the flute I have on loan (dekeyzer) does have cracks on the male end of the tenons, both sides. (dunno if they were already there when I got the flute)
it plays fine though but I am a bit worried.
will put it in a container today for humidity control (rh being 33 here right now) but is played at least once a day.
there are three on one end and at least one on the other end, and two of them run under the cork are 9 mm long at least…
something I should worry about, something I can do to avoid further problems?
Personally, I would get them fixed. Any competent woodwind repair person could do it, and I think most makers are willing to fix something like that. My fear would be they will continue to expand as moisture works its way in there when playing (water is devious in it’s ability to go wherever a crack is).
My Sweetheart has several repaired cracks in the male parts of the tennon (happened when being made, supposedly - I’m the second or third owner of this flute). The repairs are rock solid and cause me no worries.
onto another matter:
you can prevent (usually) tenon cracks by doing one simple thing when you get a new (or old) flute. It’s something I learned when my fifes were cracking at the tenons. The pressures of putting the instrument together seem to work hardest at the tenons because of their thinness.
So, we used an emory board and merely rounded off the outside edges (the cork/thread side) of the tenon end. Somehow it helped prevent the cracks associated to that area.
Don’t ask why. I can’t say for sure; something about physics of pressure and such.
For what it’s worth. I do it to all my own flutes. Result: No tenon cracks at all.