Hi All - Recently, to protect whistles during shipment ( I've had a couple damaged even with what I thought was adequate packaging), I came up with an inexpensive and extremely sturdy container. The more I have thought about it, the more I have come to realize that it is an excellent way for folks to protect their whistles during travel or even at home or during sessions.
The container consists of nothing more than 3/4" PVC pipe and associated end caps that can be purchased Home Depot, Lowes or most hardware stores.
The picture shows what is involved in building one of the containers. The bottom of the shot shows a length of the 3/4" PVC tube/pipe and two 3/4" pipe caps. The piece above this shows the pipe with one cap installed ( I use PVC pipe cement but acetone or other solvents seem to work) and the whistle partially inserted. I mark the second cap with the key of the whistle. The marking also serves as a way of knowing which cap to remove for access. Obviously you don't want to glue the second cap in place! The top piece is the tube closed.
In my thoughts concerning possible problems with using this tube, the only thing I could come up with is storage of a "wet" whistle following playing. This tube arrangement is pretty air tight so I would recommend that the whistle be dried out pretty well before longer term storage. This air tightness would be a plus for very long term storage in a dry climate as it should prevent the whistle drying out and splitting.
Well, if you care to try to make one, be prepared to spend up to $1.50. Give it a try!
Perhaps you could drill a small hole in one or both end caps to allow moisture to escape.
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