Well, the head on my hamilton just cracked. It’s not in the worst location as it’s opposite the embouchure side and at the end where the liner is. Strange, there has been plenty of humidity in New England lately and when that drops below 60% i always move the flute to a tupperware box with a sponge, adjusting the lid as needed to keep the humidity right.
Anyhow, I read on this page here http://www.hmtrad.com/catalog/articles/olwellcare.html (at the bottom of the page) that i should wrap a string or a rubber band around it before calling the ambulance but i can’t see how a tightly wound string will help with the metal liner on the other side of the wood. Would just increasing the humidity be enough to prevent the fissure from advancing and maybe a deftly placed hose clamp over some fabric or rubber to help stabilize it until a repair can be made?
slowly humidify it (large zip lock w/tater or apple & air)
yep, it is like closing the barn door after the cow has gone
This is fall, we’ve turned the heat on. The humidity level in the house has dropped. (not by much given I’m running it at 64F and the rain just slowed a few days ago and it looks like we will not flood yet.)
rings falling off is another sign that you needed to do something weeks ago.
Jem, I’d think that you would have an annual service announcement regarding this seasonal phenomena.
The humidity here in the Boston area has been down (in general) by about 20% over the last 4-6 weeks - as the temps drop from the summer highs lows to where they have been the humidity plummets. My flute and guitar humidifiers have been drying out much quicker and my hygrometers confirm the lower humidity. 20% change is easily enough to cause cracks.
I’d re-humidify the flute first and see how much the crack closes. You could attempt to bind the headjoint the way Olwell binds cracks, but you need non-stretch material for that and some skill.
If you want a good glue repair done on the crack locally, shoot me a PM.
And whatever you do: DO NOT PUT ANYTHING IN THE CRACK. Don’t try to fill it, don’t try to clean it, these things will only make a good repair more difficult to achieve.
I’ve already begun to re-humidify beginning at 57% which is the current air humidity in my room. I’ll try and bring it up slowly but to what % of humidity?
Yep, it was way up during the hurricane! I’m using a sponge to humidify but i like your idea so much I’m going to put an apple in there too. Will a golden delicious be sufficient or are there more preferable varieties?
too early for real floods! This is the saturate everything from the glaciers to the sound stage! Then it gets cold and starts snowing… Even here at 200 feet above sea level (ah, for a few days…)
And then it shifts back the other way! Warm and wet.
Great farm land! This has actually been going on since before the Missoula Floods
Right now t looks like a surface crack, so humidifing it and then using superglue and Blackwood dust might fix it. The problem, if it is lined and the wood has shrunk, it will never return to it’s previous dimension. I usually just pull the sleeve and sand the bore some and reglue it. I sand most off the walls opposite the embouchure, to avoid losing chimney hight.
In California, the humidity will drop to 15%, then it is time to get sponges and plastic containers for all the flutes! I don’t start worrying until it drops to 40%
The head is half lined and the crack extends to about 1 cm before the edge of the lining. Doesn’t that mean the dimension has only changed over the lining and therefore does not affect the dimension of the bore?
Tell him the serial number of your flute (which is located under the headjoint cap) and ask for his advise on what to do. He’s great at responding to these types of issues and will have some tips on how to handle your situation.
Would that be “this seasonal phenomenon” or “these seasonal phenomena”?
As for the rest, it wouldn’t have occurred to me - it’s not really an issue in damp, dank Wales, or GB generally. I do notice some of my flutes’ joints getting a little looser when the central heating is on a lot, but I’ve never had a flute crack spontaneously like that in GB. The only time it has happened to me was in the summer in southern Spain - different altogether.
As Monkeymonk notes, there was plenty of humidity. This doesn’t seem to be due to too little humidity.
Maybe there was a flaw in the wood. Contacting Hammy and giving him the details and asking for
advice really does
seem a good idea.
’ Strange, there has been plenty of humidity in New England lately and when that drops below 60% i always move the flute to a tupperware box with a sponge, adjusting the lid as needed to keep the humidity right.’
Just doesn’t sound like a dryness problem, you see.
Unlined heads are very hard fix…it could be cracked from hoop stress, where the head joint was wet on the inside and dry on the outside, causing a surface check int the outer layer of the wood. It is the same sort of repair, you pull the partial liner, bore out the wood and reglue. If the crack goes all the way through, might be better to turn a new head Joint…
Just noticed this thread. I’m abroad and maybe Moneymunk has already mailed me. I’ll be back in the workshop on Monday. Ironically I’m giving a repair and maintenance workshop in Copenhagen, where interiors are incredibly dry and warm.
Anyway, if you get the flute to me I’ll sort it out quickly.
BTW in my experience, gluing cracks doesn’t work in the long term.
For the moment, just put a strip of electrical tape over the crack…and keep it damper than 57%. 65-70 would be more like it.
Hammy
Thanks Hammy, and thanks to everyone for your knowledgeable advice. a couple of things i left out might help to clear up why this happened.
the head joint is almost 10 years old
i had been bringing it to work with me off and on the past two weeks where the atmosphere is artificial and often drier than the outdoors.
when i got the flute in February the rings were loose and i did not start humidifying until March. Once i started to humidify the rings tightened up again and have been tight ever since. I never had a problem until yesterday.
Very important: I swab out the head with a silk flag and usually leave it in there for 1-2 minutes to absorb any extra moisture. I was practicing late on Friday, the day before it cracked and forgot and left the damp swab in the head overnight.
This last part may account for the hoop stress Jon spoke of.
but i can’t see how a tightly wound string will help with the metal liner on the other side of the wood. Would just increasing the humidity be enough to prevent the fissure from advancing and maybe a deftly placed hose clamp over some fabric or rubber to help stabilize it until a repair can be made?
