UGLY BOY FLUTES

These are flutes made with unusual or special woods and which may have additional artwork either in the blocks, inlays, construction, etc. They all have finish, come with a basic protective polarfleece bag, as well as a basic information sheet and fingering charts. (Click on “FLUTES” above)

News and Updates

MAY 11, 2026

SHADOW HAWK FLUTES

This line of my flutes makes the quality and clarity benchmark “Ugly Boy Sound” affordable to even tight budgets. All flutes are made with Poplar, and have been sanded to 800 grit with one coat of Buther Block oil applied. They do not come with a bag or information sheet, but the sound mechanisms are made identical to higher-end Ugly Boy Flutes. (Click on “FLUTES” above)

For the life of me I canNOT find my Zoom recorder, hence no updated sound samples. Apologies! I have looked high and low, and it’s one of those items that should be in just a couple of places, “should” being the operative word. In my DMV work, I was sent to Franklin, NC a couple of weeks ago, and there is a modest wood supply store (just wood, no tools), and usually there isn’t anything too fancy, but they did have a wood I’d never heard of before: Beli (bay-lee), from Africa. While it is said this looks a bit like Zebrawood (which I’m not real wild about), this is more subtle with it’s myriad darker lines. The piece I bought was enough for two flutes, and the first one is finished: a G4, with an Apricot sweeptail block. It glues and works well, and took finish very nicely. I haven’t yet voiced the remaining Beli flute, but if it’s not G4 it’s within a half-step, guessing. To the left is the only picture I have of it at the moment, so I’ll try to at least get it photographed this evening or early Tuesday morning. (as with all images on this site, click to enlarge) If you’re not a ‘morning’ person, I’m your worst nightmare. I’ll wake up without an alarm anywhere from 2am-4am and after coffee get to work accomplishing something other than getting depressed over much of the news. I put the final voice tweaks on Beli #1 so it’s ready to take wing. The E5 figured Chechen baby drone had some interest, and while it is long gone, I glued up two more that will be similar. The top one will be either a D5 or an E5, at just under 14” long. It’s made of what I call “clear” cedar in that it has no knots whatsover, just pure cedar. If you are someone allergic to cedar or hate the smell, this flute is not for you. :-) The one below it will probably fall into the F5 category, a bit shorter, made out of nicely figured Maple that should finish up beautifully To the left is figured Chechen in Ab4 (A flat) with a Black Walnut sweeptail (what I call my traditional sweeping tailed birds). Pictures don’t do this wood justice as there is a lot of figuring that changes as you move the flute around in light. Been a few years since I’ve worked with this wood, but I find it an easy wood to work, but only until it gets sanded down to 1,000 grit, and oil/finish applied, do you see the beauty. Ah, and yet another birth (3rd) in my recent puchase of Spalted Tamarind boards. This Bb4 came from a heavily spalted piece…these boards require a VERY long process to stabilize the wood throughout as it is soft and porous with the spalting. After about a week of treatment, it’s ready for working/finishing the flute, and the results are always stunning. The higher price in only part is the wood, but also the $ in supplies needed to stabilize the wood (and the lengthy time). I only use non-toxic and food-safe materials, so no issues with safety. I always make sure of that. # # # I’m doing my best to stay on top of the MOUNTAINOUS emails full of too much spam, but if you don’t hear from me in a timely manner please gently nudge me again. The amount of emails is stupid, and building constantly…I clear out up to 200 junk emails every day, and heaven forbid a skip a day or two. Eegads… Browse and enjoy! Email with any questions. Bob Child weatherflute@yahoo.com