Eaglewing flutes

A brief walk through the history of my development as a flute maker. This gallery presents a sampling of my earlier flutes.

Flutes available for purchase are on the Selling Now and Cedar Flutes For Sale pages.

Two early flutes in New Zealand Macracarpa, with Rimu blocks. To the rear, the block depicts our iconic NZ native bird, the Kiwi. The nests were created from model aircraft birch plywood. Leather tied with wood beads.

My original Waka Huia flutes, in NZ Rimu. The flute in the foreground has a waka (canoe) prow block Paua shell inlays. I dropped the Waka Huia name to avoid confusion with Maori traditional instrument-makers.

Waka prow design block in detail. The great Maori war canoes had magnificently carved prow posts, echoed in my stylised adaptation. With native Paua shell inserts.

New Zealand Macracarpa flute in F# minor, with native Rewarewa bird and turquoise inset. The finish was created by blowlamp, overlaid with clear gloss Minwax polyurethane. Another early flute, it has a beautiful voice and remains my go-to F# instrument.

Detail of the bird on the Macracarpa F# flute.

F# minor flute in Rewarewa (NZ native honeysuckle), with Rimu bird. Rewarewa has a bright, clear voice. The nest is created from birch plywood.

Marking a milestone

I created this F# flute for 96 year-old Catholic Brigidine Sister Helena of Palmerston North to celebrate her 75th year as a (now retired!) teaching Religious Sister in September 2019. The color bands all have meaning associated with Sister Helena's faith and vocation. For example, the white denotes sanctity and is the color associated with Saint Brigid of Ireland; the royal purple represents Christ the King. Sister Helena heard me playing my flutes during Mass at the city's Holy Spirit Cathedral and decided she would like to learn to play for herself. What a privilege to create a dedicated flute for this wonderful old saint.

A touch of solid colour

These two A minor Monterey pine flutes were an experiment in the use of block colour. They proved popular with family - notably by sister Maxene and my two youngest grandsons. I have also worked in solid green and purple and am happy to craft a flute in solid color finish for anyone so desiring.

eaglewing native american-style colored flutes

And by way of diversity...

I also play and make didgeridoos, crafting them from drifted willow gathered from North Island West Coast beaches near Palmerston North. These amazing instruments are an entire story on their own. While I do not hold didgeridoos in stock, I am happy to custom craft them for clients in the required key. There may be a wait of several weeks before orders can be filled. Prices by negotiation. The two pictured are in E and D respectively.

In the workshop - A good turn...

Where the magic happens ... my trusty (but not rusty!) Ryobi spindle lathe with a Monterey pine E minor flute turned and ready for the next stages of construction. All my flutes are created from two wood section blanks, with the SAC and main air chambers precision cut by router prior to the sections being carefully glued and clamped. Once dry, the blank is shaped with a spokeshave and then turned in the lathe.

Getting uptight...

The two halves of the Macracarpa flute blank clamped after being glued using Titebond 111 waterproof wood glue. Once the glue is dry, the blank will be shaped by spokeshave and turned in the lathe to achieve the correct external diameter.

Macrocarpa flute glued and clamped, ready for turning on the lathe.

Eaglewing Flutes available for purchase

Flutes now on sale

My flutes are popular and are being played around the world! The ones pictured here are now all sold, but I have left them up as examples of what I create. I now have fresh stocks of lovely Macrocarpa, native Totara, Monterey Pine, heritage Western Red Cedar, native Matai, Rimu and Beech flutes in a range of finishes. If you like what you see, please contact me to discuss your requirements. If I can't supply you out of existing stock, then I can custom-make a beautiful flute for you. Prices vary according to factors such as wood, key, finish etc, but are usually within the NZD200 - NZD400 range, p&p extra.