The one keyed baroque flute of the 18th Century

rod

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My job is flute maker, in the style of instruments of the 18th and 19th century, mostly.

Strangely, I get into deep trouble with my customers if I do not make an exact copy of their choice of a good surviving flute original. No, it is not acceptable to copy modern copies of copies made in this present day and age by living makers. Does that last sentence make sense? The player needs to feel that the newly made "old style" flute would be acceptable, hopefully good, if handed to Bach, Handel, etc. However, old wood flutes often suffer the ravages of time and may be warped oval in the bore or banana-shaped along the axis, yet some still play pretty well even if bent by age ( remember a saxophone plays well, and it is bent into a swan neck!). So my customers demand that I do my best to extract the ravages of time, and not slavishly copy a warped flute, but to please copy the best of its sound, character, and intonation.

Since 'copying' has been the subject of some recent posts, one might imagine that a similar situation in the engraving world would be to receive a commission to make an exact copy of say, a set of engraved dueling pistols by some long-dead Scottish pistol maker of the 17th century. That would be a legitimate commission, and you would be judged by the quality of your work, and the sparkle of your cuts. You would not want to slavishly copy the ravages of time, such as a bent barrel, but endeavor to produce a good working piece.

That said, sometimes a player will want a person touch, like the engraved key on a Scherer style flute below, one that I made for the great Rachel Brown, to record the Telemann Fantasias. You may even get that CD to keep you company, and quiet the mind, to help you concentrate on a demanding engraving job:

http://www.amazon.com/Telemann-Fant...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1261354680&sr=8-1

On this key I am trying to apply some understanding gained in Martin Strolz' recent class. As always, I would welcome any hints and tips to allow me to get better on the next key?

Seasons Greetings!

Rod
 

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joseph engraver

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Rod
Don't be shy, post a close up so we can see your engraving.
I understand your point of view with regard to ""COPYING"".
I have always thought of doing a fine copy of another deceased masters work equal to standing in a ghosts place.
And while dong the work, having him look over my shoulder in approval as I learned his ways of cutting, shading, and design.
Have a great day and a grand Christmas. Your Friend Joseph
 

Peter E

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The flute looks like it will become an heirloom Rod. The engraved key accentuates it well. Is the body ebony with ivory fittings and sterling key? Just curious:big grin:
 

Sam

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Beautiful work, Rod. We don't get to see enough of your flutes, so this is an extra special treat! I sure hope you'll post more. I remember you telling me of the extent of your research in order to reproduce these beauties. Fascinating to say the least! / ~Sam
 

mtgraver

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Rod,
I totally understand, I just finished a copy of an 18th c. rifle. Luckily the client didn't want the wallowed holes, bad nicks, dings, cracks etc. I like to age to give the warmth of use for say 30 years of care. The down side for learning curve is the quality of a lot of the engraving is well below par for todays standards. On this gun the lock had a beautiful English influenced flare cuts but the side plate and especially the butt plate were quite crude in comparison, so copying this type of work is very frustrating at times. I have turned down some work that was so involved that I couldn't endure the thought of doing such crude work for many hours, an hour is one thing but twenty to thirty would've driven me nuts.
I love your work and wished I had an ear for the fine music but the ears only hear ringing all the time now. Were you able to get the bend in the flute as the original? Now that sounded like a challenge to get wood to warp when and where you want.
Mark

www.MarkThomas-graver.com
 

John B.

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Great looking flute and engraving, Rod.
And I bet the sound is even more mellow and sweet.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
May you find a Scot silver 3.d in your Christmas pud!
Best always.
 

rod

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Season Greetings, and thank you, all!

Joseph, Feliz Navidad, compadre, here is a larger hand held shot, and now I can see one or two shadings need to be added! I have time to add these before the flute goes out! Since I need to put one flute out every week, my approach is to hold the main design of this key, and keep cutting and improving the design on each flute for a while, till I get it right.

John B .... was it only in Britain that we mixed the wee silver thru'penny pieces into the Christmas pudding? It was such a thrill to bite into one. Threepence went quite a long way in those days in the hands of a youngster, but with the bombs coming down and no candies or fruits to be had, all you could do was show it to your school chums, and shine it bright on your jacket lapel. Nowadays, I believe a dozen iPods are stirred into the pudding mix?

best

Rod
 

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Andrew Biggs

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Rod, I'm disappointed.............I thought it would have been a deep relief mountain goat instead of a dolphin :)

Looks great!!

We were robbed of money in the Christmas pud when we changed over to decimal currency in 1967. The metal of the coins changed and you couldn't cook the coins in the pudding as it let off some sort of poison. Mum placing them in the bottom of the plate just took away the magic of it somehow............I'm still receiving counseling about it :)

A very merry Christmas to you and Kathleen

Cheers
Andrew
 

rod

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Mark,

I just had a chance to look over your website and greatly enjoyed seeing the gallery!

If you are ever in need of small, very old ivory off cuts, I have lots.

best

Rod
 

rod

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Thank you, Andrew!

Yes, I did think about deep carving half a dozen big horn sheep on the key, really it was a dream .... actually a nightmare! I am as yet insufficient to the task of getting the small scale detail that you and other master cutters achieve on your watches and other tiny canvases. After attempting to cut a lion rampart on a flute key for Lord Viscount St Davids, I showed the key in Scotland to Neil Oliver, who could carve ten angels on the head of a pin. He took a look and said, "Rod! ... this is supposed to be a male lion, right?". "Right", says I. "Then its 'willie' is not big enough!", says Neil, "Here, lad, give me that key..." Sharpening a graver on his ruby stone, without even looking at the tool, he made a series of rapid cuts, and handed back to me a properly endowed male lion, with what now appeared to be a look of smug pride on its face, verging upon bragging.

With the dolphin, not wanting to overdo or under-do the naughty parts, you will notice I have discretely concealed them behind the proverbial fig leaf?

Reno

Rod
 

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