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Wood Types
Choose from a selection of beautiful timberWoodwinds are acoustically different to stringed instruments in that the timber itself isn’t vibrating, only the air inside it. Nevertheless the timber does make a difference to the way it sounds, even though the key characteristics are determined by the geometry of the inside of the whistle.
Some might classify whistle timbers as being either ‘exotic’ or ‘fruitwoods’ but this isn’t very helpful as one of the very best, boxwood, is neither. The key characteristic that I’m looking for is to be able to get a perfectly smooth bore. This tends to be a feature of hardwoods grown in the tropics…with exceptions.
Below I have listed the most common timbers I work with which you’ll also see in my online shop. If there is a timber you’re interested in for your whistle that isn’t listed here, don’t hesitate to get in touch as I may be able to offer alternative options.
American Cherry
Beautiful red-brown fruitwood with a fine grain, beloved of cabinet makers and a very good woodwind timber. Whistles of mine made twenty years ago in American Cherry are still going strong! American cherry is harvested from sustainable woodland.
Apple
Apple is readily available but its hard to get in unflawed billets. The timber is hard enough to take a good finish and it turns nicely. It’s typically an attractive shade of dun, and frequently has flecks of darker browns within it. It makes highly satisfactory instruments.
Castello boxwood
This is not true boxwood but it looks, turns and plays in a similar way. Its great advantage is that it can be obtained in decent size pieces with few flaws.
Ebony
A tropical hardwood legendary for its blackness! It’s like turning solid soot, and the dust colours everything. When you try to see inside when cutting the windway and the window, I need extra powerful lighting because it just absorbs all the light you apply. Nevertheless, it makes top -quality instruments with a well-behaved tone.
English Cherry
Readily available in the UK I have billets that I have cut and seasoned myself from local trees, it is lighter in colour than American Cherry with more figure to the grain. It tends to be harder and gives a smooth finish straight from the reamer – a highly polished bore is key to optimising the sound of an instrument, so this is a key feature in a woodwind timber.
Maple
A great favourite. There are several species available with different characteristics, from sycamore to sugar maple. The ravishingly beautiful timber on the backs of violins that shows a ripple effect that flickers as you move it in the sunlight is maple, and I’m always on the lookout for it, for whistles. It’s impossible to photograph to full effect! A further advantage is that it is wholly sustainably managed, and we need not fear stocks ever drying up.
Olive
Olive is an aesthetically beautiful wood and easily identifiable by its striking patterns. It is a hard, heavy, dense timber and very strong.
Purpleheart
This is not a conventional woodwind wood, but I can’t resist it on account of its truly remarkable colour. Once cut, its a dull donkey brown but then within minutes it goes a vivid purple on exposure to sunlight. Alas the vivid purple dies away eventually but still a great sounding whistle.
Zebrano
The reason for using this is its crazy zebra like appearance! It is actually a bit soft for woodwind instruments, which means that the sound is deadened. I therefore saturate the inside with a stabilizing liquid prior to the final reaming of the bore, which makes it satisfactory.