Moving hole on flute?

Irish Flute
1

Hi all,

I have a wee G flute by Phil Bleazey with a C thumb hole. However, the thumb hole is in the wrong place, being diametrically opposite the C# hole. Radially, it needs to be about two thirds of the way round the flute on the side facing me. Position along the flute is correct though. Note that, because this is a very thin flute, it really does matter where the hole is - to the extent that I have to either seal up the thumb hole and play without or just not bother playing the flute :frowning: :cry:

Now, what I would like is someone to properly seal up the existing hole and add a new one in the correct location. The flute is fairly thin walled though, so any repair would have to be carefully done in order to be stable. It should be possible to make sure that the new hole does not need to overlap the repair of the existing hole, but Questions:

  1. What is the best way to seal up the hole?
    a. Epoxy mixed with something to make it black (ebony dust?).
    b. Plane/mill off a clean contact to allow a new chip of (aged?) blackwood to be fitted, then re-ream and turn the outside?
    c. Clean the hole out to a known cylindrical size and use a round dowel plug glued in place. Followed by cleaning up as in b.
    d. A.N.Other approach?
  2. Who would be a good choice to do this at a reasonable price. Bearing in mind, that the flutes are £185 new from Mr Bleazey’s web site at the moment. I am located in Hamburg. Postage could quickly become a significant factor if I have to send the flute too far. Also to be considered, who is not snowed under with a huge waiting list and would be able to do this fairly promptly (i.e. in the next month or two)? Mr Bleazey himself is obviously one option and I will be asking him for his opinion too. DIY is another option and will be the preferred option if the price for a professional job is too high. The only thing I would have a problem with DIYing would be reforming the bore once the replacement plug/chip has been fitted. Is this a repair that a standard woodwind repairman would be able to do?

Chris.

2

I sent my bleazey G to Dave Copley for a C natural hole.
He is excellent, reasonable and on one occasion shifted a badly placed
hole on another instrument. The price of transport for a G flute
may not be so much. Anyhow I recommend Dave most highly.
Certainly contacting him by e mail will get you helpful
info.

3

Probably the trickiest part is in reaming/reforming the bore. So, because the original maker would have the correct reamer and any other necessary tools, and would already be familiar with your flute and how to work on it, it makes sense to first contact Mr. Bleazey and to discuss what you would like to have done.

And, as Jim was saying, the shipping costs for a G flute shouldn’t be all that much.

4

Electrical tape works great. :slight_smile:

Sorry to be a party pooper.

Doc

5

Electrical tape works to seal up the existing hole, but is no help with the problem of a new hole relatively close to the old one.

For various reasons (customs, postage) I am looking for someone inside the European Union. Probably will be Mr Bleazey - I’ll give him a call and see what he has to say.