Showing off my first home-made flute (that works). Pics

[ninjaaron]

Well, I finally got the flute thing working. The problem with the last one was the pipe thickness. I was using thin-walled CPVC, Which doesn't really work with plans for a flute from schedual 40 PVC.

I used the gray conduit pipe on this one. It sounds quite nice, though I don't know how a good flute sounds, because I've never played a flute before today. It's quite easy to play. It's a very soft, sweet sound. Probably better for solo stuff, or simple accompanyment, as I don't imagine it would cut through in a loud group. It takes a little more air than my Low D whistle, but given the nature of instrument, I guess that makes sence (It also has a wider bore).



By the way, my blanket rocks.

[IDAwHOa]

Looks like the finger reach is quite reasonable too. Glad you are happy with the results.

[vomitbunny]

I made one similar one befor I took the plunge and bought a flute. I always wondered how well I did. It was playable. Even sounded decent with my early attempts. At times.
I've got three besides my first home made one. Picking up my home made attempt, I find I don't think I did that bad. Yours looks at least and somewhat neater than mine did, so I imagine you did fine as well.
Don't be afriad to spend countless hours doing searches on posts about undercutting, cork placement, cut aways and sacrificing first born to the flute gods. It happens.
Ps. You might think about putting in a coupling so you can work on the angle of the blow hole vs. the finger holes.

[ninjaaron]

I made one similar one befor I took the plunge and bought a flute. I always wondered how well I did. It was playable. Even sounded decent with my early attempts. At times.
I've got three besides my first home made one. Picking up my home made attempt, I find I don't think I did that bad. Yours looks at least and somewhat neater than mine did, so I imagine you did fine as well.
Don't be afriad to spend countless hours doing searches on posts about undercutting, cork placement, cut aways and sacrificing first born to the flute gods. It happens.

Or maybe even dropping some cash on a Book!!

Ps. You might think about putting in a coupling so you can work on the angle of the blow hole vs. the finger holes.

I don't know what a coupling is, at least not in this context. I drilled the blow hole strait and finished the edge with a dremel and some small hand files. It seems to sound good and is pretty easy (I'm still struggling to with the highest notes in the second octave, but It's not impossible by any stretch).

[sturob]

I think by "coupling" VB just means some kind of joint.

There's always some debate as to how to put the embouchure hole vis-à-vis the finger holes, but nearly all old pics I've seen (and descriptions I've read) say that they shouldn't be inline, but rather the far edge of the blowhole should be about even with the middle (or just past middle, away from you) of the line going through the fingerholes.

Assuming the fingerholes are in-line, of course.

All of that just says that the crucial bit is the position of the holes along the length of the axis of the flute; their position along the circumference doesn't matter. So, you can play with the positioning to see what's the most comfortable for you.

I guess if you were doing R&D, you could make joints between everything, rotate until comfortable, and then drill a flute that way.

Stuart

[I.D.10-t]

Nice.
I have tried.
I have failed.
Now I buy.
You seem to have done bretter.
My hat is off.

[Chang He]

You should get some steel wool and sand off that ghastly lettering. Other than that, good show, and good luck.

[Lambchop]

By the way, my blanket rocks.

Yes, it does! That was the first thing I noticed! I was about to ask if it was a serape or a blanket . . .

Lambchop tends to notice fine woolens . . .

[Thomas-Hastay]

Nice work ninjaaron.

Next time, I suggest cutting a "plate" from the same diameter CPVC tube and gluing it with clear PVC cement to make a deeper embouchure/voicing. It will greatly increase the resonance. An embouchure angle/flare of about 7 degrees with a smooth(not sharp) edge will also improve resonance and register changes.

If you are interested in removing the black lettering and smoothing all the edges around toneholes etc., Use fingernail polish remover, aka Acetone. this will clean the printed ink off and give a nice polish to the entire instrument.

The plug distance from inner face to the center of the emboucure is calculated with this formula
<b>7 X D/6</b>
7 times the product of the Diameter(at the voicing) divided by 6.

This will give the best "compromise" between registers. A little closer to the voicing to favor the high register and farther to favor the low. Nice work! Good luck on the next thousand!

Thomas Hastay

[IDAwHOa]

You should get some steel wool and sand off that ghastly lettering. Other than that, good show, and good luck.

Would you say that about a Water Weasel? Heresy I tell you!!

[ninjaaron]

Nice.
I have tried.
I have failed.
Now I buy.
You seem to have done bretter.
My hat is off.

I used nice tools, they did all the work. My step-dad has a lot of stuff... like a drill press, and a vice, and files of all shapes and sizes. The right tools help a lot.

[Doug_Tipple]

Congratulations, Ninajaaron, on your first flutes and on your chromatic modifications. I do have a comment about the gray colored conduit that you are using. I have used this type of electrical conduit, and although the material is somewhat soft, the flutes made from it are not bad but not very loud. However, all pipe sold in the USA has to meet certain ASTM (American Society of Testing Materials) standards, and the standards are different for pipe designed for different uses. You can guess that pipe designed to hold electrical wires would have different standards of purity from pipe certified to carry household drinking water. I think that the white pvc, found in the plumbing section of your home improvement store, is the best for making pvc flutes. It is harder, producing a louder tone, and it feels better in the hands, for reasons having to do with its chemical composition. In my opinion, electrical conduit and cpvc, which contains additional chlorine in the compound, are less desirable for making flutes. When I attempt to play either of these flutes, I can feel a little buzzing in my hands and lips, a sensation that I don't get from the white plumbing pvc, which, like I said before, is my preference. That being said, perhaps I am over-sensitive, for I know that many people play ABS and cpvc flutes and whistles without difficulty.

[ninjaaron]

Congratulations, Ninajaaron, on your first flutes and on your chromatic modifications. I do have a comment about the gray colored conduit that you are using. I have used this type of electrical conduit, and although the material is somewhat soft, the flutes made from it are not bad but not very loud. However, all pipe sold in the USA has to meet certain ASTM (American Society of Testing Materials) standards, and the standards are different for pipe designed for different uses. You can guess that pipe designed to hold electrical wires would have different standards of purity from pipe certified to carry household drinking water. I think that the white pvc, found in the plumbing section of your home improvement store, is the best for making pvc flutes. It is harder, producing a louder tone, and it feels better in the hands, for reasons having to do with its chemical composition. In my opinion, electrical conduit and cpvc, which contains additional chlorine in the compound, are less desirable for making flutes. When I attempt to play either of these flutes, I can feel a little buzzing in my hands and lips, a sensation that I don't get from the white plumbing pvc, which, like I said before, is my preference. That being said, perhaps I am over-sensitive, for I know that many people play ABS and cpvc flutes and whistles without difficulty.

Thank's for the tip, not to mention the instructions.

I like the sound of the conduit. Of course, I have nothing to compare it to, but it I don't mind the low volume, It's great for practising around the house. Of course, when I get better at playing, I could very well want a louder flute . (perhaps I will build one). I do like the fact that it's real mellow... But again, I have no point of refernce.

If your back to building flutes yet, I'll probably order a low C with a wedge from you pretty soon. The low C I just tried was a failure. It turned out to be a B with dodgy intonation. Not sure why... something about this hole calculator I think... maybe I'm not using it right... I also drilled the emboucher at angle, which increased the the surface area I suppose (I really don't think that was the issue, however.)

Thanks again Doug.

[Doug_Tipple]

I think that you can make a good low C flute using the flutomat webpage:
http://www.cwo.com/~ph_kosel/flutomat.html

I would use the same hole diameters as for the low d flute. Make one flute, and then check each note with a tuner. You may need to make some minor adjustments for the second flute. I recommend drilling the embouchure straight and then shaping it with small hand files. Take your time with the embouchure and have fun. Eventually you will be able to cut a good embouchure without difficulty. Good luck.

[ninjaaron]

I think that you can make a good low C flute using the flutomat webpage:
http://www.cwo.com/~ph_kosel/flutomat.html

I would use the same hole diameters as for the low d flute. Make one flute, and then check each note with a tuner. You may need to make some minor adjustments for the second flute. I recommend drilling the embouchure straight and then shaping it with small hand files. Take your time with the embouchure and have fun. Eventually you will be able to cut a good embouchure without difficulty. Good luck.

Funny you should mention that website. I just downloaded it.

Anyway, The embroucher I drilled at an angel turned out better than the one I did completely with files (I did a lot of finishing on the drilled one as well though). That was my first one however, and I suppose that it will improve over time. I'll probably expirement with both in the future, but I will follow your advice for the C.

I'll probably still order one from you.