I’ve a flute DIY running. It’s an old 8 key. I’ve taken the keys off (pads were falling off) and cleaned them. After plugging the holes with blutac it seems to play relatively okay with escaping air as the tenon corks need changing / rehydration. I’ve been looking at this page for pads but am not sure which ones to get: http://www.musicmedic.com/catalog/products.html
Saxophone or Clarinet pads? And does thickness make a difference? My guess is that the thickness determines how high you can lift the key. It’s post-mounted, if that helps. There is a list of pads in mm on each page - am assuming that’s the diameter for the pads? Unfortunately I’ve thrown the old pads away so only have the keys to go on.
I use thin foam that I get at a hobby store (I think it may be called simulated felt, or something like that, too). You can cut to whatever size you need and it’s cheap. I attach it with hot glue, which allows you to regulate the height and angle of the pad as well. It order to get the right size, I use a pencil on the cup and then press it onto the “felt”, leaving an outline that is the exact size.
All antique flute key cups appear to be different, but in my limited experience the post mounted ones are typically rather shallow. Without seeing the keys I would recommend leather (not thin ray skin) over felt pads, the thinnest you can get. I’ve had pretty good success with Prestini pads. Sizing the diameter correctly is a bit tricky, so order a range of sizes if you can.
Where ya at? In the UK you can get Pisoni tan clarinet pads at Wind Plus Ltd. Sold in half mm diameters. Prolly the best there is, but spendy. In the States I use Tampa Dave’s on E-bay. . .he’ll make up a set to your size specs. I think his tan pads are for the alto clarinet, and should have all the sizes you’ll need, including the Eb, which is prolly the largest.
I’ve also used Shop For Band in Az. They are good people and will work with you to get the right sizes. You’ll need some sort of stickum. Usually shellac in stick, or granular. There is also a liquid glue form which will work. They’ve got cork sheets as well.
So. Tan leather pads. About half a mm less than the outside of the cup. Shellac to ‘float the pads in, then a trip to Jem Hammond’s FB page to get the tutorial. . .you’re good to go! I’d go with the middlin’ thickness pads. Seating and sealing them can be kind of fiddly. . .just ask Jon C!
http://www.musicmedic.com/catalog/products/pad-c30.html
White or brown Clarinet pads, work well, or you can sew your own purse pads. For purse pads, you take unwashed raw wool, cut thin leather into a circle taking account to size it for the circumference of the ball, sew a stitch around the leather, leaving the ends long, then press the ball in the center of the circle and using a pencil to press in the wool, tighten the purse strings! Then I seal the stitch with melted shellac. This is the only pad that works with concave seats, on some Rudalls and Nicholson Improved flutes.
For the hard to seal antique flutes, (most!) I have started using closed cell foam, attached with liquid shellac. Get a cheap set of hollow leather punches to cut the pads. http://www.ebay.com/itm/271095171889?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Thanks guys. All the info is really helpful =) and I’m making notes of this. Will try with the Roo pads first (thanks Jon!), since it’s easier than sewing pads together for now.
You can get various closed cell neoprene foams at the hardware store that come sticky backed. These are used for door and window insulation. You can cut out disks of the correct diameter using hobby store tubing, sharpened to an edge (usually cutting it with a plumbing tubing cutter is sufficient). Using a really sharp razor you can cut it to necessary thickness. It can also be sanded to thickness using 120 grit sand paper.
I make lightly domed key cups on my flute keys, but then fill these with baking soda then superglue. A hard plastic then forms. These are sanded flat on a sanding disk. I then used kayak flotation foam (again, closed cell neoprene) cut into disks and simply superglue these on. These work extremely well, even if the hole edge is chipped or rough, or if the key cup is slightly non-parallel to the hole.
Yup, clarinet pads, not sax - the latter tend to be too thick and don’t come in small enough sizes/gradations. In GB we have to make do with 3mm thickness clarinet pads which can be too thick, in which case you have to doctor them (fiddly! - instructions on Terry McGee’s website), but I think Stateside you can get 2.5mm thickness ones… Personally I don’t like the neoprene foam but it does do the job acceptably. Be aware that whatever you use, you may have to adjust the action of the keys to ensure they rise enough but not too much and that they don’t bang on the tube etc.
One of the main errors I see from time to time perpetrated on old flutes by willing but non-specialist flute techs is to put on pads which are both too thick and too wide for the key cup and even for the bed, so can fail to seat properly in the latter (check this when choosing pad size - don’t only look at the fit in the cup). You end up with keys which neither close properly (and likely leak) nor rise clear enough of the hole to open it correctly… It seems to be at this point such non-specialist techs tend to give up in disgust.
You can’t just whang the pads in, even when you’ve found the best ones to use, and consider the job done if the joint passes a suck test. You have to give attention to the adjustment/regulation of the action of the keys.
I’d go with the middlin’ thickness pads. Seating and sealing them can be kind of fiddly. . .just ask Jon C!