Hi,
I’ve only been playing a few months and have managed to catch flute acquisition disease … and have just acquired this flute … it looks like the Huller shown in this thread
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=27723
It’s been repadded and the joints corked, but I seem to have a lot of the problems mentioned in the previous thread… I can’t get much sound at the low end (this is partly my incompetence, I got an experienced player to give it a go and they managed to get down to the C).
I think the cork may be leaking a bit though it seems newish - should I wait for it to get damp and check again? or be brave and take it out for a look!
It’s also possible the long F key may be a bit leaky, I taped the holes and the bottom end improved, but when I untaped a day or so later it didn’t seem to make much difference. (This is probably because the problem is more me than the flute … when it first arrived I could hardly get a note out of it at all … now I can get most of them, they’re just a bit quiet.)
As mentioned in the previous thread, the F# is very flat - I see there are some fingerings to try. The botom and middle octaves are pretty much in tune at G, so I expect the cork in the right place.
I’ve given it an oiling, but it mostly just sat there - the wood seems pretty impervious to anything - unlike like my Bleazey which is still hoovering up oil.
so hear are some piccies, the head is ebonite and fully lined.
Would anyone care to hazard a date for it?
All advice on treatment , history etc gatrefully received
Chris
Hi Chris,
if an experienced player was able to make the flute sound fine, then the problems will evaporate as you play longer. If the experienced flute player had some issues - well, those might be worth looking into.
Do you have a woodwind repair person near you? Or better yet, a flute maker who could looker her over for you?
The flat F# is an older flute thing, and opening the Fnat key on longer notes is advisable (or lipping up/rolling out when you’re used to the flute) - playing jigs and reels you’ll likely not notice it. You could have a professional enlarge the hole to make F# better.
Congrat’s on your Huller!
Eric
Won’t that throw off the other notes?
This looks very much like mine, although the engraving’s a bit different.
Some new cork, pads, and a headjoint by Jon C, and mine’s following me to my grave. 
Enlarging the F# hole would have some effect on other notes (perhaps sharpening the G a bit as well as the F#, and it would change the ability to cross-finger Fnat as XXX X0X. However, makers mess with the tone hole size on old flutes when requested, and the flute usually ends up playing better to our modern ears.
Eric
I had a Huller piccolo, in Eb, it played pretty well. Looks like you have a nice flute there! The pic was all ebonite, smelled a litte funny. J.
William,
I noticed from your earlier pictures, that your Huller has a very nice reddish grain. Is that how it came, or have you managed to remove a stain.
Mine is jet black, but in a couple of worn patches, a lighter wood with a nice bit of grain shows through (the flute is allegedly rosewood though I’m not sure how you can tell!)
I have discovered a few hairline cracks, but they are all in joint areas whcih are up against cork lapping, so they should be OK. (ps if you add superglue glue to cracks how can you get any stick when the area always seems to either be wet or oily!)
Chris
I believe mine is cocus, and that’s just the color it is. It’s very beautiful in certain lights! In the sun it’s gorgeous, in my apartment it’s… brown.
I found that superglue was only temporarily effective for sealing cracks. I think the moisture dissolved it. I ended up using small quantities of minwax wood filler and it’s been stable for about a year now.