How I Handmake a Whistle

I recently received an email inquiring about how I make whistles and do I make them one at a time? I suppose a movie of the process would be best, but here is how I make my handmade whistles.

First I make a prototype whistle that plays correctly and is in good tune. I take this prototype and all my notes made during the creation of the prototype to the art department where I measure all the pieces and draft a finished blueprint and write my notes into instructions before they get misplaced or worse still, I forget what they meant in the first place.

I set up machinery and jigs to precisely cut each piece to make a particular part of the whistle. For instance, I will set up and make a hundred mouthpiece blanks. Every third or fourth blank, I will carefully check that the blank is to size and measure diameters with the digital calipers. After the blanks are machined, they are hand washed, deburred, and put in a bin with a note and description of what whistle they go to. Each part in the whistle is made in the same manner and made as closely as possible to the blueprint.

When all the parts are complete, I assemble the whistles according to their key. The assembled whistle is completely cleaned and tuned for the first time at this point. All that remains is for the tone body to be painted when an order for that type and key whistle comes in.

When the whistle has been painted, striped and labeled for an order, I play the whistle, check the tuning and completely clean it inside and out. The bore is polished and the whistle gets a final wash. Fingering charts, thumb rings and instruction sheets are placed in the shipping box and the whistle is shipped to the customer.

That is what a handmade whistle is all about, lots of handwork and attention to details.