Silver conical flute

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Terry McGee
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Silver conical flute

Post by Terry McGee »

Some time back we talked on this forum about reviving Clinton's Flute for India - the all-silver conical 8-key flute he patented in 1857:

Image

More information at http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/clint-India.htm

Unfortunately, I couldn't find our original correspondence, hence this fresh start.

At that time, I threatened to do something about reviving the idea of a silver conical flute. Really just to let you know it wasn't altogether idle posturing; indeed I have in front of me a rough prototype. Keyless only at this stage, and certainly not ready for release - this one has some marked flaws. But the first step is taken. We can produce the long cylinders and cones required to make such a flute, and they will work - this one has a particularly convincing bottom note.

So, emboldened by at least partial success, it's back to the spreading chestnut tree for a more serious attempt.

The good thing about silver flutes is you can always melt down your prototypes.

Terry
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Post by jemtheflute »

Way to go, Terry! Keep us posted.
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Post by Denny »

:D http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=56904
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Post by dow »


Another great find from Sir Denny, Thread Miner of C&F. :D
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Post by jim stone »

Three cheers for Terry. Hoping for the best.
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Post by I.D.10-t »

Are you trying to keep it simple, like a low whistle, or are you thinking that soldering on raised finger holes, keys, and a lip plate are the direction that your headed? Either way, it will be interesting to hear about the manufacturing process.
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Post by G1 »

Woof! Very cool, O master of innovations! :D

I would love to hear sound bites when the project reaches that point.
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Post by LorenzoFlute »

how does a conical silver flute sound? (compared to a wood conical and a bohem silver)
sound is hard to describe, i know...
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jim stone
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Post by jim stone »

Hopefully we will see. This project is very interesting,
because there is at least the possibility of a
good sounding Irish flute that can be produced
relatively quickly and inexpensively.

Silver is delightful stuff. I once wrote
to Mike Copeland and Jim R and suggested
a flute headjoint be made to fit
their silver D whistle body.
But the message was lost in the aether,
I'm afraid and now it's too late.
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Post by Jon C. »

If only Cork was here to comment on his dream silver conical flute... :sniffle:
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Post by dow »

Jon C. wrote:If only Cork was here to comment on his dream silver conical flute... :sniffle:
Yep.
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Post by Jayhawk »

Terry - if this ever becomes a roving flute...I'd like to public slap my name down as first on the list.

I still scan ebay for antiques like this, and would love to try playing one.

Eric
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Post by Terry McGee »

I.D.10-t wrote:Are you trying to keep it simple, like a low whistle, or are you thinking that soldering on raised finger holes, keys, and a lip plate are the direction that your headed? Either way, it will be interesting to hear about the manufacturing process.
I'd like to do the simple approach, but in the first instance, it will be safer to emulate a known good design. So that will require the raised finger and key holes. Once we have a good working flute in silver we can experiment with variations.

Terry
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Terry McGee
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Post by Terry McGee »

Othannen wrote:how does a conical silver flute sound? (compared to a wood conical and a bohem silver)
sound is hard to describe, i know...
If made properly, I'd expect it to sound pretty much like the wooden conical equivalent, but be a little more responsive due to lower surface losses. So I'll know when I've got there!

The rough prototype doesn't have the sonority we expect from wood apart from the bottom note, which is very good. The next one will be fashioned on one of my proven designs, probably the Rudall 5088, so we will be able to answer the question properly then.

Terry
Last edited by Terry McGee on Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Jayhawk »

Any pictures of your new baby? :D
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