I have this piece of PVC pipe sitting on my porch. It’s 1/2 inch diameter, gray color. (or colour; depending on where you are )
Every day I see it. It seems to be calling me. “Make a flute out of me” I want to give it a whirl but am not sure where to begin.
I know this has been mentioned before in great detail but can anyone give me beginner list of inexpensive items I will need to create a flute?
I think I need:
Pipe cutter
Wet-Dry sandpaper
Drill. What size and kind of bits?
Vice. (To hold the pipe. Not “moral” vice.)
Cork to stick in the end near the embrasure hole.
Measurements for hole placement.
Anything else?
Thanks a bunch. If this works I may have a new line of work.
Don’t forget a good dust mask. Not just the surgical mask type (those are mainly to keep you from itching your nose when “sterile” or to protect what you are working with, not you!) but a good canister one. At the very least do anything that requires creating PVC dust such as cutting or shaping, outside. You do not want PVC dust in your lungs. It will never go away once in there.
Other than that, have fun.
The first PVC flutes and whistles I made were done with little more than a drill. a set of bits from 1\64 to 1\2 inch, hacksaw, a cheap set of needle files and a vice (at the time that was smoking but have since given that up) A nice reamer or deburring tool will help with the finger holes but if you are carefull a sharp, non-serrated paring knife will work to slowly enlarge the holes.
My favorite tool is my flex shaft, which is like a dremel tool. You can get sanding points for the dremel that will make forming the undercut and the oval in the embouchure very easy - MUCH easier than if you had to do it by hand.
Your 1/2"(0.5") PVC pipe is the correct diameter for an F,G or A fife. I have measurements for a simple 6 hole G fife with a cork plug in PVC if you can’t find plans.
I suggest a slow speed drill press with a square tip “Milling” bit(High School or friends shop?) But a pipe vise and a slow vari-speed cordless with standard bits will do in a pinch. These will produce shavings, not dust. Use a marking punch to make the bits bite easier and a dowel inside will keep the bits from “break-through” problems.
Jessie’s Dremel tool is great for all kinds of uses, but you can trim undercuts with a sharp Exacto-Knife too.
When the cutting is done you can polish all rough areas with a Q-tip or a cotton rag soaked in fingernail polish(Acetone). This also produces no dust, but keep the rag wet or it will stick to the PVC. Do this in a well ventilated area of course.
I have the same urge … well, kinda … Everytime I go to my Dad’s house (once a week at least) he has two sets of Westminster windchimes lying in his garage. They’ve been there for four years. He’s never hung them out.
Well, we’re over there the other day and my wife walks out into the garage for something and says, “Whacha doin’ hon?” I had one of the chimes in my hand, my fingers testing the thickness of the walls of the pipe.
Her eyes widened. “You’re not thinking …” her voice trailed off, unable to articulate the horrible thought she had.
“Yes dear,” I chuckled nervously. “I was thinking what a great whistle this would make …” :roll:
Well for my first attempt I will be stuck with a Black & Decker variable speed drill.
I wondered how to smooth and polish the rough edges so Acetone should work well. This piece of pipe was given to me so I’m not out anything if I ruin it. Even then I think I saw it for less then 3 dollars for a really long piece.
I may start this weekend.
Here’s a thought. What if I took three pieces of wood and made sort of a trough out of them that holds the pipe snugly? Then I can mark the measurements for the holes on the wood after I have them worked out correctly. Then for subsequent flutes I would only have to put pipe in the trough, mark the spots and cut away.
I assume (I know. That’s my first mistake.) that a piece of aluminum tubing would work well also. If so would thin wall or thick wall be best. What things would I have to do differently for aluminum vice PVC? Is this the next step in WhOA?
Ron
Your “V” slot pipe holder is “just the thing” Geek. I use a similar item myself for tonehole marking. Mine has a machinists ruler inlay though.
Ron: Thick aluminum is best unless you are going to add a plate to the embouchure. If the thickness at the embouchure/voicing is less than 1/4", you will have problems with intonation. Thin wall is better for the toneholes though.(Yes the WhOA is “mainline” for a whistle maker!)
Okay I built the flute described on Mark Shepherd’s web site. Not to difficult. Now, how do I play the fool thing? I can not get a note out of it consistently. Sometimes I can pick it up an run the scale without difficulty. At other times I can try and try and get absolutely nothing. Is this common with the flute? Also it seems to take quite a bit of air. It makes the whistle seem relatively easy. Any suggestions?
Ron
Jessie or Erik will probably chime in here soon Ron but just let me laughingly say this. Nip it in the bud. Unless you realy realy want to play Irish flute, nip it in the bud. You will need to practice every day, day in and day out , you will screem at your kids, your wife, you will be tempted to put your flute through various walls and furnishings and after months of this self abuse you may still wake up in the morning and not be able to make a squeek out of the darn thing. You may have days of great playing and think hey I got it, only to wake up one day to nothing. But if you keep at it you will be holding in your hands the most expressive instrument ever made(IMHO) And you will still get up some morning and not be able to play a note
If at all possible, find a flute player and let him/her try out your plastic flute to make sure it is musically sound-- if you’ve made some sort of major error in your flutemaking ( eg bad embouchure hole) you will be wasting your fluteplaying efforts.
Purse your lips to make a tiny hole, and put the embouchure hole of the flute right up against it. Then, roll the flute away from your lips so the embouchure hole is more or less horozontal. Cover the top 3 fingerholes of the flute ( all holes covered is a bit tougher at first-- 3 ought to give a fairly solid note) and blow gently, like you were trying to get a sound out of a Coke bottle (a Coke can won’t work). Roll the embouchure hole out and in a bit and you should start to get a flute tone. Once you have that one pretty solid, start experimenting with the other notes. It may well take a long time to get good at it, but it is worth the effort.
Each day seems to get better. I can produce good strong notes on the upper three holes, C D E. I start losing it as I go down the scale. I was able to play part of a song, but I lost it in the middle of the song. I was quite surprised at how loud the flute is, much louder than my Susato D whistle. For the interested, I used a small table saw to cut the pipe, my hand drill to make the holes, a small hand powered counter sink to clean up the holes and a dowel with sandpaper were my only tools. I did not glue the end cap on because it seemed unnecessary. It scares me though because this could become a new obsession.
Ron
Way to go Ron. There are some great web sites to help you along the road to flutedum. Check out http://www.skiphealy.com for some great tips. Also Tony Dixons` site is very good. Good luck and hang in there.
)
I had one of the chimes in my hand, my fingers testing the thickness of the walls of the pipe.
“You’re not thinking …” her voice trailed off, unable to articulate the horrible thought she had.