Advanced maker layout

Flute Calculator

This calculator estimates the acoustic playing chamber, blank length, finger-hole centers, hole edges, drill sizes, and tuning warnings. Use it as a shop layout assistant, not as final tuning authority.

Design inputs

0. Material / build medium

Material does not change the target note. It changes how reliably the flute reaches that note.

The air column — bore, chamber length, hole position, wall thickness — drives pitch. Material affects how cleanly those dimensions behave in the shop: bore smoothness, hole-edge sharpness, leak risk, and expected tuning cleanup. Presets adjust the correction factors below, not the acoustic formula itself.

Material / build medium

Choose a starting profile. The preset fills the advanced correction fields below. Override any value after measuring the actual blank.

No preset applied.

1. Key and tuning

Flute key / root note

Tuning reference A4, Hz

Intentional pitch offset, cents

Expected breath pressure bias, cents

Room temperature, F

Relative humidity, percent

2. Tube, bore, and sound hole

Bore at sound-hole end

Bore at foot end

Default wall thickness

True sound-hole center from north end

Slow-air chamber allowance

Extra foot/end trimming allowance

Foot end correction, bore diameters

Sound-hole correction, inches

Maker calibration length bias, percent

Primary units

3. Scale, finger holes, and drill strategy

Scale / hole pattern

Default final finger-hole diameter

Starting drill undersize, percent

Hole chimney correction factor

Minimum center spacing warning

Maximum comfortable span warning

4. Per-hole optional overrides

Leave blank to use the defaults above. Positive cents means sharp. Negative cents means flat. The chimney correction assumes perpendicular holes. Angled burning (diagonal rod press) reduces effective chimney depth on the undercut face and will raise pitch slightly relative to the calculated position — burn undersized and tune up as usual. See Method: hole-making methods.

Results

Hole	Target	Center from foot	Center from sound hole	Hole edges	Drill plan	Tuning note

Visual spacing guide

Relative spacing only. Use the table for measurements. Hole 1 is closest to the foot.

Shop caution

Use these values to mark and pilot drill only. Open holes gradually while checking with a tuner. Flat notes can usually be raised; sharp notes are difficult to repair.