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Thread: NAF project

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
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    Coffs Harbour
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    Default NAF project

    I have a few offcuts that I thought could make good Native American Flutes.

    From the Flute Shop book I chose the 3/4" plan to start with.
    Blanks were cut to dimensions then the bores routed for the Slow Air Chamber and the sound chamber.
    The first few were done with a hand held router but I switched to the router table to get a cleaner cut.

    The two halves were glued together with Titebond.
    Next I made the blowholes and roost. No great sound or volume but enough for the tuning.

    Once the bore was cleaned up I adjusted the bore length to get G fundamental note.

    I used the measurements given in the book to mark out the playing holes.

    They were a long way from the right location and the first few holes are too large to be comfortable to play.
    I used to final location to layout the hole for the second flute.

    The pic shows a blackwood flute that is OK.
    Scally
    __________________________________________
    The ark was built by an amateur
    the titanic was built by professionals

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  3. #2
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    Default NAF Drone

    There is plenty of information about but it is either too simple of too complicated.

    My plan is to make different tunings but I can't find anything that explains the location of the first playing hole.


    Next I routed a pair of 1" bores for a Drone flute.
    The Red Cedar routed cleanly and I have glued to pair together.
    Scally
    __________________________________________
    The ark was built by an amateur
    the titanic was built by professionals

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Katoomba NSW
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    Default

    Those were the droids I was looking for.
    https://autoblastgates.com.au

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Caves Beach, NSW
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    Default

    I haven't used this I dont think it was available when I was making flutes FluteKey.com - NAFlutomat - NAF Design Tool
    It is often a compromise between playability and sound especially on deeper keys
    I personally prefer to have the 1st hole fairly big to avoid the muffled volume and allow for half holing
    BTW what version of titebond are you using, polyurethane seems to be preferred for water resistance

  6. #5
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    Default

    Thanks guys. I have checked those sites and several others.

    The eHow has some good information but doesn't explain how to determine the spacings.

    The NAFlutomat seems very popular but I am too dumb to work out where to start. Iam sure if I made an effort I could work my way through it but I am being lazy.

    Now that I have one done with trial and error I can use the locations for the rest of the blanks.

    I have Titebond III and I find it works well on most timbers. There is no great tension in the joins so I am not expecting any problems.

    The other thing I need to do is improve the air flow through the blow holes.
    Scally
    __________________________________________
    The ark was built by an amateur
    the titanic was built by professionals

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Caves Beach, NSW
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    Default

    Water resistance is important, particularly in the slow air chamber because it accumulates water. On some timbers that can create eough swelling to open up joints.
    I ended up routinely sealing the sac and blowhole with epoxy
    I used epoxy for jointing too
    Prototyping is not a bad way to go, sacrifice the first blank to try different hole positions and sizes.

  8. #7
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    Default

    I made a couple more and was able to use the "found" location for the holes were reasonably transferable.

    Finishing the inside of the sac is tedious. I need a better way to spread the finish so it doesn't clog up.
    Maybe the West epoxy would be better so I might try it later.

    I cut out a few birds and gave them a finish. Then sanded the base smooth and flat. I guess I should put a finish on it too but am worried about using the estapol. It doesn't seem flat enough.
    Scally
    __________________________________________
    The ark was built by an amateur
    the titanic was built by professionals

  9. #8
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    Default NAF progress

    I have a few flutes finished.

    They will get a few more coats of finish to the inside and out.

    Hole spacings worked out OK but they varied a bit as the wall thickness changed. I allowed for the thickness by making the pilot holes closer to the splitting edge.

    I shaped the first couple by hand with a plane, spokeshave and sander.

    Then I tried the router to round the edges. I didn't have a roundover bit big enough to get a full round on the flutes but it gave a good start.

    I am not that excited with a neat round flute. They seem a bit boring.

    The next ones I used the router to round over the square edges then used the spokeshave and sander to get a generally round flute. They are a bit thinner at the tip than near the flue.
    The flue area is flat so this gives a square top. I blended this into the rounded sections.

    There is a pic of some of the birds. Pretty simple but they work well.

    The mouth end is simply tapered to a blunt end so the lips rest against the end of the flute.

    I saw a photo of a flute with a 303 shell for the mouthpiece so I got a couple of shells and epoxied them into two of the flutes. With these the flute is played with the lips over the shell.


    I gave all the insides a coat of estapol but they still got wet when I was tuning them. To try to reduce the wetting I gave them all a coat of West epoxy.
    This reduced the flue and made it rough so I had to sand it back down.

    The flutes need a few days to dry properly then I expect there will be some tuning to do.


    I also tried to make a drone. I tuned it to "A" as set out in the plan. But I couldn't get the top note.
    Scally
    __________________________________________
    The ark was built by an amateur
    the titanic was built by professionals

  10. #9
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    Coffs Harbour
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    Default Flute Stand

    I made a flute stand so I could get the flutes off the floor.

    I shaped up a block of very dark Fiddleback Jarrah and set nine 16mm dowels into it.

    The Jarrah has plenty of weight which makes the stand stable.

    The flutes look much better on the stand too.
    Scally
    __________________________________________
    The ark was built by an amateur
    the titanic was built by professionals

  11. #10
    Join Date
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    Coffs Harbour
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    Default NAF Birds and a Drone

    The flutes are looking fine and sounding better.

    The birds looked a bit dull so I decided to see if I could make one a bit more interesting.

    I found a few pieces of interesting timber and a piece of American Oak.

    The oak was the least interesting so I used it first so I didn't ruin the better timbers.

    The pics show the result.
    It was fun working with small pieces. I cut them out with a jig saw then shaped the big curves on a wasp sander then used a range of Dremel bits for the finer detail.
    They were sanded to 320# and gave them a few coats of Danish Oil.

    I had another go at making a drone. This one has 1" bore and made with a piece of very old and dark red Cedar. This one tuned to D# and looks and plays nice.
    Scally
    __________________________________________
    The ark was built by an amateur
    the titanic was built by professionals

  12. #11
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    Caves Beach, NSW
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    Default

    Looking real purty Robert.
    Good work

  13. #12
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    Default Lakota Flute

    The flutes are improving slowly.

    This is my latest wip. It is called a Lakota flute.

    It is huge, 36" long.
    The last 8" is solid and to be carved into a Crane head.

    The blank is much bigger than the flute will be in order to give enough timber to carve the plane. It took me a fair while to spokeshave the flute down to size after I jigsawed the crane head.

    I just drilled two holes in the end of the chamber to get the fundamental.

    Next will be doing the tuning holes.

    Then make a brass spacer for the sound holes and a bird to fit over it.

    A few different things to the other flutes so plenty to learn.
    Scally
    __________________________________________
    The ark was built by an amateur
    the titanic was built by professionals

  14. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Katoomba NSW
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    Default

    I'll be interested to see this one come together.
    You must have quite a collection now Scally. Time to upload some sound files i think.
    Those were the droids I was looking for.
    https://autoblastgates.com.au

  15. #14
    Join Date
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    Default Antler Flute Stand

    Yes NC the flutes are growing in number.

    They are sounding better. I went too far tuning the fundamental on the Lakota. I will fill the holes and start again. I could tune it higher but I like the lower fundamental.
    A friend sent me a few eagle feathers to decorate the flutes.
    Next I will need a Pow wow drum.

    My playing hasn't improved so I will get friend to play a tune on a few and upload them.

    It is a sweet mellow sound.

    I made another stand. Nice block of Queensland Maple as the back board with antler-shaped supports.
    It will stand on the floor but it is designed to mount on the wall.It needs finishing but I think it would be good to have mounted close by so I can pick a flute and have a play at anytime.
    Cheers
    Scally
    __________________________________________
    The ark was built by an amateur
    the titanic was built by professionals

  16. #15
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    Default Stand Pic

    The pic didn't stick.
    Scally
    __________________________________________
    The ark was built by an amateur
    the titanic was built by professionals

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