Meet our Pre Bored Native American style flute making kit.
This is our most advanced woodworking kit, ideal for confident woodworkers with fully equipped shops. The kit includes a set of western red cedar flute halves, a flat block base, a larger carving block, a leather strap, and a booklet with instructions and measurements for completing a flute in the key of A, G, or F#. The flute halves have been bored to a 7/8 inch bore diameter and have had the fipple holes precisely routed. The fipple holes are often referred to as the sound holes, not to be confused with the finger holes. This kit is long enough to make a flute in the key of F#, but can be cut down to either the G, or A flute length depending on what key you are interested in making.
Below this product you will find some pre cut animal shapes that can be substituted for the included larger block. If added to the cart we will replace the larger unshaped block with the animal shaped block.
The two include blocks both have the precisely routed groove in the bottom. The small flat block base is ideal for quickly rubber banding on during the tuning process, but after the flute is finished it is wonderful for gluing objects to. Consider attaching a carving, a small piece of driftwood, a gemstone, or a small sculpture to this block to adorn your new flute!
The larger carving block is shaped in such a way that it will not impede the air flow of the block and it is large enough that you can carve many interesting things out of it.
Scroll down to the bottom of this page to watch a video on completing this kit.
What’s involved in making a Pre Bored Kit into a Flute?
-Glue the flute halves together using wood glue and spring clamps
-Sand the outside of the flute blank once dry to remove the glue bead and even any irregularity.
-Perfect the fipple holes using metal files
-Measure and pre drill the fingering holes and four direction hole using the provided measurements.
-shape the flute blank to the desired shape using either hand shaping tools or a lathe
- fully hand sand the blank down to 180 grit (it will need to be touched up after tuning, so don’t bother sanding with 220 grit yet)
-tune the flute using the instructions provided
- finish sand the flute and prepare for varnishing/oiling
- apply your desired finish to the inside and outside of the flute (you must apply finish after the flute is glued because the glue seam needs to be sealed to avoid delamination)
-carve your block avoiding the groove
- apply desired finish to the block
-Enjoy your new flute!
As you can see from the directions, this is not a quick or easy process. It may seem tempting to buy this less expensive kit to save money, but after buying all the supplies you need to complete it you may find that it was not the less expensive option after all!
If you are stuck along the way, you can always use the contact form to email us and we will help guide you. Most mess ups are fixable!
