Hi. I have several friends that have lathes. I have one friend that has even made some whistles. I would like to try to make a flute some time, but have no idea where to even begin. Does anyone have an idea where to or how to start making flutes as an amature or hobby? One question that stood out to me is, how do get a conical reamer? And then, is there any recorded info about bore diameters, tone hole size and spaces, etc. I noticed the Flute made from the mop handle. Looks great. Anyway…any ideas?
Thanks
-Daniel 
Hi Daniel,
I’m starting out making flutes at the moment. Having a lathe is the most important thing as long as you want to make wooden conical flutes. The first step is to learn how to turn wood down to a certain profile. After that, you have to learn long boring. Basically there are two methods available - doing everything by hand with selfmade drills made form steel rod, or gun drills. I started with selfmade drills but invested in a gun drill and a compressor now, as I’m too impatient…and my selfmade drills are not too accurate, and I waste a lot of timber until I find the correct shape which has to be sharpened all the time…
After long boring, you should step-bore your blanks, insert appropiate reamers, turn the outer profile down, drill the holes and there you have your flute! Couldnt be easier…
Basic reamers for trying out different plans/shapes can be cut from flat steel rod with an angle grinder quite nicely. A local company laser-cuts them for me, which is more accurate, and they work quite well. A round D-shaped reamer is better, though, but I don’t have a metal lathe, so I have someone who turns them for me in his spare time, which takes some time…I’m still waiting for the first reamer!
If you’re doing everything on your own, it’s simply a work in progress. Getting tuition is favorable, but not easy. I stayed with pipemaker Davy Stephenson in the UK for a few weeks, and he teached me the basics, which I’m improving now. But there’s this old sageness - Confuzius said: Lear-Ning Bay Doo-Ing!
A good address is the Yahoo flutemaker’s group - http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/flutemakers/
Good luck!
I’ve always wondered something. How do they “undercut” the fingerholes? Is it done by hand? How do they see what they’re doing on the inside of the flute to get it just right?
You can use special formed scalpels for that, or needle files, or a dremel. I don’t know how others do it, but I simply cut until the tuning is fine.
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/flutemakers/
Everything you might want to know may very well be found in the “flutemakers” forum.
do start by spending a great deal of time in the archives…please
Certainly not all, but some lathes are equipped with a devise made for turning both internal and external tapers, on internal tapers by means of a long, thin, tool extension, and here I note your question about tapered reamers, to make a conical bore.
First, ask your friends if any of their lathes are equipped to turn tapers.
Now, in terms of “final” bore dimension, and of the internal bore angle in particular, a lathe for turning tapers could help you to discover just what the best internal bore angle could be, as the taper devise on a lathe usually can be adjusted for angle, and the bore angle measurement could then be recorded, before you invest in the manufacturing of a reamer. A reamer, after all, usually has a fixed, non-adjustable shape, and a taper turning lathe could allow you to experiment with various bore angles.
Other than that, you could be in for a great deal of experimentation, although, as Denny suggested, you could also do well to search the C&F archives, right here, for any relevant information.
Good luck!
naw… 
I was referring to the Yahoo Flute Makers Forum linked in the post before mine.
Well, what I had in mind were the various individuals, here on the C&F board, who themselves have made flutes, and who might just be willing to give some advise to a beginning flute maker, even if only to direct them to those Web sites where other flute makers hang out.
Thanks, Denny. I should have thought to add that myself. I was in too much of a hurry but wanted to point to the forum as a resource. A search of the flutemakers forum should turn up answers to most questions. It is a treasure-trove of collected wisdom and wit. Subjects such as reamers and undercutting come up frequently. I have been a member for many years and have never actually asked a question on that forum. The archives have served me well enough.
Feadoggie
Hi Daniel,
So ya want to make a flute or two? 
Lots of fun!
You have to make the reamers, or have a machinist make them for you. I made all my R&R reamers in one weekend and a protoype the same week out of delrin! It is still being played somewhere… It is a little involved, as you have to turn the reamer in 1cm steps and tthen file the metal smooth, then cut a channel in it. I use stainless for mine, still have a ribbon of it in my wrist! I wa in ER a couple of years ago, as a push stick from the table saw, bucked and stuck in my palm, when they xrayed it, he found the stainless…
If you want some different flute plans let me know. I have a few laying around. You can also buy a more complete set of plans for a Pratten, that Terry Mcgee sells. Dave Copley may even sell you some of his blackwood…
Good luck!
Jon
Hi Daniel
I suggest you start by doing some “bookwork” on making simple flutes. I suggest the Booklets by Lew Paxton Price designed for beginners (Secrets of the Flute). You can find flute making books here…
http://www.shakuhachi.com/TOC-CM.html
If you want a simple flute calculating program(s) “online”, I suggest Pete Kosel’s “Flutomat”…
6-hole calculator
http://www.cwo.com/~ph_kosel/flutomat.html
8-hole calculator
http://www.cwo.com/~ph_kosel/Flutomat-8.html
If you want some existing “simple” designs, you could try “The Amateur Woodwind Instrument Maker” by Trevor Robinson. This book has several flute,recorder and simple reed instrument plans/measurements, but requires some knowledge of woodworking (which you have).
the link is obviously not working anymore (couldn’t find anything).
So could someone please post a link that explains how to drill a long hole and how a conical reamer looks like. After 2 hours searching I gave up. I assume the conical reamer can be a D shape as well…
thanks
Joe
i think a good way to step into the process without over investing,
is to start with making a new head for a flute you like.
you will not need to make tapered reamers and there for, no need for a metal lathe or milling machine…plus what you will learn about embouchure cut and chimney depth…is the most important part of what makes a flute work.
Hi there,
I found this thread through the search function.
I am actually making an uilleann pipe chanter, not a flute.
I have a very large workshop with several lathes and lots of material to choose from, including unusual native timbers that I want to try out. So therefore it is quite important to have the right tools and since I do not want to waste time and material it would be good to have proper tools.
So if anyone can help that would be much appreciated, thanks
Joe
After reading your later post, and seeing as you already have access to a machine shop, you could begin by chucking a piece of stock, of metal, of plastic, of wood, or of whatever, into the head of a lathe, of either round or square stock and of a length longer than the finished item, which then allows you to drill, and then ream, from the tail of the lathe, and which also allows you to turn the outer dimensions of the stock, in particular with the use of a taper turning attachment. Alternately, and after drilling, the taper turning attachment could also be used to turn the internal taper of the stock, rather than using a reamer. And, once all of the reaming and turning have been done, it’s then a matter of cutting off your work from the head end of the stock.
After that, it’s a matter of drilling appropriately located and sized tone holes, perhaps on a vertical mill while holding the reamed and turned stock by the use of a horizontal indexing head located on the mill’s table, which then also allows you to offset any of the tone holes, with repeatable accuracy.
Now, I’m not a flute or a chanter maker, so I can’t be of any help to you when it comes to making flutes or chanters, in particular, but I do have a considerable amount of machining experience, and so on that basis perhaps I could be of some help to you, just let me know if you could have any question, please.
BTW, I’m also available by PM, if you prefer.
Once again, however, I do have finite limits, very much so, when it comes to making flutes or chanters. Again, I am not a flute or a chanter maker.
Reamers are the heart of the matter. The idiosyncratic bore profiles required are not linear and there is no place one can go out and purchase flute reamers and there never has been. Thus it is important to learn how to make them. The FOMRHI journal has several articles on wind instrument making that you might find useful, including ones on reamer making.
Required is some sort of metal lathe and some sort of milling machine such as a mill/drill. These tools are not that expensive, should one decide to do this on a long term basis. Grizzly Tool has several that would work fine for a beginning maker - also, look on eBay.
I make my reamers from a medium carbon steel (“Stressproof” - around .45% carbon). These are turned to profile on the metal lathe at the slowest belted speed, using a dial indicator on the cross slide and much measuring with calipers to rough out the profile I want. Then comes much filing and sanding at a higher RPM to give the metal a smooth finish. Usually I turn my reamers with a 1/2 tenon on both ends - the one on the cutting end is cut away at the end of the reamer making process. These tenons are used to hold the reamer in simple fixtures on the milling machine table, where the cutting flute is generated. I usually cut away one quadrant of the diameter, or slightly more, giving the reamer a 3/4 round profile. The cutting edge is then filed, honed, and then burnished into a sharp edge. The reamer is then tested to make sure it cuts, and is generating the correct profile. Minor adjustments can be made by the degree of burnishing, or upsetting the metal by careful peening, or by removing additional metal.
Like everything musical, making reamers involves a learning curve and practice.
Casey
Aha! I was thinking of a conical bore flute as having a linear, conical bore, but apparently not so, thank you.
Thanks for that.
It was recommended in another thread to use a d reamer not a 3/4 (I assume you mean cutting a quarter with a right angle in the centre and not a quarter flat to make a D).
I was told also that the bore is not linear. However in an oboe forum there were many options mentioned for shaping…
So I am really wondering what the best shape is and how I could find that out (probably trial and error) It seems the oboe makers are a bit more flexible with their individual shapes achieving similar results in the end…
cheers