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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ต.ค. 2024
- This is an attempt to give a person new to flute making some idea of how to go about making a decent sounding flute. I believe I missed an important piece of info. The flue width is 1/2 of the diameter of the bore. This video is not comprehensive, nor does it teach how to use the tools. Hope it is helpful to folks.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. Very detailed, descriptive and understandable! 👍 🇨🇦
You're welcome Glen.
GlenGH ....he took his time alright.
Thanks for sharing your skills. I appreciate your direct uncluttered gift of hard earned knowledge. I am off to make a better flute.
Thanks for the information.
I was n Tacoma, Wa. in 97 trying to make flutes.
TH-cam is way better with this tutorial is way cool information.
Great Video, and understandable. I am attempting to carve my first flute with some gouges. The only trouble is that the flute is total of 14 inches with a 1 inch Bore. Should I stop and throw it away and carve another one at least 20 inches? Thank you! I wish I would of found this video before I started mine.
Tom: It takes time and effort to gouge out bores. That is how I did it on my first attempts. The bore ratio is a starting place. I am not sure how playable the flute will be. If you minimize how long the SAC is, you may wind up with a playable flute. With the smaller bore to length ratio there will be considerations. Hole placement is the first major consideration. If you have already carved out the bore, I would finish the flute to see how it turns out. It may surprise you. Consider the Ocarina. Very short, but with a fairly large "bore area". They do just fine, but I have yet to hear one overblown. Place your first hole carefully. Start with a very small hole to see where the pitch is in relation to the root note. If it is within a step and a half, it will likely work. If not, consider if it will work as one of the other holes. In other words, if the root is "A" the first hole should produce a "C". If it say a "C#" and already too high, consider if it can be hole #2 and make another hole closer to the foot. You could plug the hole and try again.
For general rules, if you are using a 3/4" bore, mark hole #3 at about 1/4" South of the center point from foot to TSH cutting edge. Then all holes should be measured from there and about 1" apart. The further a hole is from the TSH, the larger it needs to be to reach pitch. Larger bore flutes usually wind up with slightly larger spacing between holes. Wall thickness and bore diameter affect hole placement. I can't write a manual here, but generally 1/2 way and 1/4" works for hole #3 if you have 3/16" wall thickness. If the wall thickness is thinner, move all the holes North from 1/8" to 1/4". The opposite is also true. If the bore wall is thicker than 3/16", move all the holes South from 1/8 to 1/4". If your bore is larger than the recommended ration, then you will likely need to move the top 3 holes North a bit but NOT the lower 3 holes. I am assuming your flute will be a 6 hole flute. Makers who make larger flutes in the bass and contra bass ranges, use larger than normal bores to allow for closer hole spacing so maybe your flute will play well. I wouldn't waste all the effort expended so far. Finish it and if nothing else it could make a nice wall decoration. I suspect it will come out playable, but have some shortcomings. I have a few of my earlier efforts that sound good and play well, but can only get 1 2nd octave note. I keep them and play them. I too knew they were wrong when I realized I had goofed. One in particular, I misread the markings on my tool and the walls were very thin. I finished it any way and I still have and play the flute. It just is missing 2nd register notes. Every effort is a learning experience. A failed build is not wasted time. It is educational.
Thank you!, for your reply and help mrbabinga. When drilling your finger holes is the flute glued together or do you drill the fingerings before it is glued? if you glue after the flute is glued together what prevents it from splintering on the inside of the bore? It does have a nice tone but that is with the true sound air hole only. Thank you for the help! I appreciate it very much. Oh yes!, innocently, the book you mentioned in your awesome video "RA WOLF Flute Shop", is no longer in print, or at least I could not find it any where's.
If you are confident in your measurements, there is no reason to wait to drill the pilot holes. You can't tune the flute until it is glued and the fundamental is established. Since you have to drill out the holes after gluing to tune it, I just wait and do the whole process after gluing. If you use a small drill bit (I use nearly the smallest I have) to establish the hole location. I find that using slightly larger bits (1/64th increments) and running the drill backwards stops that cutting action and still it enlarges the whole. I fashioned a long piece of dowel and slit the end so it holds sand paper. If I have a stubborn burr or splinter I just sand it away. That is another reason to not worry about exact pitch on the first tuning pass. Get it close. Sanding the bore or any change to the bore or holes can affect pitch. I do several passes. You can also use a heated drill bit to burn away any splinters that may persist. In flute making smoother is better when it comes to surfaces inside the flute. I haven't tried it but you could probably use a soldering gun or a heated nail. Something that is close to the finished diameter of the hole. If you want to be creative, you could take a metal rod and by filing a notch and sharpening the edges you could fashion a "knife" to carve. If your note is on pitch and you have a burr, you have to proceed cautiously because any of the above methods to remove a burr could change the pitch at that hole. A rolled up piece of sandpaper will gently sand if you put a little pressure laterally. Again be careful not to sand too much.
There are a few copies here and there of the Flute Shop: www.amazon.com/Flute-Shop-Crafting-Native-American/dp/0976154307 Not sure why it is out of print.
Another good manual is at: www.cherrycows.com/-kieta-native-american-style-flute-making-manual-.html It is a more generalized approach with sound techniques that you can apply to any flute key. I have both manuals and there is good to glean from both.
I have watched many videos on flute making. I find that a comment here and a suggestion there really helps to get a better understanding what we're doing and why. That is why I added my video to the mix. I figure one more perspective on the process can't hurt. I'd be happy to try and answer any other questions you might have.
Thank you very much for your time and knowledge. I appreciate it very much.
You are very welcome.
Hi. When the flute changes tune (out of tune) due to temperature change, is this only between other flutes, or does the flute itself go out of whack?
Thank you for this tutorial. Its very informative.
Many instruments are subject to pitch change with temperature changes.
My guitars all need re-tuning if I'm playing an outdoors gig and the
temperatures are cooler. Flutes are the same. The wood expands and
contracts slightly and also the air temperature in the bore and SAC make
a difference. I have an Am drone I made that is a little off in the
winter. It is a warm climate where I live and in the winter, we keep the
house at about 68 degrees. I find that playing a few practice songs
before recording brings the flute up to pitch because it gets warmed by
my breath. So to answer your question: The whole flute goes sharp or
flat depending on temperature changes. It is still in tune with itself.
I try to always tune when my shop is around 72 degrees. There are
charts that tell you how to compensate, but I just hold final tuning
until the temperature is in the right area.
Thank you. I understand it now.
Is there a calculation on what key to make a flute?
The ratio for a NASF is 18:1 For an 3/4 bore 18 * .75 = 13.5 in bore. This does not give you the key. This calculator will get you in the ball park: www.flutopedia.com/naflutomat.htm It's not as complicated as it looks. Wall thickness is very important with respect to finger hole placement. For any flute with a 3/4" bore, measure 1/2 the length of the bore and then from that point measure down 1/8 to 1/4" and make a mark. That would be hole 3 counting from the bottom. Make your holes 1 inch apart measuring from the hole centers. Start with small pilot holes. Larger bores require adjustments. At 1 inch and above, I would make the holes the same distance apart as the bore diameter. If you go below 3/4 bore say 1/2" for higher range flutes find the center and maybe start at 3/4" intervals. I like to drill the lowest hole first and see how close it is. A small hole is easy to plug if you measured wrong. If the hole is in the ball park then layout the rest of the holes. I don't have exact measurements because I don't use exact except when it comes to the TSH.