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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Wondering if anyone here knows where to find specs on blowhole dimensions ,failing that if any of you have calipers could in your sparetime measure the heith ,width and diagonal dimensions in mm and send it to me along with your model of headjoint .I recently started recutting blow holes on cheap headjoints and would like some specs .No rush here its a side journey and experiment.E-mail [email protected]
 

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I use 11.8 x 10.2 with about 12.1 for the diagonal as a good starting point. The more severe the over and undercut, the smaller the hole should be. Never undercut the front side of the riser. Thus, if using a hole that is 12.5 long, you really can't over/undercut.
 

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Discussion Starter · #5 ·
I use 11.8 x 10.2 with about 12.1 for the diagonal as a good starting point. The more severe the over and undercut, the smaller the hole should be. Never undercut the front side of the riser. Thus, if using a hole that is 12.5 long, you really can't over/undercut.
Could you elaborate what you mean by over or under cut?
 

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selmer 26 nino, 22 curved sop, super alto, King Super 20 and Martin tenors, Stowasser tartogatos
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There are a number of factors in play here. There are the dimensions of the embouchure hole at the top, but that is only the beginning. Very important is the chimney height (so called high wall and low wall) both in front and in back. Then there is the angle of the walls. The chimney is not just straight up and down, but there is a curve in the front, meaning that the hole in the flute body is actually not the same size as that at the top of the lip plate, it is larger. Some head joints also has an angle in the back wall, and some, such as the Cooper head, also have flaring chimney walls to the sides. These are all quite critical to the sound and response of the head joint, and they are interactive to some extent. So asking for the size of the blowhole is only one of a number of important measurements. The very best way to visualize this, rather than trying to take measurements with an assembled flute head, is to make a wax impression of the geometry of the chimney, from which you can take measurements of the top hole, the bottom hole, the height, angle and possible curvature of the chimney walls.

Whatever you do, make sure that there are no sharp edges in the final assembly, the only edge that should not be rounded is the top blowing edge. Make sure that the hole cut in the body does not have a sharp edge, as this will cause turbulence and seriously impair the performance of the head.
 

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I just use digital calipers and take 4 different measure ment ,width length,and both diagonals.
I still don't understand. Which points for length, width and diagonal (A and F are the widest points of the curves. B, C, D, E are where the curve starts to flatten out)?


..B____C
A (____) F
..D....E


Why would one diagonal not equal the other?
 

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Cutting is done only at A and F.
D to B and C to E are where I go about 10.2........A to F about 11.8 and D to C and E to B about 12.1 or a little more.
You really need the digital calipers for this. Also old student heads are enormous and can't be cut as they are at their limit.
 

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selmer 26 nino, 22 curved sop, super alto, King Super 20 and Martin tenors, Stowasser tartogatos
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My very favorite head joint, absolutely unequaled by any other that I have played, is a Cooper head on a Powell flute that was made for a few years in the 1980s in a collaboration between Cooper and Powell. The sides of the chimney are deeply undercut, and the rear part is quite low. I have never understood why other makers did not experiment with this.
 

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selmer 26 nino, 22 curved sop, super alto, King Super 20 and Martin tenors, Stowasser tartogatos
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Basically the undercut of modern heads keeps the top and bottom size similar to older heads with the middle of the riser curving in to increase velocity.
Worth mentioning that the angle of the front wall of the riser is generally 7 degrees, in my understanding. And there are distinct differences between low wall and high wall designs. Low wall is less resistant but with a weaker low register. But a huge amount concerning response depends also on the constriction curve of the head joint tube, and how that matches the design of the embouchure hole.

Acoustically speaking there is no velocity increase, as velocity is a locked function of the note being played, as jet timing has to match the frequency of the sounding note in order to sustain it, but there is a difference in how the air jet oscillation couples with the standing wave in the bore
 
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