2 Attachment(s)
Burdekin Plum flute build
I recently acquired some lovely Burdekin Plum blanks from a member here and thought I would chart the progress from blank to flute.
The flute took one day (yesterday) to turn, tune and begin to finish.
My design for a keyless Baroque pitched (415Hz vs modern 440Hz) is adapted from a 1600s Claude Rafi 385Hz tenor flute which resides currently in a Brussels museum. Rigorous external and internal measurements were made of it in the late 1970s.
Terry McGee, Australian flutemaker, made a faithful copy in the mid-80s using an authorised copy of these drawings and I acquired the flute a few years ago.
My own measurements plus a examination of Terry's copy of the drawings has led me to start making my own Rafi inspired flutes in different pitches.
This particular flute is a two-piece design with a removable tenon socket joint. It has a cylindrical bore of 18mm for a total length of around 640mm and sounding length of about 592mm. Sounding length determines its pitch. The original Rafi flutes overall length is around 670mm.
I chose appropriate blanks and put them against my drawings:
Attachment 421237
Rough turning:
Attachment 421238
I was surprised to find it was very similar to turning Jarrah. Very rough, splintery and not fun at all! I might be spoilt by Rock Maple and Gidgee.