Moving a whistle to a more humid climate

[joeryan]

All,

I recently ordered a wooden whistle from western Colorado. I live in The Bronx. The whistle, meanwhile, was carved several years ago from the wood of a native-Colorado tree, called a serviceberry. It has seasoned in the arid climate of the western Rockies.

Does anyone have experience moving a whistle from a dry climate to a more humid one? Any advice?

Best,

Joe

[Mitch]

Hi joeryan,

Best defence is to swab frequently and apply oil. This will slow the moisture exchange and allow the wood to re-stress without cracking.
Never leave a wooden whistle sit with moisture in the bore.

Be careful of cold nights - cold air is usually very dry, but can go over 100% humidity in foggy conditions. These are the times to swab and oil more frequently.

Hope this helps!

[greenspiderweb]

Joe,

No doubt others will answer this more directly, or efficiently, but from what I've read and heard, there isn't as much of a problem going from dry to humid, but the other way around.

I believe your wooden whistle should be fine, but do note that most recommend a wooden instrument be kept at least 40% humidity year round, no matter of environment. Or at least, it be kept at near as stable conditions that are easily possible to maintain throughout it's lifespan. Maybe it has more to do with what moisture content is was made under, but I am no expert, nor a maker, just a player, and have some repair experience of wooden instruments that have not been humidified adequately. At least, here on the East coast!

At least that is what I have heard and experienced, and try to do for my wooden instruments.

[brewerpaul]

I hate to tell you how little care I give my own wooden whistles. They've all been oiled, but I don't do it very often anymore. Wood can only hold just so much oil, and it doesn't evaporate. I just play them, shake out excess moisture from the head when I'm done. Humidity here in upstate NY ranges from very humid in the summer to bone dry in the winter, and I've never had a single crack. In over 500 whistles, I've only had a very few back for crack repairs, and I'm not sure if any of those were from humidity problems or just trauma. Don't stress over it.

[Feadoggie]

The best advice I can give you is to ask the maker for guidance on the care and feeding of the whistle. I can think of two whistle makers from Colorado and they both know what they are doing.

In general you want to guard the whistle against extremes of humidity and temperature and sudden shifts in both. It may experience some of that just getting to you from Colorado depending on what transportation methods the shipping companies employ.

I agree with what has been offered above. Most wooden whistles will be made from the hardest, most dense and dimensionally stable woods available. In other words, the most appropriate timbers will be used. That wood will also have been carefully seasoned to gradually get it down to a low, stable moisture content. And the particular pieces of wood would have been allowed to "rest" between major milling operations to see if it wants to relieve any inbred stresses. In other cases the wood may have been treated or stabilized to guard it against environmental effects. So given that background most wooden whistles will be stable and just require common sense care.

Oiling is frequently recommended for hardwoods. But some timbers, generally the less dense types, will absorb a lot of oil and can discolor the wood or cause the grain to raise or swell. Yellowheart would be one of those I have encountered. So take care there.

Serviceberry is a wood that I personally would not have considered as a whistle timber unless it were stabilized. The general botanical name for the plant it comes from is Amelanchier. Around here we call it Shadbush. It grows wild and fast in these parts. Many gardeners here consider it a nuisance plant. It attracts deer who enjoy eating the new growth. They then eat every green thing around it. It is a lovely plant when it flowers in the Spring. That was a signal to the native peoples in the area that the shad would be running in the rivers - hence the name Shadbush. We do grow Shadbush here on our property since it attracts a good variety of birds when the berries ripen, Cedar Waxwings show up in large numbers each Spring to feed in the Shadbush.

Amelanchier is not a particularly dense wood, relatively speaking. Specific gravity is about .50 -.60 whereas something like Blackwood might be greater than 1.00 and will sink in water. I've cut a lot of Shadbush over the years. We've used it for some crafting. I never considered using it as a wood for a whistle. (I may set some aside for a test now.) However there are many types of Amelanchier in the Americas and Asia. While their characteristics may be similar there could be some variation about which I am not knowledgeable. So I would ask the maker about the particular wood used and how it has been cured or treated and how they think it should be cared for going forward.

Otherwise - ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances.

Feadoggie

[joeryan]

All,

Thank you for the advice. I will let you know how it goes.

Best,

Joe

[Latticino]

If you have hot air heating in the winter (real winters, not the approximation we are getting now) the indoor humidity can take a drastic plunge down to the single digits. Even in the Bronx it might be prudent to keep your wooden whistle in some kind of humidity controlled container when not in regular use (I use a large Tupperware knock off with a smaller perforated container, sponge and water to keep my flutes and whistles at 40% or above). Certainly makes a difference depending on whether the instrument is lined with a metal slide and has metal ferrules around it's sockets (as Paul's do).

Good luck in any event.