Wooden Flute by Dominic Allan

Here is my most beloved eight key wooden flute:

This flute was made by Dominic Allan (see his website)
It is his small-holed model in D made of blackwood with boxwood rings.

The flute is very beautifully made and of the highest standards of workmanship.
Due to the smaller hole sizes (hole 5 is 9mm) and bore it plays very easily and requires less breath, and has a very fast snappy response. It can be played quietly and also quite loud.
It has a good tone, perhaps a bit more focussed and crisp and less mellow than some R&R type flutes. The keys are easy to use and very well sprung. The bottom C is easy to play too.
Intonation is very good over both octaves, and it is easy to play into the third octave too.

All keys are made from nickel-silver and silver plated with a layer of gold to give a slight yellow shine. This combines very nicely with the boxwood rings. The key design is very ergonomic, all keys are easy to play (no pesky straight G# key!). The Cnat key works a charm with the side of the right hand first finger.

Foot joint with Eb, C# and C keys of modern ergonomic design.
To accomodate my large fingers Dominic shortened the C and C# touches a little, which gives me better space to work the Eb key.

The head is partly lined. The slide is nickel-silver with the outer part silver (plus gold) plated.

Bb, Cnat and G# keys.
Dominic did a few modifications, like the bend Bb key, to accomodate my fingers better. The body is recessed at the Bb and short Fnat touches, so the keys open better and give a better tone. The touches have a little pad of felt to prevent noisy keywork. The springs have a metal plate recessed in the body to avoid wear on the wood.

The Fnat combined keys and G# key-touch.
Dominic put an extra spring in for the long Fnat lever, to prevent it from moving loosely.

The sockets have metal rings underneath the decorative boxwood for strength.