The low C#/Cnat setup in my Williams needs cleaning: when I depress the C# key, the Cnat pad drops down too. It’s a post-mounted setup with what I believe are called needle springs. I’m not worried about taking it all apart as I’ve done that and reassembled it successfully long before; what I need to know are good cleaning solutions for cleaning out the tubular mounting shaft/fulcrum assembly; that’s where there seems to be some residue binding things up a bit. Could be polymerised almond oil. What to use? Rubbing alcohol? Dish detergent? Napalm?
Lock ease… There’s probably a gallon bucket at work, you need, maybe, two drops… apply with a toothpick. It will also help with any corrosion. (Don’t play near salt water, sail boating is hell on flute keys.) While you are back there WD-40 might be easy to find. There is a comercial key oil. I’ve used it on sewing machines also…
I cleaned out the metal post holes with rubbing alcohol and then used a drop of machine oil. You can soak the parts (not the pads of course) in rubbing alcohol for an hour and then clean out with a toothpick.
Eric, It sounds, to me, like the double pipe, single axle, with no post between the two pipes problem. It may be that just taking it apart will cause a piece of whatever to fall out so that the two pipes don’t bind anymore.
Or it could be that the screw is too tight causing them to bind.
If that doesn’t work…try toothpicks & alcohol
If that doesn’t work…take it to a good flute repair person…It is a common enough problem and shouldn’t take more that a few minutes with the right tools…and magnifying lens.
I talked to a clock repair craftsman once who claimed it was perfect for the do-it-yourselfer – the clock would work wonderfully for a month or two and then it would seize up, and the owner would have to bring it to him for a thorough overhaul!
No, the mechanism’s not screwed too tight; that’s the player’s condition. Pints take care of that.
It’s definitely gunk of some sort. It’s been years since the keywork has had any attention needed. Good suggestions and caveats, everyone. If there are any more ideas, please suggest away! I won’t be tackling this right away, so the bigger picture I get, the better.
Cleaned it up last evening. The C#/Cnat thingum wasn’t made to come apart (at least so far as I could tell, and it wasn’t for lack of trying), so I worked the pad seat arms around on their axis to start the loosening process, and then laid it down in a saucer of rubbing alcohol with the pads sticking up away from the liquid; the C# pad arm was rotated to a position at about 90 degrees to the Cnat for balance’s sake. I just let everything soak for about 15 minutes and hoped for the best, and when I took it out of the alcohol and dried it off, everything worked very smoothly, just like new.
It was a good moment to clean the keys on my block-mounted stick, too, heh.
