Chiff and Fipple Forums

Dear friends,

My working e'mail is waltsweet (at) hotmail (dot) com . The other one is unreliable. Maybe I'm not paying enough for web service, but the hotmail and phone are still good.

I'm sorry to be slow in responding.

Walt

If you want science, the explanation is found in Rayleigh's Rules, applied by Stephen Fox: http://www.sfoxclarinets.com/baclac_art.htm Yes, the exact location is important. I call these "critical stations." When the tenon is pulled out of the mortise at the joint, a cavity is formed. I've ...

I tried a few tunes on one made by Fischer, I think. A cocus cylinder with standard mechanism. Kinda klunky, and pre-Cooper which means that the musical scale was not as good as it could be. I don't think the blow-hole was cut with any relief, so the tonal flexibility wasn't there either. I enjoyed ...

For a good finish on acetal, these methods may prove useful: Drill and ream with an oil mist. A machinist using an enclosed CNC machine will use a flood of soluble oil; that's good, too. One of my guys used a water mist with good results. Use High Speed Steel or 5% Cobalt for drilling the side-holes...

Bruce, here are some answers for you: The biggest hole on the SHANNON is the F# (hole #5 for right middle). The diameter is 0.35" = 8.9mm . That's bigger than on some other flutes, and it gives a truer pitch. I think my holes in general are bigger than those on a Rudall, but not as big as Pratt...

Just wanted to drop a line to say that I am still here, and the SHANNON is alive and well: http://wdsweetflutes.com/shannon.php It's black delrin. I've heard there's been some trouble reaching my site, so my direct e'mail is waltsweet@hotmail.com The BLACK PEARL pennywhistle in HiD is sold out. Same...

Dear ytliek, I know that article. I don't believe the people mentioned undertook any commercial application of the technology. On the other hand, I understand that Jerry Freeman in Coventry, CT is tooling-up to make penywhistle heads this way. For a pennywhistle especially, resolution is critical an...

I see a lot of the basic considerations being mixed-in with the fine points. On some HiD whistles, the windsheet measures about .048" thick. This is the distance between the floor and roof of the windway at the exit; it needs to be measured (with gauge pins), not just calculated by the differen...

Doggone it; the 3-bumps are gone! I can make heads from the others.
216 - 75 = only 141 pcs remaining!
I could have used some blanks of a different size for my smaller insturments. Oh well, I will proceed accordionly, as we say in the music business.

I'm guessing here, but a jeweler may not want to work in NS because he can't charge enough for it (and defend his charges against the cost of the corresponding thing in Sterling). Another option is to have the keys fabricated from standard-shaped stock. You could commission a flutemaker to start wit...

You can contact CA Brown in Providence, RI USA (that link in my last post). You're in Europe? Are you sure you want Nickel Silver? That alloy can polish to a glow that's warmer than Sterling, and keep its shine longer. It tarnishes with a lot of verdigris. Nickel Silver is often used on production i...

Stretched octave: slightly more than an octave. An example is playing a low A at 440 Hz, and high A comes out at 892 Hz instead of 880 Hz (in a 1:2 ratio). It's still identifiable as A, but it's 27 cents sharp. Some people may phrase it to say that A tends to sharpness without clarifying that high A...

Undercutting means to make the tonehole wider as it goes in: the hole is larger inside (near the bore) than at the Outside Diameter of the flute (where the finger touches). This shaping can be done with a fraising tool or with a file. Undercutting improves the tone and many other playing characteris...

Is the PolJez still available? Please let me know the next step.

Walt Sweet
waltsweet@hotmail.com

Our early "Irish" flutes grew out of the traditions of what is now the Baroque flute. There, F-nat was an important note, and the player had to lip everything anyway. If a maker makes flutes with a just F#, it can be at odds with all the other flutes in circulation (even that maker's previ...