Here is a little something I picked up at a nearby auction house that specializes in estate sales yesterday for $66.58 The bidding was fierce!
Its a flute made by A.U.Bidell from Stockholm circa 1815-1830. Ebony and fossil ivory (according to the growth rings). Not sure of the key composition. Its in near perfect shape, with just one minor chip on the ivory. A-415. Acoustically it is more like a Baroque flute but then the keys! These are actually well thought out. I especially like some of the aspects of the G# and its constant relationship to the long F and the lower tone hole positioning. All of the tone holes for the flat keys have metal risers. I will be using at least the Eb key as a pattern for something described below. The springs are all held on with screws.
I am back in the 3D printer business. The filament-based printers have a resolution of .3mm and the plastics are not archival. The liquid resin -based printers on the other hand have a resolution around .04mm which is well beyond what I need. I got one originally to make patterns for molding keys, including keys based on an original Boosey Pratten arriving soon, a loan. I was supposed to be passing my Folk Flute design onto my Canadian apprentice but she is marooned up there by the Coronavirus and now has a full-time job as an assistant brewmaster brewing enough beer for several to take a bath in (look up “Beer Spa”) thus her time to learn and get set up for this is nil. I need to stop making my popular Folk Flutes myself as its wearing out my body and keeping me from other pursuits like more expensive flutes and composing operas.
Grey Larsen and I were talking about alternatives and he mentioned the 3D printing. I mentioned my disappointment in that concept but then remembered the new liquid resin printer coming! The one coming is too short to make a complete head joint. However, I can make these in parts and glue them together for a prototype and so yesterday I printed this foot joint. It still requires a day in the UV of the sun to fully cure. The results are excellent. The plastics used are a little nastier than the corn-based PLA filament but once cured are inert. These plastics are used for the UV-cured fillings and crowns in your mouth! They are tough, crack resistant, not brittle, capable of a sharp edge, and machinable. They are the same density as Mopane. Based on the foot joint I ordered one of the larger (and much more expensive) ones this morning. I will be able to produce a flute in a single cycle, along with other things (Musettes du ceour). With the accuracy I can duplicate the XY differences in the bore that contribute to response in my wooden instruments.
Thus I am accepting orders for my current Folk Flute model until the end of the month. My $700 upgradeable model will become the “Classic Folk Flute” (it will become upgradeable and customizable since this is a simple rebranding). The New Improved Folk Flute will come as a 4 piece resin printed model with an end cap, and a single bronze Eb key based on the one on the Bidell flute. These flutes will still be tuned and voiced by hand until the printing quality and accuracy renders that task unnecessary, which might or might not happen. The first batch will ship in late October or November.
Meanwhile here is my first attempt. This was just the 2nd item I have printed with this printer.
Stay Safe and Healthy!
Casey