Mastodawn

I've again modified the shape of the mini-flutes (one hand, one octave). I'm often working with a lens now 🧐 so it's becoming more precise.
Curved top and bottom, clean edges.
I really like the “flames” motif on the apple tree (photo 2) and if I choose the planks wisely (photo 3), you can hardly see the joints and you'll wonder how the block was ever hollowed out 😏

#wood #crafts #woodWorking #woodCrafting #whistle #ocarina

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MonViolon [en/it]Jul 7, 2025

Tuning a vessel flute is a little different from tuning a tubular flute: the pitch depends much more on the way you blow. For example, here the lowest note can vary by 2 tons!
I first make sure it's from F to A (I want a comfortable G).
Then the blow needed should increase slightly as you reach the high notes and above all as regularly as possible (as there are many fork fingerings, the rising is not linear and so you have to find compromises).

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MonViolon [en/it]Jul 7, 2025

Pending clean plans, here's a freehand view (dimensions in mm).

The most difficult part is the air canal, carved in the top board: it must be 1.5 mm at the inlet and 1mm (or 0.8) at the outlet, and must send the air right to the bottom of the bevel.

For the fingerhole diameters, the best would be to drill 0.5 mm smaller, then enlarge while verifying the pitch, but if you drill directly to the dimensions given, that should make a reasonably correct G scale.

#DIY #musicalinstrument #vesselflute

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MonViolon [en/it]Jul 23, 2025

Okay. Final push before Hargla's night fair (south Estonia) (on Saturday). Yesterday I bought a garden tent to protect my stall from the rain.
I'm not ready at all 😨 I'm going to focus on my small one-handed vessel flutes. I'll sell them with an 8-page booklet (printed on 2 A4 sheets) with an introduction and some tablatures.

When all this is over, I'll take the time to publish (free/libre) clean plans of the flute and English and French versions of the booklet. 🤓

See you soon!

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MonViolon [en/it]Jul 27, 2025

Night fair is over.
Exhausted I am.
A strange guy was looking for a powerful whistle: he ruined our eardrums by testing them with harmonics (they're not designed for that, you really have to blow like crazy). He paid more because he was satisfied 🙄 (we weren't).
I'm glad people were interested in my micro-flutes. I even sold two (it cost €50, not a little purchase).
Luckily, my favourite Estonian-speaking saleswoman was there; she sold whistles (lots), I sold micro-flutes (two).

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MonViolon [en/it]Oct 13, 2025

Mikrofööt/micro-flute: I'm going to try to finish three in three days.
No. 11 in elm wood
No. 12 in birch (sides in elm)
No. 13 in apple wood (sides in elm)

Day 3.
Everything sounds good.
All that's left to do is… carve the shapes, tune and varnish. Well, it'll take at least four days for this time 😋

#wood #flute #ocarina #woodWorking #crafts #handMade