Pads and Blutack

Irish Flute
1

It has been a couple of months or more now that two pads are attacked to the saltspoon keys of my flute with blutack, instead of the standard shellac or hot glue. The keys are Eb and short F.
The short F key had some problems when I first got the flute, it got stuck at times. Changing pad (attacked with shellac) worked a bit but not completely. It never got stuck when I decided to try with blutack, I think because the pad settled in the perfect position, being blutack soft and adapting itself to the surface.
And blutack can be removed without dameging the pad, and it’s extremely easy ad fast to put. It is possible that it won’t work as good with low C and C# keys, because there isn’t the pressure of the spring that pushes the pad against the wood and the blutack.

Any thoughts?

2

A little dab of Blutack (actually, mine’s orange, “Elmer’s-Tack”) has been holding the pad in the long F key of my M&E for over a year now; seems to be working just fine. :slight_smile:

Ming

3

Any thoughts?

Attack on the shellac with blutack has a very poetic ring about it.

I’ve always spellt it blue tac, but I think I like what you’re suggesting.

4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-Tack

5

Any other opinion? Flute makers? Jem? :smiling_imp:

6

I’ve never tried blu-tack but that’s like driving on the spare tire. There’s no reason why shellac wouldn’t work assuming no issues with the key, pad size, tone hole, key spring, or pin/block mechanism.