Making a 4 Hole Ocarina Experimentations in Wood Turning

Turning a 4 hole ocarina in the wood lathe. I have a little trouble at first finding the notes but in the end I work it out and have a two working pendant 4 hole ocarinas.

[charlietaylor]

Hey Rick! Great project! I have been making flutes and some ocarinas for years. One thing to note (!) is that even with PVC I almost never get exact sizes from the drill. So, the best thing to do is drill a little bit small and work your way up slowly with a file or narrow knife/scraper. I like your method of drilling out the hole pad with a taper for the small holes, but keep in mind that doing that lets the air flow more easily and sharpens the pitch. I recommend making the taper first, then drilling a way-too-small hole then sneaking up on the pitch. I love your channel!

[josiahsantiago]

I really appreciated that you showed the first attempt! I just started getting into woodworking and often get discouraged when my projects don't end up how I hoped they would. Mistakes are bound to happen, and it was very encouraging to see you learn from the first attempt and make the needed adjustments. Great video!

[paulwernichdesigns]

Great video, Rick! Really enjoyed watching your entire process and learning from you as you shared what you learnt along the way. Looking forward to creating my own version of this as soon. Thank you and all the best!

[uwemaurer]

Sehr Interessante Arbeit und zeigt mir auf welche Fehler ich bei meinem ersten Versuch gemacht habe . Danke für ihre Hilfe und das sie ihr Wissen mit uns Teilen !

[bigleafwoodcraft]

Thank you so much for making this video! I am in a long time musician which is my first love but a very close second love is wood turning and all I have ever wanted to do was invent instruments using the would lathe. This video has definitely Giving me some ideas so thank you very much again.

[daizamaker-jerrybraswell]

You can drill the hole on the lathe with a Jacob’s chuck on your tail stock

[bitterbaubles]

I like your "Lord of the Rings" flute tune! Nice work on your ocarinas.

[alainnoel]

I really enjoyed the experimental presentation of this project. For my ears, the 1/2 bore sounds better than the 5/8 bore. Great demo: I'll try doing one for my turning club.

[ricarfito]

Thank you very much for sharing the experience and your time, we will put it into practice, Greetings from Argentina

[rickhugill]

Can you predict what key you will begin with? I assume that the length of the bore hole is the determining factor. Nice work!

[klan]

I just had a crazy thought.. How about making the holes using the old Yankee hand drills?? I've got a bad habit of buying them whenever I see them at yard sales and believe me, everyone wants to just sell them off for next to nothing. One of the best scores I made on Yankee hand drills was a fishing tackle box that was FULL of Yankee bits. I mean for the small ones to the large ones, drill bits, flat head screwdrivers, phillips drivers, the works. I'd bet there are around 70 bits just in that box alone.

Here's a tip, if you ever see one for sale at a yard sale. pick it up and shake it. If it makes a rattling sound, that means there are bits in the handle.. Unscrew the knurled nut just below the handle, and the cover will slide down and there will be your prize, right inside the handle..

I've been amazed at watching people selling those things at yard sales, they watch me shake it and I usually don't open it if I hear the tell-tale rattle but, every now and then someone will ask "Why did you shake it??" and I tell them "To see if there are any bits inside the handle.." Then I unscrew the knurled nut and count the bits that are in there..

I give them a few bucks at most for it and walk away, checking back over my shoulder to see if they're still standing there with thier mouths open in amazement or not.

I often wonder how long they had those things and never looked into finding what was making the rattling sound..

[PartyInTheBack-]

Real talk, Your accent makes me smile! Can you say the word 'garage' more often? No offence intended. I1'm Canadian and get mad ridicule for my accent. lol

[fishingfourme]

Hi Rick, very nice video and what a nice sound, it reminds me of a North American flute or pan pipe. Do you think it might be easier to drill out the bore with the help of a chuck fitted into your tail stock? That way you would be able to drill horizontally and not have to block up the drill stand. Just as a bit of feedback, do you think that if you kept the bottom section straight with a removable plug so as to be able to add an extension. Just a thought. Bob UK..

[salemnaser]

Awesome work. I have one question : why you are making a close end whistle and not open end. Thanks.

[mfcpwoodworking]

Nice little project. I'm going to have to try that myself.

[sethwarner]

Good idea, marking the exact position in the lathe, for remounting. A hard lesson for me.

VERY nice!!! I have 6 grandsons and I want to make one for each!!! Gotta find those plans!!! Going to Texas to see them all for Christmas...

[andylongmore]

I carve as a hobby by hand, the only power tools I use is hand drill and pyro pen Its shame in the UK I can't get my hands on one of those to see if its possible to do with hand tools

[jkhippie]

can you change the key by adjusting the 4th hole ?

[pootnikalexander]

Put the holes on the opposite side or make it longer. The air going across the fipple is going into the tone holes and killing the sound.