I’ve been loaned a Boehm Boosey & Hawks by a friend (lovely instrument and what a sound!), but as I’m not a flute player as such, I’m not well-informed on how to care for such an instrument.
I’ve googled a couple of sites and was surprised to find the following:
“…never apply any oil or grease of any kind to the tenons or the tuning slide of a metal flute. On a wooden flute or piccolo, apply cork grease to the corks on the tenons before each assembly but never to any metal-on-metal join.”
Is this just a preference or pretty much gospel?
I find that assembling the flute without a touch or two of cork grease is very difficult and possibly putting too much pressure on the pieces while I’ll putting them together.
Can the better informed please let me know what you would advise?
Yes, no grease on the joints of a metal Boehm flute, but yes, grease on the metal tuning slide of a wooden flute.
The difference seems to be that the Boehm is stored with the joints disassembled and grease on them would collect dirt which would then wear the joint. The simple system flute is usually stored with the tuning slide assembeld, and an ungreased joint over a long period of immobility might stick.
The correct answer is no. Chris is right - the metal tenons will get sticky and dirty. The silver tenon and receiver ends are meant to go together without any lubrication. Adding lubrication (and dirt, fuzz, etc) will scratch and wear the tenon and socket.
2 most common problems are the tenon is not round (maybe a slight dent somewhere) and the receiver end is dirty. This applies for all the tenons on a metal flute including the foot joint. You should NOT have to force the parts together.
I also agree with Denny - when in doubt, take it into a repair shop (a band instrument shop would be fine) to check it out. I’ve been a band director for 16 years and have seen some needless damage done to flutes.
The tolerances are so close on a metal flute that even the tiniest bit of “gunk” can gum things up. With sticky metal tenons, cleaning is the first thing to do (wiping the tenons/insides of sockets with a soft cloth dipped in a bit of rubbing alcohol can be helpful), and woodwind repair is the wise route, especially if the tenon has gotten dinged or otherwise subtly bent out of round. However, if you only occasionally get stuck you can also use 1) K-Y Jelly or other water-based lubricant (i.e., NOT Vaseline) that will “evaporate” and not leave residue; or, somewhat less embarrassingly, 2) you can gently scribble inside the sockets or on the tenons with a No. 2 pencil and the graphite may help things move more smoothly.
P.S. Wipe down your tenons every time you finish playing too, and the flute will go together more easily next time.
FWIW, it’s worked for me over 35 years of playing a silver flute!
Just a note on using the graphite from a pencil lead as tenon lubricant:
Not all pencils are created the same. The kind you need for this writes a pretty dark line with little pressure, and the lead will crumble if you try to write with heavy pressure.
There is another kind of lead used in some pencils marked “No. 2”–this lead is flexible, won’t easily crumble but will visibly bend under pressure, and writes a line that is much less dark. This kind doesn’t work well to lubricate flute tenons, and can cause the tenon to stick.
Just thought I’d best throw in this note in case someone had the wrong kind of pencil.
I have a question, though: if Vaseline damages metal, why Phil Hardy (Kerry Whistles) recommends
Vaseline for the tuning joint of his aluminum Chieftain whistles ?
Thanks.
I’ve never thought of it as damaging anything, but Vaseline does trap dirt and create gunk (it’s grease, after all) – which can contribute to damage if your joints get sticky and you tear the flute up trying to move them.
I don’t believe Vaseline itself is likely to harm any metal you’re likely to find in a flute.
However…
Vaseline will certainly harm your pads if it gets on them, and your key mechanism if it gets in it.
Vaseline like any grease attracts dust and dirt. Dust and dirt get stuck in the Vaseline, forming a wonderfully abrasive substance that will cut a little more metal away every time the tenon is disassembled and reassembled.
A lot of the dust and dirt involved is going to come from the flute case (and perhaps from the grimy hands of the child who plays it, but that’s another story).
A whistle’s tuning slide is rarely ever separated, so there’s not much opportunity for the grease to collect grit and become abrasive. Also, the grease will (hopefully) prevent the tuning slide from freezing in place, so it’s a Good Thing.
–James
P.S. on rereading the thread, I’ve discovered that much of this post just repeats what Cathy posted, above. My conclusion: you should listen to her, she knows what she’s talking about.
