Syringe Slide Whistle

Syringes are almost ready-made slide whistles.  The sliding plunger makes a good seal and slides easily.  All they need is a sounding hole and an air channel for blowing against the sounding hole. 

The plastic needle cap only needs slight modification to become an air channel. 

Cutting the sounding hole is easily done with a sharp X-acto knife. 

For those who are shocked by drug use associations with syringes, think of cannons to plowshares, or doctors who save lives.  Better yet, just think of them as plastic tubing. 

Be sure to check out the MP3 sound file in the last step to hear how the slide whistle sounds.   This is a fine little musical instrument that only costs 25 cents to make. 

Step 1 Remove the Needles

The first step is to remove the needles.  Do this carefully to avoid getting poked.  They are surprisingly sharp. 

The protective caps pull straight off, and the needle twists off.  Pull the cap slightly off, to free it, but use it to grab and untwist the needle from the end of the syringe.  When you get the needle free it can easily be removed from the cap and placed in a secure container for storage or disposal. 

I still haven't found a good use for the needles, but I hate to throw them away.  It amazes me how they can make such tiny metal tubes in the first place!  I could never make them myself. 

Comments

[scoochmaroo]

You can get these without the needles too. I used them to feed my cat when she was sick!

[Thinkenstein]

I don't doubt that you can find them, but I doubt that I can ... at least not locally. This is backwoods Puerto Rico. Maybe an idea will come to me eventually for them. Voodoo dolls?

[rimar2000]

Nice, but it seem as difficult to play as a fiddle.

[Thinkenstein]

They are a little tricky, but it only takes slight movement to jump to different notes. It takes a little practice, but much less than a fiddle.