Plain, all-maple flute in F#.
Simple but sculpted bird and a body slightly larger in back, tapered after the nest.
7/8″ bore
I decided to make something sleek and “no nonsense” (not that decorations are nonsense).
View pics above (gallery) or at bottom (scroll-thru).
I always think a natural-looking finish on solid maple speaks to the wonderful simplicity of items that were made to last throughout the 1900’s (maple toys, tools and instruments, made to last).
F#4, standard primary tuning of minor pentatonic, with good cross-fingerings, and some second register is demonstrated in the Audio Sample below.
Here is a demo of this exact unit (the only one for sale) :
The hardwood body of this flute is bored straight through, with a 7/8″ gun drill on a very long lathe. It’s one piece with uninterrupted wood grain, not split, in this case (not that those are bad, I do that sometimes, still).
Blessed: My flutes have garnered wonderful feedback so far, with other makers and serious musicians all encouraging me with good reports on my flutes’ tuning, performance, and playability, for years, now.
Love warblers or hate them, fine either way — this one warbles, but only in a very deliberate window of marked, extra breath (no accidental warbling, whatsoever). Win-win. It cannot get in the way of any style of play I know of. 100% controlled/deliberate only. You can zip right past it into overblow and effortlessly avoid warble, if you like.
Shipping will only add $10 (essentially splitting the cost with me) — it comes in the most premium, crush-proof pasteboard shipping tube with removable caps, that can be kept for transport and flute safekeeping.
The low-gloss, matte finish is not like a surface varnish. Rather, I use a penetrating, “drying oil” formula that hardens “in the wood, instead of on top of it”. The result is a permanent, protective finish that does not require waxing but is fine with wax, too. We like Odie’s Oil (beeswax/oil formula w/carnuba) and use a little on it after the primary finish is cured.
