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Paul Mosely decided to take on a project of making a hand siren from scratch. First, he searched the internet and saw that it could be done, but unsatisfied with the results he searched until he found the Whistle Gallery website and SPOTLIGHT 96 on original torpedo sirens. Lastly, he wrote us for suggestions and final tweaking of the design, but the creation is all Paul’s.
What he came up with is a terrific modern modified model. In this case it is all metal, no plastic parts or hard paper wheels. He has moved the side ring spot to the top. The vents are reduced, and it is made from brass combined with stainless steel. No ‘patina’ has been added.
The inside wheel is balanced and of aluminum, it also being 5 vents. He did not make it from a C and C machine as might be expected ( 88kg, 3 18 ounces ), but old school, well for the 21st century that is, he made it by hand on a machinist lathe. It is 3 ½ inch ( 9CM ) long and rather heavy, but the sound is great.
Paul made a prototype and on the second try, nailed it. Now this is just a hobby, as he likes to do other projects, but he stamped the Whistle Gallery on this one and has agreed to do a short one time run of perhaps 10 more ?
If you would like to put an order in, then you can have your own personalized torpedo siren of the highest quality. You will need to contact us to compile a list and submit to Paul.
Here are some notes and pix early on —
March 11th — Thanks for the pictures Len.
I note there are 7 holes in this case.
Would be interested to know the approximate thickness of the fixed stator in the trumpet.
Same, thicker or thinner than the wheel?
Are the holes angled in the wheel or just in the stator.
If so, does the direction of the drilling match the stator or is it a ‘mirror image’.
I noticed in a sketch of one of the old patents, that the angles seem to be opposite, hence the question. And flipping the wheel, or stator, over head to tail, doesn’t change the angle direction – I tried!
| Category | Sirens |
| Class | Moss |
| Type | Torpedo |
Stage one – solid rod
First the rod is drilled out, then it is angled at the perimeter.
Stage two –
inset
Stage three –
Prep for mouthpiece
Stage four –
Stage five – flared mouthpiece and milled top cap
stage 5 before vents and top ring
The finished siren inside and out, works perfectly.
“I think I have taken this version as far as I can. I tried a different aluminum wheel with 5 smaller holes positioned in a tighter circle, with matching fixed Stator, which achieved a higher pitched and more shrill note as expected. In my opinion the original hole pattern gave a better sound however, so I re-installed that. I had a go at engraving it as well.”
“The 2mm brass rod arrived so I had a go at making the lanyard hoop. This design doesn’t interfere with the adjustment screw, so I am happy with that. If I had to be nit picky, I would prefer the hole for the hoop to be
symmetrical, but with a 5 hole end cap this isn’t possible. I think I mentioned that the Siren that Hudson’s still market has a 6 hole design on its wheel.”
“My first thoughts are to get the design to a point that it looks good, works well, and it is made in what I call an ‘elegant and simplified’ way, so I can repeat things easily if I want to. The MkII has been made differently to the MKI. Getting the machining process right and in the right order makes things go much faster. Once the machinery is set up for one operation, to produce 5 or 10 parts is simpler, but I don’t want to be making 5 or 10 rejects, so the prototyping is important, and that is where I’m at.
If I do make these for sale, for sure in the first place they would only ever be made in smallish quantities. They are hand made, maybe 10 at a time. They could never be cheap. Even the materials aren’t cheap, and you see there is quite a lot of work involved.”
Conclusions:
– This is a one-time offer, as Paul cannot make enough return, to turn these out, but perhaps if enough orders came in he could make them in a production like manner so as not to get bored to tears !!
– I know for us; the torpedo siren is our favorite of sirens and to get a supremely made modern version with all metal parts was unexpected and remarkable, no less being modified with improvements.
– For whistle students to get one with your name on it – wow !!
– Already there is one order in, needs perhaps nine more ?
TWG
Posted July 5, 2021
