A little too hot to be working in the shop at the moment, so I spent some time updating the web site. On the Sound Clips page I have added some tunes recorded by John Skelton, including one played on an E natural flute made from Osage Orange. There is also a listing of flutes which we will have for sale at the upcoming Dublin Ohio Irish Festival. This is on the Current Availabilty page. The Catalog page is also updated to include Keyed Delrin flutes.
I’m a fairly competent lawyer who has played flute for quite a few years–but am at best okay. Still being the first has allowed me to buy more flutes than I need–including ones by at least three of the current makers most often favored by professionals. There are times when I lean towards this or that one, but I’d have to say that of late, my most reliable and best sounding flute is my 3 year old 4-keyed blackwood Copley D. Sounds good, feels good, plays nicely. Just a real solid instrument. So I’m sure there are going to be some real good ones going to Dublin Ohio!
the sound clips are great; Mr. Skelton’s Double-Barrelled is my favorite album right now; i love his playing. i really like the Breton tune, but i think my favorite is the slig jig on your delrin C. I’ve heard a lot of good things about that particular flute; maybe i’ll have to be getting one of those… 
Cheers,
eric
Look at you, key flutes in Delrin!
They look great Dave. 
Lovely. Folks, remember to use RELOAD in your browser to display up the new info.
Great clips! I got to see the Osage Orange flute at this year’s St. Louis Tionol. It looks fantastic and is feather-light. John S. was very taken with it and commented on how much he likes Copley flutes in general–called them ‘underrated.’ I know I like mine!
By the way, the wood is orange-yellow with a dramatic grain pattern: http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/osage%20orange.htm
In the interest of proper resource management, if the wood can be made into flutes, perhaps the fruit could be made into ocarinas?
Interesting. There are a lot of those “monkey ball” trees around here. There’s one right at the entrance to my development. I’ve never thought about the actual wood itself being good for anything because those giant “monkey balls” are such a pain in the butt.
Cheers,
Kirk
Nice addition. John’s playing is marvelous.
Osage orange is a very strong wood. When I was a kid, a friend and I made archery bows from it. By the way, I like the smell of hedge apples. I know people who put them around the outside of the house to keep insects away. Evidently, insects and I have different tastes in terms of smell. I would be interested in seeing/playing the Copley flute made from osage orange.
Osage Orange is still a prized wood for bowyers.
I understand that it also used for fence posts, meaning that it resists insects and fungus for decades. Real perdy too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera
Great clips, Dave, but John is much better in person! Jealous? (He’s teaching at Augusta this year!)
My Copley flute, Zul, cries out loudly for the keymaster. This gatekeeper is losing his resolve.