Hi, I’m new to the forum, and I recently just got my first flute with threaded tenons. Is it fine to use Vaseline for the grease?
Haddon
Probably OK in a pinch but cork grease is a much better product, and easier to apply from the lipstick containers it now comes in. Available from any music store or on line.
I’ve had a threaded tenon flute for 40 years. I never greased it. It has never needed it. If it is too tight take some thread off. If you are thinking you need to grease it to tighten it up a bit wind a bit more thread on. There will be more advice coming but wait to apply cork grease. The joy of a threaded tenon is it is not gunky. Cork grease will pick up dust and whatnot over time and oxidize a bit-- so gunky. If your flute is new it might seem a little tighter than it will in a month or two. Thread is often wound a bit tighter with the assumption that it will compress over time. Who made or sold your flute? That would give us some idea of the quality of the craftsmanship. Can you assemble the flute? Is it hard to disassemble after playing?
Thank you all for your replies, this helped a lot. It is only a little tight putting it together and apart, but also a reason is that there was the thread ends that were loose, so I was going to see what I could use to hold them down. The flute was made by McNeela Music.
Interesting and amusing to see what the period advice for treating the thread wrapping on tenons. It comes to us from Lindsay’s “A Few Practical Hints”.
Lapping
If the JOINTS are loose, take the old thread entirely off and re-lap them: the yellow hemp thread, used by Ladies’ Shoemakers, is the best for this purpose. The thread should first be bees-waxed, and then tightly and equally lapped on the joint till in sufficient quantity to render it perfectly air-tight, when screwed together. Care must be taken, however, not to make the joint too tight, because, as the wood will occasionally expand in damp weather, or after long blowing upon, the joints will sometimes split by the application of too much strength in forcing them into the socket. To make the joints work freely, a little pomatum* may be advantageously resorted to; or if that should not be at hand, the substitution of a little Tallow, from a lighted candle, though a less pleasant application, will be found quite as useful.
[*Pomatum: A perfumed unguent or composition, chiefly used in dressing the hair.
Peterson’s magazine provided these recipes in 1861:
Half an ounce of white wax; half an ounce of spermaceti; eight ounces of olive oil. Dissolve in a basin set in hot water before the fire; add some scent just before pouring into bottles. Or- Get a quarter of a pound of hog’s lard, and three quarters of a tumblerful of olive oil, about a tablespoon of castor oil, a dessert spoonful of eau-de-cologne, and a pennyworth of gum; the hog’s lard and the oil should be warmed a little, till the hog’s lard melt, then the rest should be put in. It should be allowed to cool before use. Or- Half a pint of best olive oil, half an ounce of best yellow beeswax, half an ounce of spermaceti, and about two pennyworth of any pleasant perfume. Cut the wax and sperm up small, melt in the oil, and add the scent.]
So, rather than cork grease, they relied on wax to lubricate their tenons. And, no doubt, to help secure the threads against bunching up.
I do remember watching Paul Davis rethreading the tenons of old flutes in London in 1974 before selling them to Irish players. He took the wax off cheese and melted it in spoon held above the flame of the spirit lamp he also used for repadding. I remember he mixed in something to keep it more spreadable when it cooled. Possibly olive oil, given Lindsay’s recommendation.
From somewhere, I think this forum, I got the recipe of roughly equal parts almond oil and beeswax. Mixed, maybe in an empty tea-light container, by heating in a way that won’t start a fire. If it comes out too runny or stiff melt again with a little more of one or the other ingredient.
Thanks gents for the help, who is Lindsay that you are referring to? And I read a post from a while back, and someone said that they use Burt’s Bees lip balm, is that fine to use? Or would it be better to stay with natural cork grease?
Haddon
“The Author” in question is Thomas Lindsay, active as a woodwind maker in London between 1825 and 1833. His complete work is “The Elements of Flute Playing” or, as sometimes abbreviated, “Lindsay’s Elements”, published in 1829. I’ve extracted these notes as being of particular interest to flute players today. It’s mostly as published, with some minor changes to punctuation, and some paragraph headings to help you find your way.
You can find the full article at:
As Paul Davies once said to me, the primary function of the grease is not to provide lubrication, but to fill up the space. For this purpose it needs to be good and thick. The danger with using something too slippery is that it will enable you to push in an overly tight tenon.
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Thank you all for the advice, this has been really helpful.
Haddon
Do you think that the Bert’s bees lip balm would be to slippery?
Haddon
Unlikely. Sold by them, yeah. 
Is McNeela music a brand you would not recommend?
I have no direct personal experience of their products, but I am aware of multiple instances of unhappy customers who have returned sub-standard, unsatisfactory instruments (from conversations on internet forums) and I have perused their website and recognise much of what they stock as being made in Pakistan. I have also had a couple of interactions with Pakistani producers who claimed to supply McNeela. Also, I have examined stock which looks identical to many of McNeela’s stuff on stalls run by Hobgoblin at festivals and it was mediocre at best. I am extremely suspicious of both those outlets so far as flutes and whistles go. (That can probably be extended at least to harps, bodhrans and bagpipes, but those aren’t my areas of expertise.) I would advise against buying anything from them unless you can try it in person with support from someone with relevant expertise.