I know that flutes are generally disassembled between uses, so this isn’t usually an issue.
But a lot of people keep a flute assembled for easy access, especially the PVC and delrin ones. This can tend to compress cork tenon joints over time, but is it also an issue for wrapped (e.g. yarn) tenon joints?
Once compressed, is there an easy fix, or must they be rewrapped/recorked?
Add extra wrapping of thread. For corks, add teflon tape.
Personally, I do not recommend heating or steaming corks in an attempt to expand them.
Loren
Actually, I’ve got Teflon tape on one of my thread-lapped flutes…
M
Yup, that works too, if you don’t mind the “look” of it. Helps keep the thread from coming unwound as well. Just gotta be careful not to add too much - joints slide on more easily with teflon tape, making them seem “looser” than they are, and since thread doesn’t compress much past a point, one can crack a socket more easily by over wrapping a thread lapped joint than a corked joint. This is particularly true on the uppermost tenon, which tends to expand more than any other tenon during extended play, due to moisture absorption.
Also, teflon tape can lock moisture into the threads, occasionally causing mold problems, depending on the thread.
Loren
So, I’m taking it that it’s not a terrible thing to leave a thread-wrapped tenon flute assembled and ready for use, as long as it’s swabbed dry? (I’m thinking delrins and my Sweetheart blackwood F).
No big deal at all for a synthetic flute.
With the blackwood flute, I wouldn’t recommend leaving it together constantly, however it’s up to you to weigh the risk of damage (unlikely but possible) vs. the benefit of leaving the flute assembled.
Loren
It’s so easy to take it apart…
I don’t like to risk it.
M
Bryan byrne told me there would be no difficulty leaving his
flute assembled once it is dried. It’s blackwood, thread bound. But I err
on the side of taking flutes apart. However I am certainly
willing to leave it assembled during the day for a good while
so that I can pick it up and play it.
What advice other makers
would give I can’t imagine. I think Casey B positively opposes
it.
I try to place the Byrne in a vertical position in between playing so that it can drain. Its assembled most of the day, dissassembled at night.
I expect a good number of us, myself certainly, are pretty
careless of Sweetheart flutes–but I’ve never had a bad
consequence. Personally I don’t much worry about them.
Tough cookies.
How long does it take to put a flute together - two seconds? And you’re also saying “as long as it’s swabbed dry”, so I’m assuming you realize you need to take the flute apart in order to thoroughly swab it dry. Otherwise, how are you going to get the moisture out of the tenon sockets? So it sounds to me like you’re saying “Is it okay for me to save two seconds whenever I want to play by re-assembling my flute right after I swab it out rather than waiting until the next time I want to play it?” If that’s really your question, then I suppose the answer would be yes, it’s okay to do that. But again I have to ask: How long does it take to put a flute together, anyway? How does it hurt you to have to wait those two extra seconds before you can play your flute?
Bottom line: If you have a wooden flute, you need to take it apart and swab it out after every playing session. It’s also a good idea to store a wooden flute inside a case or other container when not in use, to avoid having it roll or get knocked off the table or shelf, which could end up in it getting cracked or chipped. Most flute cases and containers are set up to store the flute in the unassembled state, so that says to me that you should be taking your flute apart and storing it unassembled, unless you have some sort of custom-made case.
If you have a delrin flute, you can pretty much do whatever you want with it. Those things are “indestructible”. But then again, that’s the same thing they said about CDs when they first were introduced, and how’d that work out? Myself, I’d worry about mold if I never swabbed out a delrin flute, among other things. Again, how long does it take to put a flute together anyway?
Also, in many cases, there’s the very real danger of having your wooden flute crack during the dry months, if you don’t store it in some sort of container that, even if not humidified, will at least help retain a portion of whatever moisture you’re putting into the instrument by playing it daily, thus slowing the loss of moisture from your flute. Best to have a container that maintains the instrument at the proper humidity, but that’s another subject.
Loren