Large Scale Central

Homebrewed whistle blow, anyone?

General Discussion
#1

I think I may have annoyed the neighbors just a bit, but…

Yesterday I finally got around to trying to fix the air compressor that I’ve only owned for about 10 years. After an hour of mixing and matching parts from another junker, oiling the bearings and cleaning out mud wasp nests… Woo Hoo, it worked! And it cut off at 100 psi just like it was supposed to. too.

Now I had air, albiet with only a 5 gallon tank. So what to do with it? I carted out a couple small whistles - a Buckeye single, and a Crosby chime (sounds funny on air - like Thomas), and a Cunningham horn, and made all the nearby dogs howl :smiley:

Now I suppose I’ll need to buy a HOSE and a CHUCK so it can actually do something useful?

#2

Hehehehe I got the same problem…got two nailguns and an air compressor for Christmas…but nothing fer the in between!

#3

The compressor didn’t come wid a hose? You got gipped!

#4

I’ve always wanted to be a whistle collector, but by the time I got that idea someone figured out they were valuable and the prices were beyond reach. So I started making them out of PVC pipe and wood. I had a 5 chime made from 1/2 inch off a 1.5 inch manifold that sounded very nice. I did some experiments with just the 1.5 inch pipe as a single chime, but had problems delivering enough air.

I haven’t played with this stuff in years.

#5

I don’t ‘collect’ them. I have a few for on the beast, a couple for my Pap’s 1/2 scale, and a few for on the 1/3 scale roller when it’s finished… The number and types keep changing as I run short of cash I sell a couple, and when I find a real bargain, I buy. Currently there are 9 here - from 2" to 5", and enough parts to make another one - plus the horn. I had a 1/3 size steam siren for a while, maybe again someday… I made a couple out of 2" steel pipe a long time ago that worked pretty well, but haven’t seen them in years (and am not about to clean my ex’s basement just to look for them!). This is the horn, in as acquired condition. Sounds like a '68 Roadrunner horn on steroids. They were used on boats, and logging donkeys. I’ll probably send it swimming in brake fluid to see if I can’t get some of that ugly paint off without hurting the patina on the bronze.

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/horn.jpg)

The beast with some jewelry

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/20thCentury/SUNP0003.jpg)

#6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN4STb-kEpA&feature=PlayList&p=510283E7F96F7D0F&playnext_from=PL&index=3

#7

While at the junk yard checking on aluminum foil a couple came up with bags of aluminum cans and a three chime copper whistle made from 1/2" copper pipe. The manifold was of cast iron all soldered together.

I gave the woman 2 dollars for it and saved it from the junk heap.

The overall length is 8 inches.

Had to cut down the air pressure to about 5 pounds to get the right sound. Any more pressure and it sounds like a banshee.

Love the sound the whistle makes.
Covering the holes on different tubes gives a variety of sounds. One I like is the small tube alone sounds like an old donkey whistle.

Now when the neighbor across the alley lets his 3 dogs out, they bark continually, I turn up the air and it drives the dogs frenzied.

Said he would call the police about the noise. When I called about the dogs at 4:30 in the morning, I was told “Nothing we can do about it, it’s a neighborhood problem”.

Of course I only blow the whistle during the day time when their out barking. Or I would have everyone else on my case.

.

#8

Lawrence, your whistle sounds like an Aeromore type exhaust whistle. The don’t use much pressure, but do need a lot of volume. They were used on cars and early i/c tractors. As the name implies they were mounted on the exhaust pipe and used a diverter to activate them.

A company called ‘Jag’ makes a small 5 chime versions in aluminum that you can occasionally find at train shows.

My current whistle project is a 3" long bell (about 2’ tall) that I’m assembling from Crosby, Lonergan and Buckeye parts. I’ll have about $75 tied up in it. Sounds like a lot until you realise that original factory made ones are well over $300. Should have a nice deep ‘riverboat’ sound when it’s finished.

#9

More horns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVyRw1kqXjc&feature=related

#10

The last time we were in Quartzsite, Ariz., we heard a truck driver blow his locomotive horn on his big rig. I’m sure he woke a few people up!