Where can I get Flute building materials?

Færo

For a custom instrument I'm making, I need the tubing out of which the body of a flute is made. I also need the same for a flute headjoint. That is, I need two sizes of tubing, one the exact diameter of a flute body and one the exact diameter of a flute headjoint.

Does anyone know where I could purchase such materials?

Thanks!
 
Færo said:
For a custom instrument I'm making, I need the tubing out of which the body of a flute is made. I also need the same for a flute headjoint. That is, I need two sizes of tubing, one the exact diameter of a flute body and one the exact diameter of a flute headjoint.

Does anyone know where I could purchase such materials?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

This is not something I have ever seen available via the web. Contacting a metals dealer via telephone might be the best try. I suspect because of the specificity of bore size (19mm) and the variety of wall thicknesses that (western concert) flute makers do one of two things: get tubing that is close, then they size the tubing with their own equipment. Or, they buy silver/alloy and make their own tubing. Because head joints are not cylindrical, even close tubing is just a starting point.

Also it could be possible to cut out the joint part of a flute that is beyond being worth repair, and building onto that joint. If you are making something to fit to an existing flute body or head joint, you may still need some tools like these for precise sizing:

http://www.jlsmithco.com/FLUTE-TOOLS

Apologies for not specifically answering your question, but I hope this at least provides further ideas. Some of the above are reasons that I am prototyping/experimenting with aluminum: it is cheap, and available in many sizes. If you just need close enough, 19mm is really close to 3/4", which is easily available in aluminum.
 
Thanks gurzil, that really helps a lot! I have no experience with instrument building and no materials, so this really does give me some direction.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom