly not central suffolk! did you use elder to make it, creating the barriers between the sound chambers with dowel or what?

 

[Mungo]

This is a terrific tutorial. I don't think we have Elder here in Ontario, Canada. I guess I would need to find some wood either with a soft pith center, or simply drill out the middle of another piece.

I found this similar tutorial: http://www.countrylovers.co.uk/fun/whistle.htm

Cheers,

Mungo

 

[Mang]

Great tutorial!
If you use green Elder for the tube and seasoned wood for the plugs (either end) the tube shrinks onto the plug for a super join and I have rarely had one done this way lose its whistle with age and drying....


...If you do not cut the plugs to length until you have "tuned" the whistle you can pull them out easily to reshape/replace them.

Somehow missed this useful tutorial-Another one saved to my favourites folder!

Seems a good idea to use green wood for the body (with the soft pith) and seasoned inner wood. If you leave an oversozed bit in I presum you just clamp your chops over the protruding bit to test it then cut down accordingly?

 

[John Fenna]

Yup - thats how I do it!
Don't leave the sticky out bit too long or you get sore tonsils...

 

[jon r]

This is great! im glad to see people getting involved and making the whistles! A craft so small seems to have brought a lot of fun to you all.

Wannabe Woodsman, i really like your whistles and especially your jewlary, great stuff!, you too Lucyc!

 

[jon r]

i would just like to ask how did you make that flute? i mean ive read the guide you posted links to but all the woods he posted are unknown to me and are probably not native to britain and certainly not central suffolk! did you use elder to make it, creating the barriers between the sound chambers with dowel or what?

I used just a piece of Alder wood (you coulld use just about anyu type of wood) and then i carved out the sound chambers with some carving tool gouges, just like in the tutorial pages on paleoplanet.

 

[WhichDoctor]

No, that's not what I want to achieve at all. Bloody horrible things...

I want to learn how to make proper, tuned, diatonic whistles. I've gone through about 5 different commercial whistles, and I'm yet to find one that's actually tuned right. They always seem to be flat on C (for D whistles). But nobody seems to have any idea how to get something to produce a note without closing the end...

You make an open ended whistle in exactly the same way as in this tutorial but it takes a lot more fiddling to get a note out of it. The first whistle I made like this just happened to work with an open end so I never bothered to close it. Alas I lost it some time later and have never managed to make another open ended one with a decent clear note but it is possible. What you have to do is push the peace of wood in the mouth peace slowly down towards the hole until it hits just the right spot to make it whistle. The closed ended way has much more lea way.

My open ended one had a fantastic high clear note and could be incredibly loud. I'll have to go and see if I can make another one now .

Fantastic tutorial by the way, I meant to do one ages ago but couldn't have dun half as good a job :You_Rock_ .

 

[WhichDoctor]

I had a go at making a whistle from a bit of a elder tree in the garden, but couldn't make it work with an open end. It has made quite a good normal whistle though.

here are some pics

I'll have to find some more elder and have another go.

 

[jon r]

looks great... are those burn marks around the whole?

 

[WhichDoctor]

looks great... are those burn marks around the whole?

Yes there were lots of bits of wood fiber and pith in the air hole that was affecting the sound, I couldn't get them off with the knife without messing up the sound so I gave it a half second blast with my blue flame lighter. It did the trick and now the whistle has a really clear sound.

 

[luke_s]

Nice one Jon. Made one today whilst on lunch break. I saw an Elder as I drove down a lane so swung around and cut a piece.
I used green wood, plugged the end up and then let the whistle dry out on the car air vents on the way home. The Elder wood shrank and the end plug is now a perfect fit.
Excellent tutorial mate. Really easy to follow for a newbie like me.
Luke.
P.S. I shouldn't have given it to my 5 year old tho'...... I feel a headache coming on!

 

[jon r]

hehe, yea i have mine right here at my computer and i cant resist blowing it every now and then, it really gets on peoples nerves.


Burning the notch out with a metal skewer maybe a very good idea and i imagine you would get a very crisp splitting edge.

 

[Wannabe Woodsman]

Thanks for the reply jon, ill start on one as soon as i can . glad you appreciate my jewellery its really easy to do and you could make some really nice stuff if you had the patience.