One of my friend got a new Hamilton keyless last winter.
She was so happy to receive such a gorgeous flute, but with little knowledge of breaking-in, she kept on playing the flute for a while…
She got a crack on the head .
She was very sad, so she had a local flute maker to have it repaired.
Now she has learnt what is breaking-in, and she re-started to playing the flute more carefully than before.
Now it has been almost 8 months since the arrival of the flute, however, the crack doesn’t seem to stop opening…
I’m sorry your friend has had so much difficulty with her new flute. It should be broken in slowly. Hammy Hamilton’s woods are stabilized pretty well both before and throughout the construction process. Mine spent a considerable time as a block of wood with a hole in it.
I can’t tell you what is the best way to stabilize the crack she has currently, particularly not knowing the environmental conditions it is being subjected to. I would suggest contacting Hammy Hamilton for advice, either for your repair person, or to see if he would like to receive the headjoint back for his own repair treatment.
Hi,
Is the head lined? What kind of wood is it?
First thought would be to have her contact Hammy Hamilton and see what can be done for it. I don’t think flute makers like to have there flutes out there cracked or badly repaired…
What probably needs to be done is to have the liner removed and ream out the bore and reglue the liner. There is pressure on the crack from the wood shrinking over the liner.
I think the head is not lined or half-lined. I couldn’t see the tube from the embochure hole. The wood is African Blackwood.
I advised her to contact with Hammy, too. However, as we are living in Japan, maybe she doesn’t want to pay for the shipping cost + repair fee so much.
It is kind of pitty to see the new flute in such a bad condition…
.