Indian flutes

[Charles W. (Charlie) Brown]

The Indian flute is unique in that it has two chambers, the sound chamber and a Slow Air Chamber.

[Charles W. (Charlie) Brown]

Refine the mouthpiece.

[Charles W. (Charlie) Brown]

Sticklers and perfectionists take note: The Indians did NOT have tuning forks or pitchpipes, every flute had its own scale. But if you must, this chart is for 7/8 bore.

[Charles W. (Charlie) Brown]

Other methods of locating holes include picking a number between 3/8 and 1-1/8 inches and spacing them evenly beginning about 4" from the back end of the sound chamber. Or, you can give it to the person who will be playing it and have them hold it comfortably. Neighbor's grandson show. Note the dowel.

[Charles W. (Charlie) Brown]

I find that a dowel in the bore, combined with a brad point or Forstner bit minimizes tearout.

[Charles W. (Charlie) Brown]

After the coming of the White Man, Indians started using red-hot wire to bore the finger holes, I simply use a woodburner to slightly char the edges.

[Charles W. (Charlie) Brown]

And there you have it. Final sanding and a few coats of your favorite finish (or bear grease). Slide the bird back and forth till you get the best tone. We'll look foreward to your pics and maybe a video.

[Charles W. (Charlie) Brown]

For those who want more info on this:

Lew Paxton Price wrote several booklets giving the tuning of Indian flutes in detail.

His formulae consider wavelength, size and shape of the various openings.

How to figure the location of finger holes based on diameter and length of the bore, etc.
 
Charles W. (Charlie) Brown said:

Sticklers and perfectionists take note: The Indians did NOT have tuning forks or pitchpipes, every flute had its own scale. But if you must, this chart is for 7/8 bore.