Hi all–
I’ve been lurking here about 6 months and figured
it was time to get up my courage and say hello!
This group has been very helpful to me… for ex. I now know
something about the 1001 different ways to oil a wooden flute, and
can tell the difference between a cylindrical and parabolic
bore (I’m a prolix bore myself )
I’m especially grateful for all the discussions about different
flute makers. Cathy Wilde, Doc and others gave such glowing
praise to Copley-Boegli flutes that I contacted Dave…and…
the flute arrives next week!
It’s a D with a C “corps de rechange”, or as Doc calls it, a
“switchable bod”.
Pleased to e-meet you all, and thank you again for many
an evening of ITM wisdom, brow-furrowing brain-expanding
technicalities, and raucous hilarity. (I still have bruises from some
of the ROFLMAO moments!!!) There’s also a sense
here of camraderie and mutual teaching / learning that
is very inspiring. Many’s the time I’ve gotten off the computer
and picked up the flute, because I had to try out something
I’d just heard you guys discussing.
Carolu
edited twice to take it down a few notches on the giddyometer
Welcome Caroluna! Always bear in mind that everything you read here is a bald-faced lie. We get paid to say these things. And we’re not going to tell you which flute is the loudest, either.
Hello there, Carolu. I, too, am new to this forum.
My attention, however, is on your new wooden flute.
So, in addition to a copious oiling, while using a correct oil, and followed by a loving wipe down, as Cathy Wilde and others have already touched on, there is a very real requirement as to ever so gradually “break in” a new wooden flute, by playing it only a few moments on the first day, and only a moment more on the next day, etc.
After that, oil again, wipe down again, and enjoy!!
Hi Cork! – thanks for the reminder about the gradual break-in period.
I’ve enlisted the help of my husband and son. The plan is, I’ll set a timer,
play for the proper amount of time, and then when the timer goes
off they will join forces to drag me away from the flute kicking and screaming.
Hi Chaz! – We’re close to Columbia. I’m hoping to take part in one of the classes at the Baltimore Irish Arts Center
“Corps de rechange” – not to be confused with a corpse de rechange, which sounds like something from a murder mystery.
Possible title…F is for Flute???
Not to worry-- the guy who is making my flute (Dave Copley) is
very easy to talk to, and is answering all my questions about this.
When in doubt, talk to your Maker
Speaking of Dave Copley-- he wrote to let me know that my flute’s delivery date will be a bit delayed because he had an awful cold and
had to take a few days off. I told him that was no problem, but
would he please disinfect the flute before sending it to me. I suggested he do this by baking it in the oven and then boiling it in
water for a while.
Wood absorbs moisture. It’s important for wood to be exposed to moisture in a gradual, controlled way so it doesn’t absorb too much too quickly and expand and crack. Nerw flutes should be played 10 or fifteen minutes a day and swabbed out well for about the first week. Then you can add five or ten minutes a day the next week and so on. after that just play the thing at least a few times a week and it will be happy. Your flute maker will send you detailed instructions on this break in period with your new flute.
This is the conventional wisdom but I would suggest that this may not necessarily be in best interest of the owner. A new, lined flute head is the most prone section to cracking. I might consider playing the heck out of it (or at least expose it to a normal playing regime) just to see if it would crack. Perhaps it was made from a weak block or constructed in a manner which left considerable residual stresses. No, I don’t mean that one should leave the thing soaking over night. If it cracks, it goes back. Yeah I know, the flutemakers will be cussing me up and down.
Hi Dunno!
Cool about your new F
when does it arrive?
There have been some great discussions here about how to
break in a new flute, how to oil it, and why. When I used the
search function I found this
but there are a lot more I can vaguely remember but can’t
find right now. One was a very scary post about a flute with
humidity issues, cracking explosively at the headjoint just as
the person was playing it. They lived to tell the tale!
The impression I have gotten from hanging out here
is that having a wooden flute is a little like having a
low-maintainance pet. Ex. a turtle or something like that.
Given the right care it can live for hundreds of years, but
SOME regular care is essential.
There are so many opinions on exactly what care methods to
use, what breaking-in schedule, what kind of oil. When mine
arrives I’m going to go with exactly what Dave Copley says,
since he knows the details of the wood he’s working with.
This from the archives— Dave Copley wrote
Thanks for posting this information Terry. It lends support
to the idea that if you play a flute every day and keep it
in a reasonably airtight container, you don’t have to worry
too much about additional humidification.
I must, however, protest your use of baby oil. There are
many more humane alternatives available which don’t involve
squeezing innocent babies.
Terry McGee replies–
You have to remember I’m getting old, and babies are
easy to catch and don’t struggle much. My days of harvesting
emu oil are done.
Flutemakers themselves differ as to what constitutes a proper break-in, from the ten-minutes-a-day-and-gradually-more-and-more, to the “Oh, just play the feckin’ thing. If something cracks, it didn’t want to be a flute anyway and we’ll make another piece for you” camps.
I’m inclined to disbelieve that more playing is worse, as flutes need proper humidification more than they need oiling (if we’re talking blackwood and that ilk), and breath = humidity. Cracking of the head or barrel happens from drying out to a state beyond that in which it was made, not the opposite. This is personal experience, and fortunately those were only Pakistani flutes that I let go dry to learn this.
However: you still have to go with what your maker says, or you void your warranty. If you don’t care about that, knock yourself out. The main thing is to store it in such a way that the whole flute isn’t prone to drying out to the point of shrinkage and ferrules falling off.
Edited to add that the exploding flute story appears to have more about it than meets the eye. I suspect a dessicated flute being overplayed without someone taking the time to bring it to a good state of humidification first. New flutes wouldn’t be so dried-out as that, I expect. The general conditions your flutemaker operates in should give you a hint. For example, if it was made in lush conditions or in Ireland, I wouldn’t worry too much, but if it was made in the Australian outback, then yes, I’d take some care at first.
Hey, Nano!
After 6 months of learning from you, appreciating your subtle
and eloquent insights, and admiring you from a distance,…
(insert Obsequious Newbie Emoticon here!)
…I’m very pleased to meet you face-to-face.
(Um, yesterday I was making “cheeky” remarks behind-your-back,
as it were. Dark Side of the Moon thread)
Yes, I remember being very surprised that Dave C. seemed to
go more towards the liberal end of the spectrum. I’ll check with
him again this week though. He did mention that the humidity has
been very low in Ohio with the cold weather.
the exploding flute story appears to have more about it
than meets the eye
I vaguely remember it was a very complicated story…it happened
in a pub, too, didn’t it? So you have to take into account the PPM of
Guinness vapour along with everything else
I think this topic would be a great one for Mythbusters. Could Adam
and Jamie get the head-joint to crack so explosively that it does
some serious damage to Buster’s ambouchure?
I’ll bet you like to watch destructo-robot battles, too.
The thing about humidity, absorption, and desorption is that with flutes it’s best to have it controlled: for example, blowing into a flute doesn’t humidify it through-and-through. The embouchure opening, tenon ends, and the bore will be absorbing -and, thus, swelling - while the rest will not, and so that set of stresses is one way that overplaying a dried-up flute could cause a spectacular cracking. If the instrument has been gently allowed to rehydrate uniformly, then playing should never be an issue, normally.
On super-dry days I’ll still experience some exterior shrinkage after playing for a long while, but while annoying, I’m not too concerned as the greater volume of the wood is still hydrated. Best to get it back to its humidification setup soon, though, is my inclination.
If a flute goes from an environment that is 50% humidity to an environment that is relatively the same then I don’t see how playing it for long periods would introduce a harmful amount of moisture. Any flute that sits for a week unplayed will have about as much moisture as a new flute. No flute-maker would keep his shop – and his flutes – at a low humidity. Nor would a good flute-maker allow a flute to leave his shop unless he had spent some time playing it.
Flutes absorb and release moisture very slowly once a certain amount of moisture is in the wood- which will be the case with a new flute from nearly any workshop outside of a desert. You don’t want droplets of water sitting in a flute but you don’t want it to be totally dry either. That’s why I pull an oily silk through the flute after an hour or so. Cotton takes out both moisture and oil from the flute.
I’ve had many new flutes. I’ve played them without any worry, hours at a time, in sessions and at home. Too little moisture is a far greater problem than too much. So toot that flute and have a ball. Keep it oiled and keep it played and it will be happy.
This thread is very interesting, I’d like to share my experience with exploding flutes:
A cople of weeks ago I made bamboo flute… I drilled the soundholes, shaped the embouchure, put the cork in… and the flute played quite well, I was very happy with it , then I thought of tempering it… I had some experience working with bamboo because I used to make bows and arrows, the arrows from one piece of bamboo and in the bows as a backing, and I’ve always tempered it to make it stronger and better looking. But after I tempered the flute (it looked fantastic) and started playing it (I waited until it cooled) it suddenly “exploded”… not a big explosion but a very loud CRACK sound, and a crack appeared from the tip to the embouchure
I guess the wooden flutes are a lot more resistant than a thin walled bamboo flute, but since that day I care a bit more for my Burns mopane flute
)
There’s also a sense
I had some experience working with bamboo because I used to make bows and arrows, the arrows from one piece of bamboo and in the bows as a backing, and I’ve always tempered it to make it stronger and better looking. But after I tempered the flute (it looked fantastic) and started playing it (I waited until it cooled) it suddenly “exploded”… not a big explosion but a very loud CRACK sound, and a crack appeared from the tip to the embouchure 