I’m scheduled to receive my wooden Pakistani flute tomorrow according to the folks at Airborne Express. It will likely come while I’m at work, and I’m a bit worried that the high for tomorrow is expected to be only 20 degrees.
If the flute isn’t warmed up quickly, will it be fine sitting out in the cold until my wife can bring it in? It would likely only sit for a couple of hours at most…
The cold should not hurt it. Terry McGee has done tests bringing flutes to extremely low temperatures. The trick is to let it warm up gradually. When you bring it inside let it sit, still in it’s box, for a couple hours. After a few hours take it out of the box and put it somehow not too hot and not too cold, like the closet for instance. After a couple more hours it should be more than fine to give it a go.
Thanks Chris. I was hoping that would be the answer. Granted, it’s probably a piece of junk, but I didn’t want to crack it or be blamed for cracking it and not be able to return it if need be. I just saw that David Migoya has his McNeilly flute for bid over on eBay and it’s currently not much more than my el-cheapo one coming tomorrow…maybe I’ll have to send it back so I can bid on his flute!
It would be good to oil the flute as soon as you can after you receive it. I believe that low humidity is the main cause of flutes cracking during the winter months. The air inside a heated house in winter can be very dry. Oiling will retard moisture loss and also reduce the amount of shrinkage.
Dave Copley
Loveland, Ohio
On a related note, I’m expecting Hammy Hamilton to ship me a flute any day now. I’ve been wondering if the many changes in climate the instrument will go through are likely to cause cracking. Going from wet, temperate Ireland, to below zero at 30,000 ft, to relatively cold and dry conditions on the US east coast can’t be optimal. Anything I should do, other than what’s already been suggsted here, to prevent disaster after a 10 month wait?
Craig,
I was wondering if using a humidifier would be a good idea during the winter?
Has anyone done this to safeguard their flutes from cracking?
Prunci’s concern worried me too. I have just received a flute from Ireland via aircourier and it arrived jetlagged but just fine. The sender had wrapped each section in absorbent paper, placed all in a wooden box, bubblewrapped the box with several layers and enclose the whole lot in a roll of corrugated cardboard.
I don’t know Ireland’s current temperature and humidity numbers but here in NZ at the start of summer we are seeing aroound 23 to 25 degrees C and between 49 and 52% humidity inside the room where I am keeping the flute.
[ This Message was edited by: WarrenF on 2002-12-03 16:33 ]
I’ve shipped and received flutes from all parts of the world, and if you just ship them wrapped, airtight, in ziplocks or plastic wrap, then the lower humidity in the airplane won’t cause water loss. If care is not taken in shipping, once the package lands on the ground in a very humid environment, imbalances can cause cracks. Radical and quick changes in humidity cause cracks; temperature is not a huge contributor.
Just wrap okay before shipping, and you’ll be fine. Go slow on the playing a newly arrived flute too. No worries.
I received a Rose blackwood whistle through the mail from its original owner, and it was warped. After a few weeks in a humidor, it was fine. I sent it to someone else, and it was warped again. It’s in a humidor now, and I suspect it will be fine again in a few weeks. I’ve sent and received many wooden whistles, and this is the only time it’s happened. The only thing I could come up with is it must’ve happened on a plane, but it may not even have flown on the last trip (only 300 miles).
Using a humidifier is a great idea. I use a warm-mist humidifier in the room where all my flutes are kept, set at about 55% and I have three humistats in different parts of the room measuring humidity. The best room in a house, I’ve found, is a basement (finished if possible), north or east side of the house where least sunlight is. In Colorado, humidity can get down to 5 or 10% in the winter. In the summer, my basement flute room naturally is at about 65% humidity. Great for flutes. In winter, it keep at 55% with the humidifier going.
Temperature is not a factor by itself, but temperature does affect humidity. Colder temperature, drier air.
Some folks use Damp-Its inside their flutes or flute cases to keep moisture there. I prefer this over the sponge or wet towel in the plastic bag deal. Less chance of mold.
The maker of Damp-Its used to make them for me special for wood flutes, but we’ve stopped, so find the clarinet ones. Those will work fine.
Also, a good case is a God-send for moisture retention. Some people place their flutes into large plastic bags. I think that’s silly and looks worse, but hey, if it works.
The Doskocil cases I’ve been using lately are terrific for retaining moisture. I use them only for when I take flutes outside.
Go a step further and get the airtight Pelikan cases (I use one large one as a gig case). They’re expensive, but do the job for sure!
David Migoya
Fyfer Restorations
Home of the Rudall & Rose Worldwide
Catalogue Project
http://www.RudallRose.com
[ This Message was edited by: David Migoya on 2002-12-04 01:21 ]