Here is my latest finished Ebay buy, yet another “keeper”. I guess I will be opening a museum at some point…
The flute looked like "firewood when I got it… (saying copyrighted by “glinjack”) Not a bad flute for $400… (even came with the case!)
The flute was sold by Fentum / London a flute dealer. The C# key is marked with a “I N” , possibly the makere of the keys. This “I N” was found on Rudall & Rose and flutes made by Wylde.
Does anyone else have a flute with “I N” under the C#? It would be interesting to get more info on it. Terry Mcgee has a write up on it at his site.
Nice looking flute, Jon. Aanvil, it’s amazing what you can get off ebay if you know what you’re looking for (and others don’t). I got a couple of great keyed flutes. They both needed some work; I worked on one, had a pro work on the other. They were sweet players, a little more work than modern flutes, but very deep character.
Hi Aanvil,
Welcome!
The flute plays great, still breaking it in, but it is a classic Rudall tuning.
It clearly hadn’t been played for years.
I must caution, don’t try this at home! There is still a lot of junk on ebay…
This is the only before photo I could find, (of course it is from the ebay seller, so it doesn’t show any of the damage!) the flute had cracks in the head, barrel, and was missing part of the short Fnat block and damage to the G# block.
No, it has all the keys, that is the Metzler I just won, that I will have to make keys for…
On block repair, I just level off the break in the block and glue a new pice of cocus in, then trim it with the mill. Then you have to file and sand the new section. The hardes part is drilling the new pivot hole in the right place!
Nice looking flute, Jon … if you need storage for your museum pieces, I’ll be glad to help you out. Are you having more fun with the restorations or making new flutes?
HI Tod,
Still looking for a lefthanded R&R for you…
Good question, I think both are fun. The thing about restoring old flutes, is bringing them back to life after being in an attic for 100 years! Also finding hidden markings under keys and scraping off crud and finding a makers mark, kind of like a treasure hunt.
With making new flutes, a lot of the steps are boring, until you do the finishing and the voicing of the flute, then it is worth while. Making keys should be fun, when I get around to it… Also thinking of making a replacement ivory Monzani replica, kind of like “he who shall not be named” owns…
That all depends. A lot of the makers cast the keys, that woould be with lost wax. A few makers, like Chris Wilkes and forge the keys, i.e.
(hammer away at it…) I have a set of Dapping tools, for making the saltspoon key cups, just need to hammer away… But as Peter Noy told me, “flutemakers” make flutes, “keymakers” make keys!
The Metzler I just won has a broken long Fnat key, and a missing short Fnat key, so this will give me a little practice. Hopefully silver will come back down to a resonable price, it doubled in price this year!
I suppose I could. Sunday afternoon and Tuesday night sessions at Finn McCool’s on Main St. in Santa Monica. Monday nights at the Celtic Arts Center. Also a session in Long Beach, but I forget the day. Others by invite.
I can be reached at the email, PM, or website below. Don’t forget to save up for volume 3 of “Wooden Flute Obsession” (due week of July 4th).
(even came with the case!)
Also thinking of making a replacement ivory Monzani replica, kind of like “he who shall not be named” owns…
