How to make a whistle from a tree branch.

glatt · 06-21-2010, 08:25 AM

1. Find a willow tree or really any tree that has nice straight branches that are around half an inch thick and have thin smooth bark. I used tulip poplar, and it worked well. I've heard basswood will work too. Willow is apparently best. Cut the branch off the tree. Dead, dry branches won't work. You will need a straight section of branch about 4 inches long without knots or side twigs sprouting out.

In this picture, the segment on the far right is perfect. Some of the ones in the middle are no good. Soak the segments you find in a bucket of water for about half an hour to get more water into the bark.

2. About 3/4 of an inch from one end, score through the bark and deep into the wood all the way around the circumference of the stick. You are going to be working on the large right half of the stick, and leaving the part to the left of the score alone to be used as a handle.

3. Loosen the bark. Gently beat on the stick on the large area to the right of the score line you made earlier. This is the trickiest part of the project. You want to loosen the bark by beating on it, but you don't want to split the bark or damage it. I messed up my first whistle by splitting the bark when I hit it too hard. This time, I used a pair of pliers instead of a hammer and just tapped repeatedly all up and down the stick and all over. I didn't touch the small area to the other side of the score line. We want that bark to stay on.

4. After tapping all over the stick for maybe ten minutes, the bark has loosened up and if you try holding on to the the small grip to the left of the score line and twisting on the large area to the right, you will notice the bark starting to slide around. You can slide it gently off now, to see the wood underneath that is clean as a whistle, and then push the bark back onto the stick in its original position.

I didn't slip it off at all, because the more you handle it, the more likely the bark is to split. The score line looks more pronounced once the bark is coming loose because water is oozing out of the cut.

5. Cut off the end to form the mouthpiece. I used a small saw to cut the diagonal off and then a sharp knife to clean it up. You need to have the bark sheath back on the wood interior when you make the cut since this supports the bark.

6. Now you have to cut a notch out of the top of the whistle. It's a perpendicular cut closest to the mouth part and a diagonal cut farther away from the mouthpiece. I cut about a third of the way into the stick. I used a knife to cut a clean cut through the bark, and then a saw to cut gently into the wood interior. You could just use a knife.

7. Take it apart. Slide the bark off and see what we have. Clean as a whistle!

8. Make the airway. You need to shave maybe a 1/16th or perhaps 1/8th of an inch off the top part of the triangular point of the wooden interior. This is going to be an airway to let the right amount of air into the whistle. If you look at the top line of the wooden interior, you can see on the left that a little bit has been shaved off.

9. Cut off the triangle end. I used a small saw, but you could use a knife and just roll it back and forth until the cut goes through.

Stick this plug back into the mouthpiece of the whistle.

10. This is what it looks like. You can see the air passage made by shaving a little off the top of the wooden interior.

11. Cut the end plug. Cut off a maybe two inches of the rest of the interior. Then stick it into the other end. You can also just cut off a short segment to use as a plug in the far end and stick a long screw into that plug to use as a handle so you can pull it in and out to make the pitch change. That's what I had done in the youtube video whistle.

12. It's done. Tada!

jinx · 06-21-2010, 10:17 AM

Wow, that's really cool glatt. Looks intimidating/difficult but I kind of want to try...

classicman · 06-21-2010, 10:28 AM

Me too. Thanks!

Whats the over-under on band-aids required for that?

glatt · 06-21-2010, 10:36 AM

I still have all my fingers!

Actually, the thread makes it sound a lot harder than it is. It's easy. If you mess one up like I did, it's no big deal. Just start a new one.

monster · 06-22-2010, 08:57 AM

my sticks are soaking...

Shawnee123 · 06-22-2010, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monster

my sticks are soaking...

In cider?

monster · 06-22-2010, 09:11 AM

NO!

monster · 06-22-2010, 10:45 AM

hmph, I think the bark is too thin on my specimens. back to the drawing board/garden

glatt · 06-22-2010, 10:57 AM

but isn't this fun?

monster · 06-22-2010, 11:13 AM

not yet, but I haven't given up...

06-21-2010, 08:25 AM	#1
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	How to make a whistle from a tree branch. 1. Find a willow tree or really any tree that has nice straight branches that are around half an inch thick and have thin smooth bark. I used tulip poplar, and it worked well. I've heard basswood will work too. Willow is apparently best. Cut the branch off the tree. Dead, dry branches won't work. You will need a straight section of branch about 4 inches long without knots or side twigs sprouting out. In this picture, the segment on the far right is perfect. Some of the ones in the middle are no good. Soak the segments you find in a bucket of water for about half an hour to get more water into the bark. 2. About 3/4 of an inch from one end, score through the bark and deep into the wood all the way around the circumference of the stick. You are going to be working on the large right half of the stick, and leaving the part to the left of the score alone to be used as a handle. 3. Loosen the bark. Gently beat on the stick on the large area to the right of the score line you made earlier. This is the trickiest part of the project. You want to loosen the bark by beating on it, but you don't want to split the bark or damage it. I messed up my first whistle by splitting the bark when I hit it too hard. This time, I used a pair of pliers instead of a hammer and just tapped repeatedly all up and down the stick and all over. I didn't touch the small area to the other side of the score line. We want that bark to stay on. 4. After tapping all over the stick for maybe ten minutes, the bark has loosened up and if you try holding on to the the small grip to the left of the score line and twisting on the large area to the right, you will notice the bark starting to slide around. You can slide it gently off now, to see the wood underneath that is clean as a whistle, and then push the bark back onto the stick in its original position. I didn't slip it off at all, because the more you handle it, the more likely the bark is to split. The score line looks more pronounced once the bark is coming loose because water is oozing out of the cut. 5. Cut off the end to form the mouthpiece. I used a small saw to cut the diagonal off and then a sharp knife to clean it up. You need to have the bark sheath back on the wood interior when you make the cut since this supports the bark. 6. Now you have to cut a notch out of the top of the whistle. It's a perpendicular cut closest to the mouth part and a diagonal cut farther away from the mouthpiece. I cut about a third of the way into the stick. I used a knife to cut a clean cut through the bark, and then a saw to cut gently into the wood interior. You could just use a knife. 7. Take it apart. Slide the bark off and see what we have. Clean as a whistle! 8. Make the airway. You need to shave maybe a 1/16th or perhaps 1/8th of an inch off the top part of the triangular point of the wooden interior. This is going to be an airway to let the right amount of air into the whistle. If you look at the top line of the wooden interior, you can see on the left that a little bit has been shaved off. 9. Cut off the triangle end. I used a small saw, but you could use a knife and just roll it back and forth until the cut goes through. Stick this plug back into the mouthpiece of the whistle. 10. This is what it looks like. You can see the air passage made by shaving a little off the top of the wooden interior. 11. Cut the end plug. Cut off a maybe two inches of the rest of the interior. Then stick it into the other end. You can also just cut off a short segment to use as a plug in the far end and stick a long screw into that plug to use as a handle so you can pull it in and out to make the pitch change. That's what I had done in the youtube video whistle. 12. It's done. Tada! Last edited by glatt; 06-21-2010 at 08:38 AM.

06-21-2010, 10:17 AM	#2
jinx Come on, cat. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: general vicinity of Philadelphia area Posts: 7,013	Wow, that's really cool glatt. Looks intimidating/difficult but I kind of want to try... __________________ Crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good.

06-21-2010, 10:28 AM	#3
classicman barely disguised asshole, keeper of all that is holy. Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 23,401	Me too. Thanks! Whats the over-under on band-aids required for that? __________________ "like strapping a pillow on a bull in a china shop" Bullitt

06-22-2010, 08:57 AM	#5
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	my sticks are soaking... __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

06-22-2010, 09:11 AM	#7
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	NO! __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

06-21-2010, 10:36 AM	#4
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	I still have all my fingers! Actually, the thread makes it sound a lot harder than it is. It's easy. If you mess one up like I did, it's no big deal. Just start a new one.

06-22-2010, 10:45 AM	#8
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	hmph, I think the bark is too thin on my specimens. back to the drawing board/garden __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

06-22-2010, 10:57 AM	#9
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	but isn't this fun?

06-22-2010, 11:13 AM	#10
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	not yet, but I haven't given up... __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

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