Hello friends,
I have a Hammy keyless and the tuning slide is a bit slippery, too much play in it.
To the point where it has a mind of its own and is a challenge to keep in tune:)
Anyone have any suggestions for making it a bit more snug?
Thanks,
Matt
Slather some peanut butter on there, but check for rats first.
No, seriously, your two options are:
Take it to a flutemaker to have the fit adjusted, which I won’t describe as I don’t really know exactly what they do, excepting that it seems to involve hammers.
Put something on there to add friction. This may or may not be a good idea, since some makers don’t even like you to put any grease on a well-fitting slide (attracts/holds grit). You can do a search here, but I believe one preparation is a mixture of petroleum jelly and beeswax (melted). Can anybody confirm that? Do a search before you gum up your axe. Cheers,
Rob
Ask Hammy!
The slide of my Aebi is very loose if ungreased. I use “La Tromba” cork and slide grease, which I recommend warmly. It is stickier than most cork greases, making it suitable for holding the slides together perfectly.
I melt a little beewax with a fast jolt in the microwave then stir in a little Jojoba oil.
I think even a very small smear of beeswax would do the trick to get the slide to hold.
Little dab will do ya.
Always a good idea with a loose slide is to make sure that there is no air loss through the gap. Cover the embouchure hole and suck on the end of the head slide. You should get a strong vacuum - if not you probably have a loose stopper as well! Now add the barrel, with the slide set to about normal. Repeat the suck test. (If the slide is really loose, it will try to move, so be ready to counter that. If necessary put something firm of appropriate thickness between head and barrel.) If the vacuum isn’t as good, air is sneaking between the two halves of the slide. Leakage here can weaken the whole response of the flute, so needs to be dealt with without compassion!
You can put some goup on the slide, as others have suggested, or take it to a woodwind reparier with a slide expander, or you can simply compress the inner slide between finger and thumb to make it a little oval. It will spring back round once inserted in the barrel, but its springiness should solve the sliding problem. Remember to grease the slide (it’s only flutes that have the slide stored separately that you shouldn’t grease, because they will pick up dirt). All metals in contact should be lubricated.
Whatever method you choose, if you did detect leakage before, make sure that your solution has dealt with that.
Terry
+1
That’s what I’d recommend, in the same order, and for the same reasons.
Metal tuning slides are well known to eventually loosen, and a professional flute repair person really is your best option.
However, I’d first ask around, about just who the best available repair person could be, well worth doing!
Grease might get you by temporarily, but remember that grease can hold abrasive dirt/dust, which could then make the looseness even worse.
I use lanolin on one of mine that has a little looseness. You could also try a bit of teflon tape…
Pat
My older flute does that almost every fall or winter, usually when the heat comes on & the humidity goes down (all these years and it’s still homesick for Ireland). Usually all it takes is a few swipes from the beeswax/almond oil block now and then, and in the occasional desperate situation (gigs in exceptionally cold dry places), a twist of Teflon tape just to block it from sliding past the spot where it’s in tune. (I remove the Teflon tape afterward & replace it next time if it’s needed.)
However, the slide often seems to heal itself with beeswax and springtime. Then, when the beeswax melts in summer, I wipe the slide well inside and out and then we start the whole process again in the fall.
P.S. I think a periodic wiping of the slide and its sleeve with a soft cloth is not a bad thing; that’s step 1 any time I mess with it.
Thanks to everyone for their insight and advice, really appreciate it!
Matt
Terry, who knows, advises this:
…you can simply compress the inner slide between finger and thumb to make it a little oval. It will spring back round once inserted in the barrel, but its springiness should solve the sliding problem…
I think that’s your best answer. Anything else is messy. Yech…
Simple cure…
…apply some fine waxed thread. Renaissance and Baroque woodwinds made use of waxed thread wrappings on the tennon joints for an adjustable fit. Wood and metal expands/contracts with moisture or temperature and adding or subtracting thread wrapping is an easy way to get a good seal. I would suggest using “cork wax” instead of “cork grease” as an alternative. the cork wax is thicker (less viscosity) and will “set” a short time after sliding the tennon. 
I’m not sure I’d undertake thread wrapping on a metal slide, myself, but … ?
Terry’s suggestion didn’t work for me, alas. In fact, my slide sleeve kept sliding out of the barrel entirely. So after consultation with several makers, I spot-glued the sleeve in and there it’s stayed since. In fact, the slide fit seems a bit tighter in general; I figure because that thin layer of glue removed the necessary micrometer or whatever from the barrel’s diameter?
Ah, who knows.
Anyway, I don’t find a beeswax block and Teflon tape remotely messy – but horses for courses and what suits your flutes, etc.
the problem i have seen with thread or telfon tape or (any material) is that the slide can freeze up if the material wedges in there, especially teflon tape, (after all it is designed to sealprevent slippage in (plumbing) joints). beeswax or something similar has plasticity and can be molded to a form but also gives or yields to pressure.
Terry’s solution (squeezing the inner sleeve between finger and thumb - don’t squash it flat) worked great for my flute. It would be in one’s best interest to at least try that first. If it works, you’ll be glad that you didn’t have to add anything. If it doesn’t work, you’re still free to add the junk/glop.
How about some plumber’s tape? That always seems to work for me when the weather gets to my flute like that.
I have this problem occasionally with my Hammy and what was recommended to me as the best option is stuff called cork wax (basically the opposite of cork grease). However, this might be somewhat hard to come by. What works as a temporary fix is fiddle bow rosin- just pull the head out of the barrel, rub a little on, and then carefully put it back in- just be careful not to use too much or you’ll end up with the opposite problem. It works for me anyways and doesn’t seem likely to cause any problems because you can always just take a cloth and wipe it off.