56
Ocarina airway the width of a popsicle stick (lemmy.nz)
submitted 3 weeks ago by Auster@thebrainbin.org to c/anythingbutmetric@discuss.tchncs.de
8 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Ocarina airway the width of a popsicle stick

#anythingbutmetric

Was reading how to make a wooden #ocarina out of curiosity and boredom, and I think the airway should be 1 cm? Seen popsicle sticks vary from 1 to 3 cm so far, including from a specific brand with varying widths in a same stick, and I don't see how more space would fit the mouthpiece.

Still, every other measure so far used a standardized unit, usually in inches and the sort, so the "Popsicle stick" unit caught me by surprise. e.e"

Sauce of the article:
https://www.instructables.com/How-To-Make-A-Wooden-Ocarina/

top 8 comments
sorted by: hot top new old
[-] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 14 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Loosey goosey instructions like that lead me to think it's not that important. And he gives you measurements, 7/16ths thick one drill bit below an 1/8th (I guess a mm), and a popsicle stick is about a 1/2" wide. Don't over think it. Put away your micrometer. I'm sure the whole thing becomes "fiddle with it till it sounds good".

[-] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 4 points 3 weeks ago

7/16 is about 4/8, not 1/8.

[-] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 weeks ago

🧐

Lol! You're not wrong! Oops!

[-] Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world 11 points 3 weeks ago

Fucking 7/16. Totally normal way to measure stuff right people. Yeah just gimme that 17/32 drill bit please.

Statements dreamt up by the utterly deranged

[-] Omega_Jimes@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 weeks ago

I was rebuilding an old rollercoaster, and i had to buy a bunch of weird things. My favorite was the 33/64 Forstner bit. It lets the carriage bolts sit juuuust right, but if you screw it up theres no wiggle room.

[-] Contramuffin@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

For the record, the reason they say that is because many ocarina makers just use a popsicle stick to make the airway of their ocarinas. The exact width of the airway is actually less relevant than the thinness of the airway, as well as its connection to the fipple (the sound window). No need to make precise measurements with fancy instruments when a popsicle stick works just fine.

Source: was an ocarina collector for many years, am generally familiar with how clay ocarinas are made

[-] fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

What actually is a popsicle?

[Edit] I looked it up. It's the American word for Ice Lolly (or an Ice Block or Ice Pole in the antipodes)

So they mean Ice Lolly Sticks, and I guess the common flat ones with rounded ends, rather than the round ones or the ones sort of shaped like a double-ended spoon.

[-] kbal@fedia.io 3 points 3 weeks ago

Sure everyone knows what popsicle sticks are, you can by them at any crafts store. But few remember the popsicle itself, the extinct species of flightless bird from whose leg bones popsicle sticks were traditionally carved. Today the sticks are usually made of wood instead.

this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2026
56 points (85.0% liked)

Anything But Metric

814 readers
1 users here now

Americans will use anything but metric

The Rules:

  1. Posts must be a screenshot, crosspost, or link to someone using a bizarre unit of measurement (33 lanes wide, as heavy as 10 semi-trucks, etc.)

  2. Standard units are not allowed, unless it's a sufficiently bizarre usage of the unit (this is up to mod discretion.)

  3. Intentionally terrible units are completely fine! Satire is welcome here

  4. Curses are fine, slurs are not. If there are slurs in something you want to post, please blur them, or reconsider posting.

  5. Flag NSFW content as such. NSFW words in these posts don't need to be censored.

  6. Post titles should be just the unit of measurement used (not the thing being measured!), and should be the full name of the unit (Apples and Bags of Apples imply very different things!) NSFW units should be partially censored. If there are multiple units, list as many as you want. If the source is satire, the title should start with [Satire]

  7. In the comments be civil, both to each other AND the subject of posts.

Mod Policy:

founded 2 years ago