Recorder!

[jgourlay]

At the grand canyon and the 6 yr old wanted a $250(!) flute.  Of course I said, "I'll make you one, it's cheaper" thinking he would forget.  For 6 months he badgered me.  Well, here it is!  It works, too....as long as your expectations are more along the lines of shrilly irritating your parents rather than playing real music.  It does play "au clair de la lune" passably well.   And...it was cheaper.  Even after taper pin reamers and ship drills!

[chips ahoy]

Well done sir,you did a wonderful job.Enjoy the music.

Mel

[Bibliophile 13]

Looks great! Kids aren't great at making recorders sound good, but he'll learn.

Any insights from the build?

[jgourlay]

Thanks, yes, a couple of insights.  First, unlike "furniture plans", it's hard to find really precise mechanical drawings.  The drawings I found were more like 'specific guidelines'.  Second, it really pays to think it all through carefully and pay close attention to pictures.

You see that long ramp on the top?  That feature was not detailed in any of the drawings I had, but all the pictures on the internet show a much higher angle.  That much higher angle would have prevented the chipout I had.

Turning between centers is pretty unusual.  In this project, it's mandatory.  I had a couple of false starts due to trying to save on wood and thus having pieces too short to turn between centers.