Creating flutes, deer hide leather flute bags and related items is an act of passion, not obligation.

The Flutes and Deer Hide Bags links contain more representative images of flutes and flute bags I've created. These are presented as a way of sharing ideas and sparking a conversation about your next custom flute or leather flute bag.

Flutes displayed below are presented as representative examples of my previous work. Nothing on this page is available for sale.

These designs were derived from ideas and imaginations of myself, my friends and sometimes if I'm lucky enough, from customers themselves.

Growing as a flute maker requires one to try new ideas and approaches from time to time. All four of these flutes play very well. I hope the three newer examples may be comfortably played by people who aren't necessarily blessed with having long arms or large hands but enjoy sounds produced by lower-pitched flutes.

This photo shows a slightly older flute (#232, spalted Sycamore, top flute) in contrast with three new flutes (#406 - Western Cedar; #407 - Alaskan Yellow Cedar (Cocobolo / Koa mouthpiece); and, #408 - Alaskan Yellow Cedar (Claro Walnut / Camphor mouthpiece).

All have 1 1/4" bores and are tuned as C4 flutes. The most obvious difference is the length of each flute above the sound hole. #232 is 207mm or about 8.2". This adds considerably to the flute's overall length of about 29 3/8." But more importantly, it places the bottom finger hole (#1) at 560mm or about 22" from the mouthpiece. This requires a player to have moderately long arms.

Each of the newer flutes has only about 127mm or 5" between the mouthpiece and the True Sound Hole. This results in the bottom finger holes being at: 452mm, 453mm and 472mm. Or about 18" from the mouthpiece for #406 and #407. A full 4" advantage over the older flute! Flute #408 has the #1 hole at about18.6" because the upper 3 and bottom 3 finger holes are slightly separated. At less than 9mm (0.35"), finger hole diameters of 406 and 407 are slightly smaller than the older flute.

Additional difference ...

I've deliberately flattened a small area on top of the flute extending the length of the finger holes and the corresponding area on the underside of the flute. This gives a sensation of playing a non-rounded flute without causing the flute to look obviously rectangular. It feels a bit different but is actually very comfortable.

A close up showing blocks and mouthpieces. #406 has a block consisting of: Sapele (thin) / Western Cedar / Eastern Red Cedar.

Flute 407 has a Cocobolo figure with an embedded brass rod visibly piercing a hole on Koa (thin) / Alaskan Yellow Cedar / Eastern Red Cedar.

The bottom flute (#408) has three Claro Walnut inlay dots (diminishing sizes) with Kingman Turquoise centers in Camphor / Black Walnut / Eastern Red Cedar.

The tree which produced the following three flutes was an Eastern Red Cedar which grew on property in Northwestern Florida. The place was family owned for nearly 100 years. A lightning strike appears to have left some of the cedar with uncharacteristically attractive figure. It almost looks like quartersawn hard woods I've worked with before.

The following link leads to a presentation about three flutes. It contains a series of photos with audio files created using each of the flutes. It also has some short video presentations recorded to describe each flute's design. It is just under 13 minutes in length.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPo4ODkwAfE

Flute # 391 is a 7/8" bore, A4. The mouthpiece on this lightning-struck Eastern Red Cedar is Cymplify Pecan and Camphor. The primary block features Coquina shell on Kingman Turquoise embedded in Camphor on Cymplify Pecan / Eastern Red Cedar. A Pecan butterfly (off set facing right) graces the top on a small bit of Black Walnut. The 1/4" wide inlay ring on the bottom has Cocquina (St. Augustine, FL area) and other shells on Kingman Turquoise with a single Kingman nugget embedded in Azurite on the top. These flutes were all finished using Polymerized Tung oil and Maroon Shellac.

Members of the Sister Hazel rock band owned a former plant nursery in Gainesville, FL where they hosted many community gatherings. In 2013, a dying Pecan tree had to be taken down after a storm knocked down a significantly large piece of the tree. Bits and pieces of the wood was obtained by many artists in the area for projects just such as this one.

In my own words, the "CYM" in "Cymplify" (notice the sign on the building in the background) is a call to "Change Your Mind" to encourage people to live better or less complicated lives.

An alternative block was created for this flute. It is intended to represent a Florida River Otter (lightning-struck Eastern Red Cedar).

Ancient shells are often found in Florida's sandy streams and rivers, so seeing an Otter among a shell background is not all that unusual.

Flute 392 is lightning-struck Eastern Red Cedar with a spalted Sycamore and Madrone burl mouthpiece. 7/8" bore; Key: G4.

The block features an Eastern Red Cedar butterfly elevated on Black Walnut above Camphor with an embedded Turquoise cabochon. Madrone burl / Camphor / Eastern Red Cedar layers form the base. The butterfly's wings are decorated with four Mother-of-Pearl inlay dots and six Lone Mountain Turquoise nuggets in Pennsylvania Jet. Wood burned accents.

The body of the flute is decorated with an inlay butterfly below the nest (common Opal and red Coral). Two flowers appear on the sides of the flute. The flower head on the right has Mother-of-Pearl and Lone Mountain Turquoise in Pennsylvania Jet. The left flower head has Mother-of-Pearl and Lone Mountain Turquoise in Opal and red Coral. Blossom leaves feature Mother-of-Pearl and Turquoise nuggets in red Coral. The stems are Minnesota Pipestone with fragments of Mother-of-Pearl. The two leaves are Malachite.

The single flute stand shown in this image was made using a chain-sawn bit of the lightning-struck Eastern Red Cedar.

The last of these Eastern Red Cedar flutes is also tuned as a G4 with a 7/8" bore. This one has a Maple and English Walnut mouthpiece. The butterfly on the block is lightly carved Eastern Red Cedar with Azurite inlay veins in the wings and a line of Sleeping Beauty Turquoise in the body. Wood burned accents. The block has a Turquoise with Pyrite cabochon in figured lightning-struck Eastern Red Cedar / English Walnut / Eastern Red Cedar.

The body of the flute is decorated with an inlay butterfly below the nest (Mother-of-Pearl, Kingman Turquoise, Azurite with additional coloration for substance). Two flowers appear on the sides of the flute. The flower heads and blossoms are Kingman Turquoise. The stems and two leaves are Malachite.

Every now and again - if one is especially fortunate, opportunities sometimes come along to make a difference using materials that are meaningful in someone's life. The following three flutes represent the culmination of a recent collaborative project involving a new friend.

The story behind the board used to create the next few flutes ... "This piece of Cherry wood was cut and milled from a tree located in the vicinity of Tama, Iowa – not far from the tribal lands of the Meswaki Nation.  In about 1976, with cherry from this tree, I had a charming cherry railing built in my first home. This one last beautiful piece of cherry wood was the only board not used in the construction.  I loved this piece – I kept it - I knew that one day it would turn into something “special”.  After a relatively short stay with my parents, this piece has traveled with me most of my adult life - passing through Iowa, Illinois to Virginia, South Carolina, Saint Simons Island, GA and finally to Florida – at least 7 moves more than 40 years on the journey. With Dan’s help, its beauty and its destiny are now clearly made manifest."

Flute 342 is Iowa Black Cherry. The tenon mouthpiece is Wisconsin Beech and spalted Sycamore. Tuned as an A4, this 3/4"-bore flute is about 17 7/8" long. The block features a Cherry wave (aged interior) with a Mother-of-Pearl (MOP) inlay dot on Beech / Sycamore / Cherry / Eastern Red Cedar. Decorative elements on this flute include wood burned and carved sea grass fronds reaching from the artificially aged bore end to the lower finger holes. Three smaller fronds are inlaid around the flute using Sleeping Beauty Turquoise and common Opal (mixed with white PearlEx). Three 1/4" Mother-of-Pearl inlay represent rising bubbles and match the dot on the block.

All of these flutes are finished using polymerized Tung Oil, Platinum Blond Shellac and acrylic Lacquer before being hand-rubbed using pumice and rottenstone.

This is a 7/8"-bore flute tuned to the key of F4. It is about 22" long. The flute is constructed of Iowa Black Cherry paired with Wisconsin Yellow Birch. The composition mouthpiece includes Yellow Birch (vertical) // Dogwood / Cherry / Dogwood. The Dogwood came from a tree which grew in our daughter's front yard. The Yellow Birch grew at another friend's property in eastern Wisconsin. The block has a Corn ear carving (Cherry with Yellow/Cyan aniline dye and painted/wood burned kernels) on a base of Dogwood / Yellow Birch / Eastern Red Cedar.

Using corn as a theme came about in part because it seems we both spent time working in Iowa corn fields as boys. De-tasseling may be a necessary task, but it is an especially grueling job. Especially for small people who must gently bend the corn stalk to reach the tassel. Summer temperatures and humidity are usually high in Iowa and there isn't much breeze making its way between rows of tall corn plants. Memories of this work are still vividly fresh many, many decades later.

Flute 357 is made of Black Cherry and spalted Sycamore. This flute is tuned as a G4 and has a 7/8" bore. It is about 20" long. The composition mouthpiece is spalted Sycamore (vertical) //  Cherry / Sycamore / Cherry. The block has a Turquoise cabochon in Sycamore on a base of Sycamore / Cherry / Eastern Red Cedar (sides dyed using aniline wood dye).

The flute was artificially aged using a solution before aniline dyes were applied to the lower 2/3 of the flute body. Four inlay dots (Sleeping Beauty Turquoise) are placed in the Cherry at the bore end. Two on top, two on bottom.

When one acquires new flutes. There may be an opportunity to add important accessories. This flute stand was crafted using a Red Elm cross-section (aka "cookie") which was part of the same wood collection used for these flutes. The seven post holes are all 1/2" diameter. Five of the posts were made using 1/2" Oak dowels. Two 1" posts have 1/2" oak pegs inset, glued and pinned using 1/8" aluminum rod. These and two other 7/8" posts (similarly configured) support larger flutes. This photo shows one 5/8" bore flute, three 7/8" bore flutes, one 3/4" flute and two 1 1/8" bore flutes as examples of the stand in use.

Florida old growth, river-recovery, "Midnight" Cypress. Flute 220/2020. Mouthpiece is Maple burl with Eastern Red Cedar and Olive wood. The block is Olive wood with Pipestone mosaic and Malachite stone inlay on Alder, Pecan and Eastern Red Cedar. This 7/8" bore flute is tuned in the key of G (minor) and is about 20 5/8" long. A green abalone dot sits within twin rows of Malachite inlay on the body of the flute. The finish is polymerized Tung oil followed by Ruby and Blond shellac.

This flute was gifted to our Israeli tour guide in Feb. 2020. At the time, we didn't understand how truly fortunate we were to have been able to complete this bucket-list pilgrimage just as the Covid-19 pandemic was being recognized. Thank you, Danny. Shalom. You won't be forgotten. 

This Black Walnut flute with a pecan mouthpiece and end cap is tuned in the key of E. Second place flute making award winner at Musical Echoes. Decorative elements include red coral inlay wolf tracks and a wood-burned image of a wolf head on the bore end. The wolf perched on the block is carved from Pecan. Super responsive, this flute produces strong vibrations easily felt by finger tips while playing. 055/2013.

This antler rack was created as a gift for friends at Cherokee of Georgia in 2020. The base is black walnut and the leather wrap is deer hide.

The flute being modeled is Alaskan Yellow Cedar and has a mouthpiece of spalted Sycamore and Gainesville, FL Dogwood. Key of D, length about 26 1/4", bore 1 1/8" The block features two carved pots (Dogwood on Sycamore stand; Masseur Ebony) on spalted Sycamore, Alaskan Yellow Cedar and an Eastern Red Cedar base.

Pipestems

1. Camphor with Pipestone (Catlinite) and Malachite stone inlay with Lone Mountain (Nevada) turquoise nuggets. This stem is about 10" total length, 1.25" wide an 0.375" (3/8") thick.


2. Another maker's stem used as a model for the three I created.


3. Curly Birch; toasted (i.e., burned to enhance grain pattern) with green aniline dye; 14.25" long, 1.25" wide, 0.75" thick


4. Curly Birch; wood-burned feather on the top side; 11.75" long, 1.25" wide, 0.75" thick. This stem was made for a local friend.

Deer hide pipe stem and pipe pouch with fringe. Deer antler latch point. Kingman turquoise nugget (rough) and crow beads on the latch string. Approximately 12" long by  6" wide, this example was made for a local friend in May 2020.

F#; aged Cherry with multimedia dragonfly (ivory, red coral, wood burned elements). Judged "Most Artistic" at Native Rhythms Flute Festival.  7/8" bore, 20 1/4" long. 040/2010.

Camphor; 5-flutes; Lone Mountain turquoise nuggets in resin; Malachite stone inlay in crack; back hollowed to reduce the weight of this nearly 1.5" thick slab; ~ 23" x 14"; ~ 5.6 lbs.

Live edge camphor, 6-flute rack with decorative flower figures of stone inlay (malachite, azurite, both with brass and pipestone) and dyed oak buds; ~ 27" long by 7" - 10.5" wide; ~ 3.0 lb

Camphor, crotch figure; Pipestone inlay used to fill naturally occurring holes; 5-flutes; ~ 29" x 13.5"; ~ 5.0 lbs

Walnut with heartwood figure; 5 flutes; ~ 24" x 7.25"; ~ 2.8 lbs