Hi all. Have an issue here. My keyed flute is stuck! The barrel and body are now inseparable.
I had the top tenon recorked by a local music tech. Put it together and maybe played an hour. After that it wouldn’t come apart. I haven’t tried twisting or forcing it as it is very tight. I’ve left it alone.
I suspect that the cork has expanded too much.
I have played this wooden flute daily for the last 3 years so i don’t think it could be the wood .
If it is indeed the cork does anyone have any ideas how i can get it to shrink?
remove the head piece, dry all the inside of barrel/right hand piece with kitchen paper. once you’ve dry out all you can, leave it in the mosty dry room you have (but obviously not near a fire place). wait as much as you can resist, than try again.
I would do what Francesco (Radcliff) just advised and I would add to try and resist any hard twisting. Instead I would try first to grab the barrel where is meets the body so that your clenched fist overlaps the barrel and the body and smack it into the other hand like you are clapping. The fist part should protect the flute and I would do this a few times. It should walk the body out of the barrel or at least get it started. I learned this from separating Shakuhachi flutes that are even more delicate being made of bamboo.
Hi all, and thank very much for suggestions and advice! The event happened yesterday morning (here in NZ). I’d already swabbed out what I could by removing the headjoint from the barrel, not wanting it to soak in more water, and it was sitting the whole day and overnight.
After reading the replies, I followed Radcliff’s advice first, and took the headjoint off and set it down carefully might I add! Last thing I want is a dented piece of metal … It took some effort, and I used a rubber glove, but with some negotiation, it came off. Point to note that it was easier to twist it with the headjoint removed than without.
I then greased it again to reassemble (to check for fit), and it could only go halfway. Following dunnp’s advice, sanded the cork down until it was comfortable. Not too loose either, as I know it compresses over time.
Hoping this doesn’t happen again in the future. Next time I’ll think twice about assembling + moisture if it feels too tight. Tempted to try threading next time.
Good,
but still I’d advice you more: sand that cork a bit more than a confortable level (you can always later add some wax if needed) as the tennons must work very easily when the flute is dry, and work perfectly while (and after) you play it. Every flute player should try to avoid any strees to their flute’s wood as much as they can!
Just sand the cork some, and make sure to use cork grease on the tenon before putting it together. That is why I prefer thread to cork, what is probably happening, the end grain on the tenon is drawing in moisture, or the socket is swelling. If it is the tenon, you can seal the end grain with some CA glue.