Native American Flute Making Classes

Day 2

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DAY 2 - Part 1

COFFEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, well we really started by unclamping the flutes and checking to see how clean we got the alignment and the bores. Polyurethane glue foams out of the seams as it dries. The bore swabbing had gotten ride of foam-out along the length of the bore but there was a little foam along the wall of most flutes at the upstream edge of most sound holes which we cleaned with dental picks and files.

Students chose at this point whether they wanted to round out their flutes with a router (round-over bit) or on the lathe. All chose the lathe so we rolled in an extra lathe from the showroom floor - nice eh?

We measured the bore diameter (again) and discussed wall thickness and calculated what diameter they needed to turn their flutes down to. Lathe techniques were discussed, mouthpiece profiles decided on and students began turning. The lathes were set up so that I could move between them and monitor progress.

LUNCH

Day 2 - Part 2

Once the flutes came off the lathe (after sanding) we cut out the fetish blocks on the scroll saw...

...and then cut a channel in the base of the block with the Dremel router table (not in the flute body for class).

We then discussed optimum placement of the fetish block.

Their next step was to drill the hole in the mouthpiece, shake all the resulting sawdust out of the upper chamber, grab a handy rubber band to mount the block and blow their first notes! An exciting moment for all!

This done we broke out the electronic tuner and cut off the end of each flute to reach a G, the key we'd planned for these flutes. Once the length of the fundamental was reached we measured bore length and calculated hole placements (thought I was going to give you the details of that, didn't you?!)

Hole placements were marked on a strip of masking tape run along the top of the sanded flute to avoid marking the nice surface. Each hole in turn was started and enlarged, blown in, checked against the tuner, enlarged a bit. Following this series of steps brought each hole in tune. After all the holes were tuned we double checked the fundamental (all holes covered) and made any necessary adjustments. Placing and tuning the holes often causes the fundamental to flatten a bit.

You should have heard the ruckus that ensued. As each new flute was finished songs broke out. I shared playing tips, thanks largely to the messages posted by folks on the Internet Flute Circle Listserv. The customers in the store kept gathering at the glass door of the workshop to listen and see what we were up to.

Epilogue

Four beautiful new flutes and four happy flute players/makers! All in all it was a wonderful, if sowewhat sawdusty weekend.

Yep, I'm the guy in the brown shirt (day 1) and one of the white shirts (day 2).

Awards for the finest looking two flutes go to the two women in the class! One of these women, as I mentioned before, had never used most of the tools we used during class! I was quite pleased with the whole event

Terry

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Updated: September 28, 1999

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