Cherry Flutes: A real challenge!

Cherry hardwood is widely considered the most prized wood for furniture, flooring, and cabinetry. The beautiful color, grain, and satin finish make it the top choice for show and collection. The many species; American, Black, European, or Brazilian all provide amazing results. This is not to say, however, that Cherry woodworking is without challenge, especially when working small pieces. For that reason, Flutes made from Cherry are special. Cherry darkens with age and is best finished with the following stains highlighting its red color; Cherry, clear, Red Mahogany, and Red Oak. The flutes shown here were all made from the same piece of Cherry flatwood stained with Red Mahogany, Danish Walnut, and Cherry. The beautiful grain comes out in each. These are my favorite flutes to date.

Too Many Flutes!

Making NA Style Flutes has become my favorite past-time, aside from traveling with my wife. But what to do with all the flutes. Luckily, Christmas was just around the corner, so my flutes became well received gifts. As friends became interested, I began to find a market. Now I can keep making flutes without having too many on hand. Flute sounds: Dogwood, Cedar, Walnut

More Flutes-More Challenges

My first flute was done and I began to learn more about how to play it. Tuning was the next challenge. I have a pretty good ear for music, though I am not a musician. Guitar yes, but flute no. I knew enough to know when the notes were off key. But how to tune a flute was going to take some time. This is where experience comes into play. I found out that the more flutes I made, with different characteristics; length, bore size, tune hole spacing, etc., the more I learned how to tune each flute. The sound produced by the NA Style Flute is both relazing, and mystifying.

First Native American Style Flute

I love a challenge. Sometimes, I build things just to see if I can do it. That's how I started making Native American Style Flutes. The woodworking was fun, but the frustration soon set in when my first flute made no sound...or simple put, chose not to speak. It took more patience than I can normally muster to learn what was needed. But, patience paid off, and I began to understand the secret of sound produced in these traditional designs. My first flute was made from a Dogwood branch I had been saving for some time. Dogwood is very difficult to work, but the results are worth the effort.