If you want to know where to put holes in a cylindrical tube for an in-tune D scale, plug in the tube dimensions and the sizes of each hole you plan to drill to the following spreadsheet, and it will tell you where to put the holes. For an in-tune cross-fingered C natural, you may need to experiment with hole sizes (and their relative placements).
http://www.cwo.com/~ph_kosel/flutomat.html
Where to put holes in tubes
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Mack.Hoover
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The flutomat has certainly helped me. Tuning hasn't been one of my strong suits.
And for what it's worth, Beth and I collaborated with her whistle, and we did draw from the flutomat. Now that I have accepted my weakness, I can say there's no shame in getting help from the experts in mathematics, and from anyone with a good ear and experience.
On the other hand it can be verified by several, that whistles by this maker have had some noteworthy improvements.
I intend to go down striving for the perfect whistle.
Whistles really are peace pipes, you know!
Mack
And for what it's worth, Beth and I collaborated with her whistle, and we did draw from the flutomat. Now that I have accepted my weakness, I can say there's no shame in getting help from the experts in mathematics, and from anyone with a good ear and experience.
On the other hand it can be verified by several, that whistles by this maker have had some noteworthy improvements.
I intend to go down striving for the perfect whistle.
Whistles really are peace pipes, you know!
Mack
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Walden
- Chiffmaster General
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- Location: Coal mining country in the Eastern Oklahoma hills.
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You're well on your way, Mack. The whistles I have of yours are superb.On 2003-02-08 22:16, Mack.Hoover wrote:
I intend to go down striving for the perfect whistle.
Our state flag has a shield, with a peace pipe crossed with an olive branch in front of it.Whistles really are peace pipes, you know!
That is a good rule to live by. So many of us have our shields up, but it is important that we hold peace right out in front.
Reasonable person
Walden
Walden
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serpent
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In Jessie's defense, I call my tubes "tubes", not "pipes", because they're not part of bag/uillean pipes.
I would also observe that, even with Peter's wonderful spreadsheet, there is still a good deal of work to do in experimentation, finding out how to make tubes that crossfinger properly, and that retain their aspect of "in tune with themselves" all the way up the scale. It took me many, many hours and many scrapped tubes to find the proper ratios.
It's no easier, in the long run, to make a successful tube, than a successful head. In a few cases, such as the low-F I'm making for Sandy Jasper, it's even more difficult, as I have to cut-and-try so much to get the hole spacing playable by small hands, while retaining the cross-fingering, and the in-tune aspect.
Pete's calculator will get you a tuned tube, if you know how to use it. The method laid out by Jessie is the most basic, and does not work for all whistles beyond an in-tune first octave. Perhaps not even that, as the tube length to the bell varies considerably from the calculator, when used to do whistles.
This really belongs in a WTT, but here, one more time, is the actual "how" of using the flutomat calculator for a whistle...
1. Build a whistle long enough to support the desired bell note. Trim the tube to get the bell note precisely in tune.
2. Measure the ID and wall thickness of your tube, and plug them into flutomat. Put some reasonable hole diameters in place for the fingerholes, set the calculator to do the numbers for your particular key, and Calculate.
3. If you are doing a low whistle, and want to ensure playability, make sure none of the RH and LH fingerholes are more than 1.5 inches apart, center to center. You do this by tweaking the diameters.
4. Similarly, if you are doing a high whistle, you don't want the holes too close together, as it hampers playabiliy. Again, tweak the diameters in flutomat.
5. After several iterations of (1..4), go out and buy a Generation B-flat and live with the fact that you don't have a clue how to make a whistle!
My evil twin did that.
5. Measuring from the bell end, mark all the hole positions with a scribe. If you are using drill bits, center punch the locations, first, to keep the drill from wandering.
6. Drill the holes as accurately as possible. I use a milling machine and end mills for all my whistle drilling. Be sure to lock the tube in place before you hit it with the drill! It's best to use a drill press, if available.
Once you've done all this, try your whistle out. If the first and second octaves are in tune with each other, and you can crossfinger Cnat OXXOOO then you've succeeded.
If you need more specific information on how to choose finger hole sizes and placement, send me email, and I'll try to help.
Good night, all!
serpent
~*~
S~<
I would also observe that, even with Peter's wonderful spreadsheet, there is still a good deal of work to do in experimentation, finding out how to make tubes that crossfinger properly, and that retain their aspect of "in tune with themselves" all the way up the scale. It took me many, many hours and many scrapped tubes to find the proper ratios.
It's no easier, in the long run, to make a successful tube, than a successful head. In a few cases, such as the low-F I'm making for Sandy Jasper, it's even more difficult, as I have to cut-and-try so much to get the hole spacing playable by small hands, while retaining the cross-fingering, and the in-tune aspect.
Pete's calculator will get you a tuned tube, if you know how to use it. The method laid out by Jessie is the most basic, and does not work for all whistles beyond an in-tune first octave. Perhaps not even that, as the tube length to the bell varies considerably from the calculator, when used to do whistles.
This really belongs in a WTT, but here, one more time, is the actual "how" of using the flutomat calculator for a whistle...
1. Build a whistle long enough to support the desired bell note. Trim the tube to get the bell note precisely in tune.
2. Measure the ID and wall thickness of your tube, and plug them into flutomat. Put some reasonable hole diameters in place for the fingerholes, set the calculator to do the numbers for your particular key, and Calculate.
3. If you are doing a low whistle, and want to ensure playability, make sure none of the RH and LH fingerholes are more than 1.5 inches apart, center to center. You do this by tweaking the diameters.
4. Similarly, if you are doing a high whistle, you don't want the holes too close together, as it hampers playabiliy. Again, tweak the diameters in flutomat.
5. After several iterations of (1..4), go out and buy a Generation B-flat and live with the fact that you don't have a clue how to make a whistle!
My evil twin did that.
5. Measuring from the bell end, mark all the hole positions with a scribe. If you are using drill bits, center punch the locations, first, to keep the drill from wandering.
6. Drill the holes as accurately as possible. I use a milling machine and end mills for all my whistle drilling. Be sure to lock the tube in place before you hit it with the drill! It's best to use a drill press, if available.
Once you've done all this, try your whistle out. If the first and second octaves are in tune with each other, and you can crossfinger Cnat OXXOOO then you've succeeded.
If you need more specific information on how to choose finger hole sizes and placement, send me email, and I'll try to help.
Good night, all!
serpent
~*~
S~<-
Dave Parkhurst
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serpent
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Dang! So that's why I keep pushing the things into my mouth!On 2003-02-09 02:00, Dave Parkhurst wrote:
I find from experience that holes are best placed along the side of the tubing, and not to attempt to place additional holes in the tube ends. It's a zen thing....
Dave
serpent
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