Hello,
I own a John Sindt whistle. I believe it is made of copper. Unfortunately it hasn't been tuned in over 4 years and it is now so stiff it is impossible to move the mouthpiece to tune it. Does anyone know of a safe way to loosen the mouthpiece? I have tried heating it with hot water but to no avail. I don't want to risk damaging the whistle as I love it very much. Can anyone help me?
Thanks
If it were me, I would use a light penetrating oil at the seam. Set it in the sun and give it a few minutes. then I would begin to try to move the upper part by twisting it
there are gun oils that are really good at breaking up light corrosion to free moving parts. I use this stuff called "Break Free". It is sold in a black plastic bottle at gun shops here in the states.
Gun and whistle shops: this country's shame. It is possible, in this day and age, for any one -- ANY ONE -- to walk into one of these emporiums, and obtain an assault whistle. All it takes is cash money up front; there is not even a waiting period.
One way (in theory) is to dunk the long end in liquid nitrogen and to quickly heat the fipple end with an oxyacetylene torch (in an argon atmosphere of course), being very careful not to drop said torch in the liquid nitrogen. Then you should be able to pull the parts apart - probably in several pieces distorted in shapes known only to M Escher and Picasso.
The only problem with this solution is the general unavailability of liquid nitrogen for the domestic user to play with (elf and safety reasons apparently, but liquid oxygen would be far more fun in my opinion).
my whistle is stuck
my whistle is stuck
Hello,
I own a John Sindt whistle. I believe it is made of copper. Unfortunately it hasn't been tuned in over 4 years and it is now so stiff it is impossible to move the mouthpiece to tune it. Does anyone know of a safe way to loosen the mouthpiece? I have tried heating it with hot water but to no avail. I don't want to risk damaging the whistle as I love it very much. Can anyone help me?
Thanks
# Posted on November 5th 2009 by roaming_whistler
Re: my whistle is stuck
Is it green?
# Posted on November 5th 2009 by ...
Re: my whistle is stuck
Greetings rw,
I would suspect it's made of brass not copper. You can email John for his advice. His contact info is listed at the end of this review:
http://www.chiffandfipple.com/sindt.html
Good luck!
Peace,
Ed
# Posted on November 5th 2009 by ejsant
Re: my whistle is stuck
If it were me, I would use a light penetrating oil at the seam. Set it in the sun and give it a few minutes. then I would begin to try to move the upper part by twisting it
there are gun oils that are really good at breaking up light corrosion to free moving parts. I use this stuff called "Break Free". It is sold in a black plastic bottle at gun shops here in the states.
# Posted on November 5th 2009 by Nate Ryan
Re: my whistle is stuck
WD40. Every time.
# Posted on November 5th 2009 by EnDaC
Re: my whistle is stuck
Gun shops are not three a penny in my part of the world...
# Posted on November 5th 2009 by nicholas
Re: my whistle is stuck
How do you ever get replacement parts for your guns when you wear them out?
# Posted on November 5th 2009 by Nate Ryan
Re: my whistle is stuck
Gun and whistle shops: this country's shame. It is possible, in this day and age, for any one -- ANY ONE -- to walk into one of these emporiums, and obtain an assault whistle. All it takes is cash money up front; there is not even a waiting period.
# Posted on November 6th 2009 by Atahualpa Quigley
Re: my whistle is stuck
It's scary to think that not only do some people own guns, but that they
use them so much they wear out. One reason I'm glad to be out of the USA.
# Posted on November 6th 2009 by Hup
Re: my whistle is stuck
Yep, WD40, the handyman's friend!
# Posted on November 6th 2009 by AlBrown
Re: my whistle is stuck
One way (in theory) is to dunk the long end in liquid nitrogen and to quickly heat the fipple end with an oxyacetylene torch (in an argon atmosphere of course), being very careful not to drop said torch in the liquid nitrogen. Then you should be able to pull the parts apart - probably in several pieces distorted in shapes known only to M Escher and Picasso.
The only problem with this solution is the general unavailability of liquid nitrogen for the domestic user to play with (elf and safety reasons apparently, but liquid oxygen would be far more fun in my opinion).
# Posted on November 6th 2009 by Trevor Jennings
Re: my whistle is stuck
Thanks very much for your suggestions everyone- i will give them a try.
# Posted on November 6th 2009 by roaming_whistler
Re: my whistle is stuck
@nicholas: http://www.barbicanarmoury.org.uk/
# Posted on November 6th 2009 by Crackpot
Re: my whistle is stuck
"You can email John for his advice" he'll say what the f**k have you done to my whistle?!!!"
"Why didn't you look after it???"
# Posted on November 10th 2009 by premier