M&e Flutes: delrin or pvc?

Irish Flute
1

Hi all,

I am just wondering about the polymer used in m&e flutes. It does not say on his site which he uses and I am just curious as to whether it is delrin or pvc

2

The ones I’ve seen (and owned) were too thick to be PVC and were conical, not cylindrical. The material seemed a little softer than delrin, and maybe a little heavier, but was nice. It really reminded of a bowling ball (material-wise). Maybe it’s ebonite (which is what he says they are, anyway, I believe).

3

I asked Michael about this back in May of this year and the following was his response, “It’s not delrin that my flutes are made from, it is a polymer made for me in Germany and has the same density as wood, that is why they are as good as wood.” He also makes instruments from Ebonite.

Best wishes.

Steve

4

Thanks much

5

Aren’t they made from ABS? It’s a co-polymer of acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene, which can have varying proportions, and thus varying density. I suspect M&E have a specific recipe they like, which they get from their German supplier. The sentence “The same density as wood” is kind of meaningless, since wood can have densities that vary by a factor of six or so. You can get flutes from woods that vary by a factor of two. But, for example, here’s an ABS mixture that has a density of 1.02, which is in the range of some rosewoods and heavier boxwood.

6

The quote from M&E was in the context of comparison between blackwood and polymer flutes. I can’t speak for Mr. Cronnolly but my interpretation was that he was comparing his polymer flutes with his blackwood ones.

Easiest thing, of course, would be to ask him.

Best wishes.

Steve

7

Pat, you can buy PVC rod, just like Delrin rod. A flute can be made made from PVC with thick walls and a conical bore.
I have a flute made from ebonite, a hard black polymer. I don’t know what the chemical composition is, but I like the sound of the flute and the way the material feels in my hands better than flutes that I have played made from Delrin.

8

Ebonite is a brand name. It is Vulcanized rubber. Sometimes called Vulcanite. It ranges from 30 to 40 per cent sulfur. It can be supplied as rod, but I’m not sure if it is readily available in dimensional stock large enough to turn a flute. Scientific houses supply 12 inch by half inch rods for static electricity demos. It can be machined, but for the purpose of making musical
instruments it is generally molded and vulcanized in steel dies.
It was used in the 19th century to make flutes, and was even recommended for ‘difficult’ climates (for example India) because of its stability. Some very fine flutes were made from it, notably by Boosey & Hawkes. Also some very mediocre ones by various other manufacturers.
Modern ‘Band’ flutes for Flute Bands are available in Ebonite.
I played a Bass Clarinet with an Ebonite body when I was in Junior High School.

Bob

9

I have an M&E ebonite, and it’s a very nice flute–sounds good, somewhat “woody” I guess rather than “plastic-like”, and seems nearly indestructible compared to wood. It’s the one I leave out to pick up in a spare moment of playing (which I wouldn’t do with my wood flutes). I was a little nervous in buying it, since it is related to rubber, but it turned out to be not at all a bad material, imho.
Best,
Jay

10

I love my ebonite M&E. I also really liked my polymer (PVC - Michael’s old website discussed it was a medical/food grade PVC he had specially made as rod stock).

Cheap ebonite smells like rubber…the good stuff, doesn’t.

Eric