Artillery Shell Steam Whistles

Artillery Shell Steam Whistles 34-5-9 Artillery shells make a different sound than originally intended when Dave Dam gets a hold of them. The Eau Claire, Wis., collector turns them into steam whistles. They run the gamut from 5-in. to 21-in. tall 105 mm Howitzer shells to 3-ft. tall Naval shells. "Someone has to wake everyone up," Dam laughs. "Someone has to have some fun." He's known for building unique items, such as his motorized bar stool featured in a past issue of FARM SHOW (Vol. 32, No. 5). Dam first built his steam (or compressed air) whistles out of copper pipe, brass and aluminum. Then he saw an artillery shell whistle and started watching for shells at thrift and antique stores. He has about 30 in his collection now, and has another half dozen 21-in. tall, 105 mm Howitzer shells on hand. He made a four-chime whistle for the Eau Claire Express baseball team, and it's sounded every time the team gets a home run. Air goes up through the bottom, and a plate forces the air to move up the sides, causing the upper chamber to vibrate. "It's the same principle as blowing over the top of a bottle," Dam says. "The bigger the upper area, the lower the tone." He uses a 130-gal. propane tank for an air tank and sets it at 100 to 150 lbs. pressure. The biggest whistles can be heard a mile or more away. He takes them to antique engine shows to blow for the noon whistle. Dam adds he has some smaller whistles that he can just blow into. One is made of 4 oz. of pure silver. He has the silver whistle in his pocket for good luck. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dave Dam, 111 N. Buena Vista Rd., Eau Claire, Wis. 54703 (715 450-2943).

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