At the Pipers Gathering this past weekend I picked up a German made blackwood 6 keyed piccolo in good condition. As it is in the key of C it will be good for playing with Northumbrian pipes and pretending to be Billy Ballantine (http://folktrax-archive.org/menus/cassprogs/119.htm).
I’m looking to clean it up and was expecting to see screw slots in the end of the fixing rods for the pillar mounted keys, but there are none. Has anyone come across older wooden flutes or piccolo with keys mounted using simple friction fit pins holding the keys to the pins. If so are they something you would just tap out using anther pin and small hammer (gently)?
Only better quality English and French piccolos have screw pins.
I use a screwdriver (it’s actually just from a pound shop multi bit little thing that itself looks like a wee pin) with the smallest point to push out the pins.
Find the direction that is easiest to push out. If it gets stuck use smooth jawed pliers to assist.
You don’t want the jaws of the pliers to eat up the pin or it may not slide back in as easy after you have repadded.
Sometimes if they are stuck due to grunge some heat to one end of the pin can help loosen. But be careful not to scorch the wood.
If its lowest note is 6 finger note is C (rather than D) technically it would be a ‘band flute’ I guess, but nomenclature is all over the place with small flutes.