I’ve got a new flute - one that has spent several decades forgotten in an attic, and it shows.
It’s a six-key Goulding D’Almaine Potter from between 1811-1824. It has some serious issues, but being of such an age, that is hardly surprising. I can’t figure out how to post images here, and I don’t subscribe to an image hosting service, so there’s not much I can do to elicit support.
What I can say is that the head joint is split from end to end. It’s lined, so that doesn’t immediately affect the sound, but it’s something I would like to repair eventually.
There is also quite a crack in the barrel, which may be more problematic. The flute itself is somewhat… bent(?) I don’t know what to think about that.
The keys all work, but I have some suspicions that they don’t seal perfectly.
Disassembling the flute will be my first priority. It was left assembled for a generation or two, and as yet, I have been unable to separate the pieces without risking further damage.
Sounds like a disaster, but the sounds I am able to coax out of it are quite nice.
It looks as though this will be something of a long term project before it is fully playable, but the thought of using an instrument that was manufactured in the time of Beethoven is incentive to see what can be done with it.
I’m happy to entertain suggestions as to how to go about the restoration of such a beautiful piece of musical history.
Quick update:
After about four hours of careful twiddling, I’ve managed to disassemble all the wood-on-wood sections without inflicting further damage to the instrument. The brass(?) barrel to head joint connection seems hopelessly stuck though. I’m guessing that many years of contact in varying humidity conditions may have fused the connection beyond safe repair.
I’m really hoping that I will be able to completely disassemble the instrument to the point that I can move on to repairing the cracks in the barrel and head joint.
Just to assist others in helping out with comments, history, suggestions on repairs and/or playing an instrument of this period, here are some photos Tom sent to me, which I’ve uploaded for appreciation and inspection
The brass tuning sleeve is stuck on the barrel, but not the head joint. Any attempt to twist the head joint results in the head joint slipping on the sleeve. Given the age of the wood and the extent of the crack in the head joint, I don’t want to apply too much pressure in trying to get it off the barrel.
Let me make sure I’m understanding you correctly. The two tuning slides are jammed together, and the barrel slide is secure in the barrel. But the head slide is not secure in the head, presumably due to the head cracks. And so any attempt to separate the slides by counter rotation simply turns the head slide within the cracked head. And you can see that rotation through the embouchure hole. Did I get that correct?
And what keeps the wooden tube from falling off at the top end? Often the makers roll the slide tubing outwards to keep it in place. Is that what’s keeping it on here?
The usual “glue” that sticks head slides inside barrel slides is breath condensate, and it’s a very sticky glue indeed! And I imagine if this flute hasn’t been disassembled in a generation, it won’t have been wiped out either, allowing plenty of time for condensate to build up, find it’s way into the gap between the slides, and set firmly.
Alcohol, either methylated spirits (rubbing alcohol?) or isopropyl will dissolve the goup, but the challenge is getting it in there. Heat is the other way to soften it, but again, the challenge is getting it in there.
Our usual trick is this:
Find a metal rod long enough to reach up to the junction between the two slides while leaving enough sticking out to hold. This junction is about where the top barrel ring is.
Heat the business end of the rod over a flame. Not to red heat, but till it’s far too hot to touch.
Pick up the handle end of the rod in protective gloves. Welders gloves would be great, but kitchen cooking gloves will probably do.
Pick up the head in your other, unprotected hand. This is so you can sense the heat coming through the wood.
Offer the hot end of the rod through the barrel socket, into the slide, and move it up to the junction area.
Roll the flute head around the heated rod, so that the heat is transferred to the slides.
After a little while you should be able to feel the heat in the unprotected hand. Keep going till that hand is getting uncomfortable.
Put down the rod and try separating the head and barrel by counter rotation. It probably wont move.
Heat the rod again, and keep trying.
Traditionally, it only ever gives way after you finally give up trying, and then think, OK, Grrrr, just one more time…
Now, as your cracked head doesn’t have good purchase on the inner slide, you might want to consider clamping it to increase that purchase. I’ve used Cheney Hose Clips with a bit of sheet plastic under them to protect the surface of the wood. I’d go with one at the top end and probably one halfway from the embouchure hole to the lower end. Or you could try binding the head with cord or a stout thread until you can get some purchase on the slide.
Let us know how you get on or if any questions arising.
Thanks for the detailed reply, Terry. I may take a couple of messages to respond.
You are correct that the joint sleeve is more stuck to the barrel than the head joint itself. If I try to rotate it, the joint will grudgingly give way, but the inner sleeve will not budge. It is happily married to the barrel.
You are also correct in that the end of the brass sleeve is rolled, and prevents the wood from coming off the end of the flute.
I will try applying some isopropyl alcohol in hopes of dissolving nature’s glue. I will use a clamp to bind the wood to the inner sleeve to prevent any unwanted flexing of the fragile wood. (The last thing I want to do is inflict further damage on the instrument)
I’m going to leave this here. Tomorrow is a work day, and our house will be full of guests for the weekend, (and a gig on Saturday) so it may be a few days before I get to try anything.
OK. That was a classic thing to do at the time, probably because they couldn’t rely on glues of the time to secure the slide within the wood. Be aware that if you get scared of damaging the head wood, you can cut away that rolled over section and discard it, hopefully allowing you to remove the head wood entirely and put it aside for safety.
That also allows better access for getting heat into the frozen slide joints - you can apply it from the outside, rather than be limited to trying to apply it from the inside.
It also should allow you to clean up the head crack, glue it closed, then ream or sand it out from the inside until the head slide can be reinserted and moved to place (embouchure holes in wood and slide line up optimally), and then glue the slide lightly in place which is all it should need. We can offer guidance on doing those tasks if you choose to go that way.
You might think that losing those several mm of brass slide at the cap end is a cop-out, but why? You only go in there when you need to remove and replace the stopper cork, and not having the rollover doesn’t interfere with that.
Not saying you must remove the rollover, but keep that option open in your mind as the job proceeds. If you can get the slide apart without doing this, you should still be able to get the head slide out of the head wood by pushing it out the cap end from the barrel end.
I will try applying some isopropyl alcohol in hopes of dissolving nature’s glue. I will use a clamp to bind the wood to the inner sleeve to prevent any unwanted flexing of the fragile wood. (The last thing I want to do is inflict further damage on the instrument).
Good. As I said, the hard part with the alcohol is getting it into the scene of the crime. Keep in mind the end of the barrel protrusion is usually some distance up inside the head (look at one of the modern barrels to confirm that). They really couldn’t have come up with a more tricky challenge if they tried!
I’m going to leave this here. Tomorrow is a work day, and our house will be full of guests for the weekend, (and a gig on Saturday) so it may be a few days before I get to try anything.
Good. I find it pays off to take these repairs slowly and calmly, rather than making haste and regretting things later! You often only get one chance to do this properly. The challenge is working out what “properly” looks like! And what’s properly for me (with all my dedicated resources built up over 50 years) may not be achievable for you. So you have to work out what the best way forward for you is. We onlookers can only toss in ideas. And then deny responsibility when things go wrong!
Thanks Terry!
I’m definitely not in a rush with this. I really don’t want to be the guy who ruins a 200 year old instrument because I’m impatient in the first week I own it.
I do have an ace in the hole so to speak. As I was mentioning to Travis, one of my former students is a talented instrument repair technician. She’s that good, which means she’s that busy. I was hoping to at least be able to get the flute properly disassembled and use her for the pinning and delicate wood work. (Because she’s that good, she’s also that expensive)
Well, off to the brewery for me. I’ll take a closer look at your instructions later.
Another issue I will be dealing with sooner or later is that the pewter plugs on the keys don’t seem to be sealing very well. The sound gets stuffier the farther down the flute I play. I’ve done a couple of tests with all the joints, cracks and keys taped shut, and sealing the keys makes a substantial difference in the overall performance.
This is not like a modern flute, where a faulty key pad can be swapped out in a matter of minutes. I’m at a loss as to how to remedy this.
Yes, there’s a lot to talk about here, and, I’d have to say, I’m not a fan of Mr Potter’s valves. A few points I should make immediately, more later perhaps when you come to focus on them and can frame specific questions…
They are valves, not pads. So they rely on metal to metal contact, and need to be free to seat themselves. Over time, corrosion, mistreatment, etc often mean that the plug itself is held firmly captive in the loop at the end of the key shaft. That can mean the plug is held away from one side of the socket. It shouldn’t be - it should be free to find it’s own seat. You should be able to “jiggle” the plug.
And because they rely on metal to metal contact, perfect contact can’t be guaranteed. So they should be oiled. Not just to help the plug be free in its loop, but also to help the plug be airtight in its socket. Put a drop of oil on the junction between plug and socket and operate the key a few times. It should find it’s way around the junction.
It has been said that the seal can be improved by tapping the top of the plug rivet with a hammer, thus helping the plug to conform with the seat. My concern is that tapping it with a hammer is also likely to firm up the grip of the loop on the plug. So not convinced about that one. Other’s might have differing views or advice.
I have come across situations where the problem isn’t so much leakage past the plug, but leakage between the socket and wood. So, as usual with old flutes, assume the world is out to get you, and get suspicious. The suck test remains your best friend.
And pay particular attention to the upper keys, like Bb and G#. Leakage in keys is cumulative - leakage in the upper keys will affect all the notes below them. You need to eliminate leakage here as best you can.
Enough for now. Let’s get that head and barrel sorted and come back to the pesky keys!
I had not noticed that the valve seats were metal. This is entirely new territory for me. In all my years of teaching and playing in jazz and concert bands, (please don’t report me to the Trad police) I have never put oil ON the business end of a key pad. It is, in a word, anathema. But as you tell me it’s a valve, I will treat it more like a brass instrument… which begs the question as to what kind of oil to use.
This is putting the cart before the horse. My next priority is to liberate the head joint from the barrel.
I’ll have to leave this for now. I have to head into the city shortly for a gig this afternoon.
Well, I have made some progress. I immobilized the sleeve inside the head joint with some zip ties. (I protected the wood with a strip of rubber) I dripped some alcohol through the crack in the wood to start dissolving the gunk that was sticking things in place. After that it was fairly easy to get the barrel to rotate on the sleeve.
That’s the good part. The barrel turns fine… I just can’t extract it from head joint. After an hour of twisting and liberal applications of alcohol, the best I can do is move it back and forth about the thickness of a finger nail. Lots of greyish-green gunk is squeezing out of the cracks in the head joint and barrel, and I’m taking this as a good thing. I’m hopeful that eventually, along with all the sludge, I will remove whatever is sticking the parts together.
Examining my efforts in the light of day, I can see that while I have the brass to wood joints freed, the brass to brass are still stuck. Which is to say that the brass sleeve in the head joint, which should be solid, is free to move, as is the sleeve in the barrel. (neither of which is intended or ideal) The brass to brass connection, which SHOULD move freely, both turning and extending, is hopelessly mired. Twisting the barrel does nothing towards ultimately freeing it from the head joint. Time for a new tactic.
I am considering Terry’s suggestions either to apply heat to the brass sleeves or to cut the rolled end of the head joint sleeve, but these present their own problems, as I will have to improvise tools to try either solution… Keeping in mind that this is something I want to do without causing any further damage to the wood.
It has been a few weeks, so I thought that I’d post a bit of an update.
I have tried all the suggestions given so far, short of cutting the rolled end of the brass sleeve, and have as yet been unable to separate the head joint from the barrel. I showed the flute to my repair tech, but being mainly a school instrument service, she was afraid to do anything substantive with it. She was very excited to see this old instrument, and reached out to some of her colleagues in the field. This produced a recommendation of a chap who makes/restores period clarinets near Toronto. Unfortunately, neither emails, texts nor phone calls have been effective in gaining a response, so I assume that this is project is not to his liking.
On the plus side, I have managed to get the plugs/valves to seat better, and the instrument is at least playable now, if not tune-able. The low C# and C valves do not fully close, but I’m not missing those notes for now.
Terry, (If you’re reading this) What sort of oil would you recommend for seating the pewter valves in their sockets?
I’ll leave this for now. Thanks for all who have made suggestions. I will keep plugging away at this as best I can without inflicting any further damage.
After several months, I have received my Goulding flute back from the shop, sporting a brass ring at the head joint tenon where the original ivory was too fragile to repair. The most difficult and time consuming part of the project was freeing the barrel from the head joint, where the brass upon brass had fused during years of neglect. It is now clean and shiny, and adjusts as smoothly as new. The massive split through the head joint and crack in the barrel are repaired.
In the interest of saving money, we have not addressed the foot joint keys at this time. The E-flat is fine in any regard. The C-sharp key is “okay-ish”, but so far I’m having no luck with the low-C. This will have to do for now.
