Cedar Flute Kit

The media could not be loaded. This is a preliminary video for anyone else who isn't 100% certain what they're going to be getting into. I just received this yesterday, and I won't really have time to put it together until this weekend, but I figured I'd look at everything and familiarize myself with what I'll need to do. My parents found some at a pow wow in Florida for $5, and they were called toys (geared specifically towards children, they couldn't have been but about 6-8 in long. I thought they sounded incredible, and played them until they fell apart (the little feathers hanging off the end went first, the painted decorations next, and the holes I wore through the fingers did them in), but putting one together myself is an entirely new venture.The instruction booklet has some information about the flute, finger placement for chords, and some songs you can use to help you get used to the flute and its sound. The instructions you'll need first are on the last couple of pages. The kit comes with the 2 pieces of the flute, the gasket (very thin piece of wood), a top piece, a small square of sandpaper, a thin piece of leather sinew, and a thicker piece of leather strap (I believe for decoration. I didn't see that mentioned in the instructions, but I'll figure it out). It looks like besides that, I'll need an Exacto knife, wood glue, electrical tape, a 1/8" drill bit, and a steady hand (possibly some skill, and that may be in short supply where I'm concerned).VERY basically, it looks like: clean up any splinters/problem areas, put the body together, cut a hole in the smaller piece of wood (called a gasket) where the base of the top piece will sit, adjust it to get the right sound, and tie it tightly. The instructions are very well written and detail everything clearly.All in all, it looks easy enough (provided I can subdue my excitement and follow the instructions carefully). I will do another video as I'm putting it together (and trying it out, obviously) this weekend, and will update my review with it.

Thought it would be fun to make one, but...not... cant get it to work, instructions made little sense I'll stick with letting professional flute makers make them

The flute kit was ordered on 3/11/20 and arrived on 3/13/20, a very fast delivery. It’s a good cedar flute kit with nice smell. The instruction is clear, informative, and easy to follow. However the way to make a gasket from the provided thin wood to put underneath of Block as air path is not easy for common people and NOT common in most of the type of flute. Most of them make the air path right underneath of the Block. Also it’s very hard to make a sound out of it, if possible. After having tried for three hours, a thin, tiny, and high pitch sound came out from strong blow. The short distance between mouthpiece and sound hole and small hole make the high pitch, I guess. There is NO instruction in how to make its sound hole singing. This is the hardest and most important part of the flute. The maker should test this and make sure it sounds before it leaves factory. Will study on it continuously and NOT to glue them together until it sounds properly.

I love my flute. It was not that difficult to build. I glued the halves together and wrapped them with electrical tape as per instructions. I added three or four spring loaded clamps to balance out the pressure required to fully engage contact to seal the flute body. After drying overnight , I machine sanded the flute with 220 D A paper. I finished sanding with 600 for a silky finish. I did not apply any finish, since that would mask or cover up the cedar smell. I made my own saddle or bird slightly smaller in height to accommodate a miniature crow that now stands on top of my flute. I have enjoyed playing my flute outside and am certain have attracted a peregrine falcon to the yard . I hope the flute playing will bring the falcon back for many future visits. I play it softly with my own native American style. I love it.....

Wonderful craftsmanship. Easy to assemble and a great sound.

I was excited about this item but when I received it it was missing the wooden gasket and the lether stampings. Not sure what happened in packaging but as of right now I am very unimpressed by this sale

First time buying and playing a flute. The assembly was fairly easy and straight forward until it came time to install the block. The instructions are not very clear on installing block and it could use pictures from different angles to show the correct orientation. It comes with a small thin piece of wood to make a gasket for the block. The dimensions given for the gasket are not correct and the material is very fragile. The gasket split into two pieces. After gluing the gasket back together I was able to determine the correct dimensions for the gasket and made one of plastic from an old credit card. The flute is assembled and makes sounds but not a rich, quality sound. I plan to make a new block that will not require a gasket and continue to tune the flute for better sound. For the price it really is not a bad deal if you keep in mind it is a kit and will require a little effort to get it right.Edit: sound is horrible. Sounds like a whistle definitely not in key of "c".

Junk, I should of returned it.