any tips on gluing back a loose metal liner in a wooden barrel (no damage, cracks or gunk, just that the adhesive seems to have disappeared or deteriorated). What would I best use to re-stick it? I’m assuming it’s customary to use heat reversible adhesive in case of future need to remove it.
Cheers, Mark
I use a two-component epoxy glue. Easily meltable with a heated steel bar, inserted into the tube. The old makers used shellack, meltable the same way, but takes less heat.
When I’m doing crack repairs I use Gorilla Glue (on Jon C’s advice), but I have no idea whether it is heat-meltable. When I picked up my new head from Chris Wilkes he said something about using a silicone adhesive as part of his liner-insertion method that helps to reduce risk of cracking, but I didn’t ask exactly what he uses nor his method.
However, Mark, I believe you have a FB “friend” link to Michael Grinter himself, (or you can pick it from my FB “friends”) , or harvest his e-contact from his website and ask him direct for advice!
Dave Copley suggested two-part epoxy to me, and it’s worked fine.
I mostly use two part epoxy. One thing you have to be careful is not getting the glue tow close to the slide area.
gorrilla glue will break free with heat, silicone is impossible to get apart, not recommended.
Hi guys, hi Mark,
I am amazed that more experienced flute restorers (no offence my friends) use epoxy or super glue in this case. You would never be able to get the slide out if needed in the future. I glued my Woods&Ivy headjoint liner with liquid shellac obtainable at windcraft and that works for me. If needed you can heat it up a little afterwards to get the liner back out to adjust if needed. All the best!
Ronnie
Most epoxy glues can be melted by applying heat, too. Superglue melts as well, but the heat involved is too high…but with epoxy, it works nicely. Smells awful though.
I’ve used Bisonite (“Bison Kit”), because it occured to me that the restorer of my flute had used the same. You get a layer of glue that sticks well, but rubs off easily too, so it doesn’t affect the materials you glue.
EDIT: oops, you were talking about a slide. I was just talking about a ring. Sorry 
(Please keep in mind that I have no other flute repairing experience than just trying to glue this one ring back on 
)
I didn’t knew that Stef 
Shellac works well, but does not have the holding power that epoxy has. The makers of old, would score the metal to raise a edge to cut into the wood to keep the slide form breaking free. The epoxy helps to hold the wood together, if you have a crack repair. Most glues will break down with heat, except silicone, that could require quite a bit of heat to break it down!
A slow-setting 2-part epoxy gives you more time to get it right, make adjustments - you’ll only need a very small amount. It never sets rock hard and always retains a little flexibility. All surfaces to be clean of course. Best to put the glue on the slide tube rather than inside the barrel. If you apply it inside the barrel, it will tend to enter the mouth of the slide tube as you push the tube into the barrel. Placed on the ouside of the slide tube, some of it will collect at the joint between the tube and the end-facing of the barrel while you’re pushing the tube in and that will help seal the joint against airleaks. You’ll need to wipe off the excess glue that builds up there after and I usually wipe on a small amount of vaseline on that end-facing first so that the excess glue can be wiped off easier. Then I’d leave it till the next day before doing a suck-test to be sure it wasn’t leaking - just put your hand over the metal tube and suck air through the other end.
Garry
The maker of my African Blackwood whistle told me to use Sellotape to put the brass tuning barrel back after it came out 
The barrel is scored where it goes into the wood, so I Sellotaped where the brass was bare. The tape I used was thin, smooth and shiny, ordinary stationery tape. It broke up. So I cleaned the barrel and used plumber’s tape. That’s worked. The barrel’s back in firmly, and the whistle’s absolutely airtight.
I’d appreciate a head’s up from anyone who thinks this might cause any problems in future though. Thanks.
K.
Plumbers tape is great stuff alright but it’s not ideal for a joint which involves wood. The reason being that it’s too easy to put too much of that teflon tape on without realising, since it will slide so easily and you can just jam the joint together. Then you can easily have a joint that’s too tight for the wood - effectively stressing the wood which is often very thin on a whistle. The epoxy resin is safer.
Garry
Thanks Garry. I put on just one layer of the plumber’s tape, but will get some epoxy.
K.