Some where in 1997 I bought my first whistle and a Native American flute kit, and have been making both since then. I heard that you can not sell a item as Native American unless you are one. So no problem for me I just gave them away. I also show Boy Scouts how to make whistles from bamboo. A few years ago I came across worn out tents and asked if I could have the aluminum poles for the scouts. Trying to square one end for one whistle by banging it on the floor or squeezing it in vice was time consumming and did not look good with out a lot of extra cosmetic work.
I went to a marine hardware store and bought a piece of square brass stock. (Brass is easeier to file down than steel.) I tapered one end of it to fit in the tubes and on that same end I drilled a hole and taped for a 3/8 all thread rod 36’’ in length. Then the rod was put in the tube and with washers and a long 3/8 nut on the all thread I pulled the square into the aluminulm tube. I used soap instead of oil to lubricate the square brass.
Soap is slippery and not as hard as oil to clean after. We had perfect squares every time.
You might want to call your flutes “Native American Style Flutes” which should be OK.
That’s a neat idea about squaring up tubing. Seems like I remember a discussion on squaring tubing at gaelic crossings some months ago.
If you take the Inner width of the square tube times 1.12838, it will give you the equivalent round diameter for running Twcalc, Flutomat or any of the tonehole position calculators.
Special Shapes sells telecoping brass tubing and could make pretty good whistle.
Yes VBunny, I also saw the posts on Gaelic site and that is what prompted me to share this way that I use. To find out what size square I needed I found the circumference ID of the tube and then divided by four. That gives the exact mathematical size but the square has to be slightly small or it will split the tube. I also chamfered the corners a little. I have tried cutting aluminum,copper,and pvc with a tubing cutter without leaving a indented ring inside by putting a stick inside but it still leaves a ring that must be removed. what I use now is a hacksaw with 32 teeth per inch in the handle backwards so it cuts when I pull it. I put the tubing in a miter box on the side closer to me and cut by pulling the saw. This makes a strighter cut because the blade is following a stright line as oposed to pushing and the blade bowing slighting. Of course if I spent the money I could have a chop saw. After sawing it still needs to be dressed some but not as bad as trying to remove a ring.
Thank you Mr Bingamon for the info on the brass tubing.
If you’re making a bunch of whistles, don’t like de-burring, and your arms are getting tired with hacksaw work, might want to consider using a “home shop” type of 3-wheel bandsaw, (about $99 - $ 119 at farm and some hardware stores), mounted with a 1/8-inch fine toothed scroll blade. Those will cut brass, copper, plastic, and wood quite nicely, with a whole lot less work. Good for chopping up fipple stock, too. I use a 14" woodworking bandsaw, but a lighter-weight compact would work just as well, long as the throat is deep enough (which is why I said “3-wheel”).. 
Oh, they’re also great for cutting a nice curve in the beak! Just go slowly and don’t push it, and your blades will last for months and months.
Quickie tip (edit) - if your work is getting rather warm to the touch when you cut, it’s time to replace the blade!
Cheers,
Bill Whedon
Serpent Music
I use a miter saw to cut PVC for flutes or whistles. I have also used it to cut aluminum. If I had to cut a lot of aluminum or brass I would put a diamond blade on the saw or get a small diamond trim saw. I have my eye on one at Harbor freight tools.
Ron
Heya, Ron! Yep, you can use a really fine blade on that miter saw and get nice smooth cuts… but I think I’d stay away from abrasive blades for cutting aluminum. Most big metal shops cut up their bar stock using lubricated bandsaw. I use an 8TPI band on mine when doing a lot of aluminum, and stop it and clean ever so often. The problem is the stuff heats and sticks to whatever is cutting it, and will quickly clog your abrasive cutter. The bonded particles will also gall the metal a bit in the cut, and act a lot like a dull blade, in that the material you’re cutting heats up.
Another word to the wise on aluminum… dont use regular drill bits for it. they get a layer of the stuff pretty quickly. You can use a shallow point angle, say 120 degrees, or do what I do, and use carbide 2-flute milling cutters in your drill press. They still get stuff on them, but it’s easy to knock off with a wire brush every other hole or so. Just be darn sure you clamp that baby down before drilling. You can’t hold it in your hand and drill with a milling cutter, unless you want to get cut up or worse, if it happens to grab.
It’s a good idea to use clamps and vises for working metal with mechanical tools, no matter what. I had a milling machine grab a whistle that wasn’t clamped tightly enough, and throw it into my shop door (steel!) and it dented it nicely, enough so that I was really glad I was clear of the thing when it threw it.
Safety glasses are an absolute requirement in my shop, and I actually prefer a good sturdy face shield.
Cheers,
Bill Whedon
Serpent Music
Yes Bill and Ron, you are absolutely correct in that when making a lot of whistles/flutes that power tools and machines are the way to go. I have some, a drill press, band saw, scroll saw, slow speed grinder with water wheel, and a make shift lath powered by the slow grinder I made. There are differant ways to deal with materials that we all use in whistle smithing. Thank you for sharing your info.
When I am teacheing Boy scouts how to make anything we are not allowed to use any power tools for boys under the age of 18.
I also left out power tools here except for a electric hand drill.
I think there are a lot of whistlers that would like to make only one or two for there collection and to gain more understanding of how a whistle works. Some may have see humor when I talked of useing a hack saw backwards in a miter box to make a smoother strighter cut. And may wondered if knew what I was talking about. Bill I think you have been around machine work and also know how to cut sheet metal whith a utilty knife by scoreing it then breaking it. Or by putting a old blade in your power saw backwards to cut fiberglass. More later.
I am interested in trying to make a whistle for my own use. I don’t play yet and I just recently bought about a half dozen whistles to use in learning. I think I can use a chromatic tuner to tune a whistle. What I would like to know is if there is a place on the internet where I can find a clear diagram of a whistle mouthpiece. I have already purchased some copper tubing and joints to use. A diagram of the mouthpiece would be great. Anyone tell me where I can find it on internet?
Whistling Pops 
You can find another picture of the fipple with each part labled over at
www.tinwhistles.us, and some other info. Mr Bingmon also has a book for sale there.
Thought I would bring this out since there is interest in making whistles.