Having been looking at many flutes in the last few months, it seems that many I’ve tried were dried out from having sat around and from not being played for years. I imagine some of the flutes that sounded completely off, i.e. could not produce a deep full sound on any note, had loose or misaligned corks. A local store, the only store carrying wood flutes in the area, I believe just let’s their flutes sit on the rack for months, maybe longer with little oiling or maintnance. A Dave Williams I tried there, one of their best flutes, had a silver ring falling off and the main tenon was completely loose; it sounded OK but I was very wary due to its condition. I tried a Healy flute from a different source, which I returned, that also had been sitting for awhile (years, perhaps) and had a choked soft sound. So, I wonder how damaging is it to a wood flute to let it dry out and not play over a long period time. Can a flute be re-humidified and brought back to 100% (or close to), or is it permanently altered/damaged? And what’s the best way(s) to resuscitate a flute dying of desiccation?
Watch out for warped flutes there, also. The flute will re-hydrate, usually without many problems. You can put it in a plastic container, with a sponge in a bag and the flute will suck up all the needed moisture. The idea is to hydrate the whole flute, not just the inside of the flute, when you play.
Better idea to just get a fresh flute from one of the makers, like Casey Burns, or go to Doc Jones site, chocked full of good flutes. 
Oh, man, this could be your lucky opportunity!
That is, provided a flute is not cracked or otherwise visibly damaged, you could argue for a very serious price discount, on the basis that the particular flute being sold obviously cannot be played (as in, just what sort of worthless junk could this be?). Of course, loose rings can always be put back into place, especially just before the wood has been swollen back into place by re-humidification, hehe!
Lucky dog, you!
To be honest, Jon, this is more of a hypothetical question. I just bought one of your delrin Rudall hybrids from Doc, the one you just made adjustments to. It’s playing great by the way. Looking forward to eventually posting a clip (next expense–digital recorder).
One of the reasons I bought a delrin flute was my phobia of wood cracking, shrinking, changing (plus all the wood flutes I tried that seemed like clunkers to me, either bad tone or bad intonation or both). I guess that’s part of the charm. I’m sure I’ll go back to wood in the future and it’s good to know that even long-term neglect can be reversed.
Jason
opps! Another blatant attempt at advertising… No, it is just short term memory loss! 
If you want a clunker, buy a nice old antique! At least they have more character…
No!
Get a microphone, a set of speakers or headphones, and then get a more recent model Apple/Mac computer, complete with Garage Band app.
Then, simply kiss other recorders goodbye, and hello, Internet!
A PC will work also, just plug into the sound card, get a audio program, and away you go…
Since when?
Go Mac!
Computers of whatever brand aren’t terribly portable, even laptops - not at all ideal for field/session recording. An MD or portable mini digital recorder of some kind is a far better investment unless all you want to do is record yourself at home. Sure, getting a mic and using the sound card of your computer plus editing/file transfer software will let you sort out clip posting, and clearly our man already has a computer! - but maybe that is not all he wishes to be able to do?
At home is the only place I’d ever record myself.
If you have a PC, audacity works. You might even be able to record right into your computer’s built-in mic without extra equipment. That’s what I do with my Mac. It’s not studio quality, but good enough for myself and you guys.
Whatever setup you use, mac or pc, or even something else, be sure that you get the best mic that you can afford. Something like a good condenser mic. The cheesy things that you buy for skype and speech don’t do anything good for your recording. It’s tough to sound good, but it’s easy to sound bad with poor equipment, and the microphone is often the best place to upgrade your sound quality.
Really, you are right about portability. Computers are much too clumsy to transport, at least.
Here’s what I have: Zoom H4. It runs on 2 AA batteries, records to SD, and you can either stick the SD card in your reader if your computer has one, or use a USB cable. I got mine on Ebay last year and it came bundled with a tripod and a 2GB SD card for about $100 less than the Edirol. I see that Zoom has a new model out since I got mine. It’s been great so far. The only thing that I can think of is that it doesn’t have the ability to date stamp the files.
Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement to get the equipment to post clips. Went ahead and got a cheap PC mic and recorded a couple tunes on Audacity. Seemed to work OK, though I think the mic either takes out some of the “chiff” from the sound of the flute (what exactly is chiff anyways???) or just isn’t sensitive enough to pick up the overtones and such. But I think they turned out OK. Let me know you think if you do take a listen.
Jason