December 23, 2006
Make a PVC flute
Posted by jerry under Interesting instruments | Tags: flute, home made instrument, PVC flute |
Many years ago one of my fellow Mucky Duck Bush Band members - the late Barry Halpin - made a flute for me from PVC pipe. It was a transverse Irish Simple System flute (6 - holes) that worked on the same fingering as a tin whistle.
Several house moves later and that flute is long gone. But recently I came across Doug Tipple’s instructions on how to make one of these flutes and decided to make a couple.
The internal diameter of Australian PVC piping is a little different from the measurements that Doug gives, but using a tuner I found that Doug’s measurements give a good approximation. Using his metric sizes on some 20mm pvc tubing I made a couple of quite passable and playable flutes. Here’s how I did it.
First, I bought two one-metre lengths of 20mm white pvc tubing. I cut it to the overall length of 570mm
Then I attached a length of masking tape along the length to prevent tearout when drilling the holes.
I measured 525mm from one end and drilled a 9.5mm hole for the embouchure (for blowing). I stopped one end with a cork and blew across the embouchure to find I could make a fairly decent C# - The taking the flute back to the mitre saw I took a couple of salami slices off the end away from the embouchure until I could get a consistent D - the total length was now 563mm.
Then I laid out the holes with the following measurements as measured from the bottom of the flute:
hole one = 98mm (8.0mm drill)
hole two = 137mm (11.0mm drill)
hole three = 166mm (9.5mm drill)
hole four = 223mm (8.0mm drill)
hole five = 260mm (9.5mm drill)
hole six = 297mm(9.5mm drill)
Before drilling, don’t forget to centre-punch the marks so the drill doesn’t wander on the curved surface. And the drill needs to run slowly to avoid tearout and chipping the pvc. As you drill each hole, you need to test the flute against a tuner and make adjustments to the hole to bring it into tune by slightly extending the hole into an oval to make it sharper.
Once you have the holes drilled and in tune you will need to clean up the edges with a half round needle file
You may want to file the embouchure hole into a slight D shape to make it easier to make the notes. But that’s all there is to it. With a bit of patience and careful measurement you can build one in about an hour - this flute cost me a total of AUS$3.70!
Click here to hear a scale played on this instrument - please note that I am not a flute player!
Enjoy!
Cheers
Jerry
February 21, 2007 at 1:38 am
I really like the photos as you go along. My hubby made one for me a few years ago but mine is shorter. He didn’t use masking tape so one of the hole edges chipped, but not badly enough to prevent covering it. I spray painted it with American Indian designs. Humm, I wonder if I’m brave enough to actually use a power tool myself . . .
Candi
March 7, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Thank you, This is very helpful!
Do you know any mathematic formulas (or so) to calculate the caliber, the flute length and the hole sizes if I’d like to build a flute which is an octave deeper than yours (e.g. bassflute > contrabassflute)?
March 7, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Sorry Alex - I just followed the instructions. But a good Google search should turn up the mathematical formula you are after.
Cheers
Jerry
April 12, 2007 at 1:15 am
wow this is really cool i cant wait to make it and try it out myself!!
May 7, 2007 at 3:16 am
So what kind of flute is this? Low D?
October 20, 2007 at 10:28 am
Thanks man for putting this up. i made one for myself so i could play along with my kids with theyr recorders and now my oldest wants one.I’m a disabled soldier and have to create activities i can share with the kids so you just gave me one that i can share with them for years to come Thank you very much.
October 20, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Dioscar - yes it’s a low D
October 20, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Draven - you’re most welcome - it’s great to have a bunch of things to share with the kids and the kids will love that hey have something they can share with you too
December 21, 2007 at 2:11 pm
If ya wanna make it an octave lower it should work just to make every dimension 2 times larger ( there are other formulas to make it like a 3rd or etc lower but i don’t remember the numbers off the top of my head 3/2 and 5/4 might be a fourth and fifth)
January 11, 2008 at 4:03 am
jerry: just ran across your blog looking up how to make a flute. very clear instructions. but i have a question, your vise cought my eye, would it be possible to tell me where i might purchase one.thanks and have a pleasant day
January 11, 2008 at 6:17 am
The vise is a Zyliss z-Vise - an incredibly versatile vise and clamping system. I bought mine at the Working with Wood Show in Canberra about five years ago. You can find out more at:
http://www.advmachinery.com/default.asp?pg=zvise
and I note that these do turn up on eBay. They are not sold in hardware stores - and they are just about indestructable being made from aircraft alloy. Make sure you get all the accessories if you are buying secondhand.