Building a flute is an arduous task. A craftsman may spend 100 hours or more to build a handmade flute from start to finish and numerous individual operations are required to assemble hundreds of parts.
It all starts with design. A lot of decisions have to be made: the look, the feel, the scale, the materials, the headjoint cut and many more. The maker has hundreds of decisions to make based on production capabilities, the intended customer, and the desired price range.
The maker must settle on each detail, making countless drawings and producing many tools, jigs and molds. The many elements of design affect the success of the finished instrument, however design alone does not determine the quality. Each element of construction needs to be carefully controlled and performed with great attention. It is the combination of design, craftsmanship and materials that ultimately determine the quality of a flute.
1. Raw materials, precious 1 metal rod, tubing and ingots for casting. Landell
2. Each casting has an unique 2 mold. Landell
3. Setting waxes for 3 molding. Powell
4. The casting department. Powell
5. Casting in “trees” yields multiple parts. Powell
6. Castings are reamed to fit 6 tubing. Landell
7. Key cups are “dapped” or 7 machined. Landell
8. Silver soldering French 8 arms to the key cups. Altus
9. Each key receives 9 individual attention. Landell
10. Each key is handfinished. Landell
11. A post is formed. Landell
12. A posted rib assembly. Landell
13. Testing steel in the post. Burkart
14. Reaming post holes. Powell
15. Body assembly components and an assembled body. Landell
16. Reaming toneholes. Powell
17. Soldered toneholes. Landell
18. Lining up post and ribs on a body. Burkart
19. Checking pad coverage. Altus
20. Each part is measured and tested repeatedly. Altus
21. Hand-forming of a lipplate. Landell
22. Undercutting. Altus
23. Overcutting. Burkart
24. Setting a lip plate. Altus