“Block mounts are beautiful- but by definition, they are not progressive. The entire flute making industry moved away from block mounts OVER 100 YEARS AGO!” hwaf.
Block mounts, salt spoon keys, pewter plugs are classic on wooden simple system flutes, and they do the job. So less is more. Irish traditional flute players play mostly in the keys of D, G and A and their relative minor keys, so the fact that the mainstream flute making industry chose to go post mounted keys and Boehm foot joints is, I suspect, of little concern of Irish traditional flute players. Block mounts are remarkably robust, and can be repaired if broken also the keys in a block mount are, in my experience, very stable, and seldom if ever need adjusting.
“Post mounting enthusiasts often claim that blocks are prone to breaking, but I’d have to say I’ve seen more broken keys than broken blocks on 19th century instruments. And I’ve definitely seen more splits caused by post mounting than by block mounting, and had to deal with more split or splayed hinge tubes and loose posts than broken blocks. I’d go with whatever pleases you visually on this one.” Australian flute maker, Terry McGee.
“The evidence that your two 170-year-old flutes constitute proof that there are no issues with block mount longevity is purely anecdotal. I have one 160-year-old-flute that works as well. The total original block mounted flutes owned by the readers of this forum is probably a massive number. The real question is how many block mount flutes from the 19th century DIDN’T survive, or are not reliable because of the issues with the basic physics of the design. Obviously, enough to move the entire wooden instrument industry to post mounting (which, incidentally, they still produce today since they work better). You would need to prove that the block mounted flutes of the late 18th and early to mid 19th century have outlasted the post mounted flutes, clarinets, bassoons and oboes of the time and are easier to repair.” hwaf.
That my and other peoples block mounted Rudalls have no issues is a fact and not an anecdote. Rudall simple system flutes, for example, are thought to be around 7200 in number. We don’t know how many of them have survived, and uncatalogued examples still keep turning up. We know that broken block mounts are not the reason that classical flute players turned to the pin mounted Boehm system.
"Ours is an anachronistic hobby. There’s nothing wrong with preferring the original to the progressive. But we shouldn’t confuse our preferences and opinions with facts. If one calls into question the artisanal merit of Aaron and Pat Olwell, its my opinion that they should have something other than anecdotes and (dare I say it) historical snobbery as evidence. hwaf.
No, it’s not an anachronistic hobby any more than playing a violin is. I play Irish trad on a flute made in 1842. I learn new tunes that I play on this flute. Chris Wilkes, Hammy Hamilton, Michael Grinter are just three modern flute makers that make eight key flutes using a Rudall & Rose flute as a bench mark, but with A=440 tuning in mind. The Olwells make fine flutes. I also play a Pat Olwell Pratten flute without pin or block mounts that I like. I just don’t like the aesthetics of the 2018 birthday flute, or how it sounds in the video. Others, such as yourself, hwaf, are allowed to have a different opinion, I don’t mind