The first flute Todd Aubertin ever acquired was nearly the most dangerous one.

After the Hopkinton resident traded an antler carving for a Native American flute at the Mount Kearsage Indian Museum about 10 years ago, he immediately wanted to try it out.

“Once I got it, I tried to play it and almost crashed on the drive home,” he said during a Sunday, July 20, discussion and demonstration of his handmade flutes at the New Hampshire Antiquarian Society in Hopkinton.

When Aubertin got home that day he sawed the flute he had gotten from a man named Lone Wolf in half to see what it was made of, and immediately fell in love with flute-making.

Aubertin said he has made flutes from woods his customers bring him, and also from things such as chair legs, pianos and countertops.

“I can make them out of anything that looks like it wants to be a flute,” he said. “Then, I sometimes find pieces of wood that don’t want to be a flute no matter what I do to them, and they make really neat smoke rings in my wood stove.”

Aubertin started making creations out of wood 16 years ago when he made a gift for his wife, and has continued to make and sell creations since.

The flutes sell starting at $350 and are usually made for each individual’s request.

Inside each instrument, Aubertin leaves his initials and a message such as love, friendship or world peace. Sometimes, the messages are able to to be seen, but sometimes they are hidden.

“I want to make it so when they are playing, the message will get out into the universe,” he said. “Hopefully, if I put enough of them out there, it will latch on someplace.”

Although Aubertin said he doesn’t perform often, he plays frequently, either in his backyard or taking his creations into nature to lose himself in the music.

“I have to be careful, because I could fall asleep with a flute in my hand, still playing it,” he said.

The flutes are appealing to animals, as Aubertin can call owls nearly every time, and he has even had a coyote approach him in his backyard while he was playing.

For Aubertin, the combination of creating and playing the flute is what makes his job most worthwhile.

“It’s being able to be proud of the flute’s look, and then to be able to sit and play is the icing on the cake in a big way,” he said.

Whenever the Hopkinton resident finds himself in need of a boost, he knows where to turn.

“I can heal whatever is not good in myself within five minutes with (my flute),” he said.