Just Whistle!

little whistle in action
Originally uploaded by ergametal

I have a thing for whistles.
I actually have a small whistle collection which I will share with you in a moment, but first, you must see this sweet little "tweeter" made by my friend Erga.
Erga's a talented metalsmith, formerly from the US and living in Israel. Yes, she makes amazing jewelry, but I've particularly had my eye on her innovative functional silver objects, including a photo key ring (brilliant!), her beautiful baby spoons and now this!
Erga was nice enough to share some process photos with me.
How cool is this?!
Check out the video to hear the whistle in action.

The finished whistle followed by the piece in progress.

Oh, and one more thing. I have a big birthday coming up if anyone is having trouble thinking of a gift for me.  :)

Erga says:
Why: I made it for an Etsy Metal monthly challenge: Click here.
The idea came to me pretty immediately. I like making things that work.

How: I made it out of three pieces. First, I cut a strip, shaped it, and cut an airhole. Next, I soldered it to a backplate. Then, I cut it out, and soldered the other side down. After adding the bail, all that was left was filing, sanding, and polishing.

Getting it to whistle was a bit tricky. I tried to research the aeordynamics, and didn't get much instructional. I looked at a lot of pictures of whistles, and used them to determine the placement of the airhole. I also gained a basic understanding of how the air moves inside, and filed the angles to try and maximize the sound. I tried putting in a cork ball to get it to "trill," but because the chamber is so small, it just muffled the sound.
The tone is a little high-pitched, but clear. I think I will be making more of these.

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