How to Make the Bore in a Native American Flute

The inside of a flute is characterized by two sections. The first is a tapered section at the top of the flute with the mouthpiece called the air chamber. The rest of the hollow inside of the flute is made up of a long, straight chamber called the bore.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Prepare the two halves of wood that you are going to use to make the flute. Cut the wood to the same length, thickness and width. Both the thickness and width will determine how large the diameter of the air chamber will be. Flatten the bore side of both of the wood pieces to ensure they will fit together properly.

2. Use a half round bit on a router table to route out the bore area. The bore takes up 2/3 of the length of wood with the air chamber and extra material to carve out the mouthpiece taking up the rest.

3. Utilize as many passes as necessary to carve out the bore with the router bit. Make sure to route out the area from the beginning of the air chamber all the way to the end of the flute.

4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for the other side of the flute.

5. Flatten both halves of the flute to remove any warps that may have been created in the wood by routing out the bore.

Tips & Warnings

• You may want to mark the area where the air chamber and bore is going to be in order to give yourself a guide to follow as you route out the bore of the flute.
• If you don't have access to a routing table, you can also use a hand router or a hand carving tool to create the bore of the flute.