Hi I am looking for some advice please. My tuning slide on my Bb flute becomes very free after about 5-10 mins playing. It becomes difficult to stop it moving on its own during playing. Before the flute is played however, it feels like there is the correct amount of movement in it.
Any advice on how to make it a bit tighter/retain its tuning position would be great.
Thanks
Rub some beeswax (or possibly any wax) on the metal untill it’s tight again. If it’s too tight, just remove some with your nail…
I’ve tried Vaseline petroleum jelly, beeswax, cork grease - and nothing. Any of these can work, but all depends on the particular slide and how tightly it fits. But overall:
- Vaseline disappeared too fast, and would sometimes become too slippery when warm.
- Beeswax was too sticky for most of my slides.
- Cork grease needed renewing often, seemed to dry out and then stick.
About six months ago I switched to white silicone grease. The brand I have is “Panef White Stick Lubricant with Silicone”. I keep some extra grease in tiny press-cap containers with my two main flutes, the kind that come with plastic recorders. I like this because it doesn’t seem to dry out and maintains the same amount of lubrication/holding ratio regardless of temperature or playing. I only need a very little, rubbed on evenly. YMMV.
Oh, by the way, this is the stuff that’s widely recommended for greasing threads on high-tech flashlights. That’s why I had it on hand.
You could also try lanolin - it has the right consistency and seems to last a long time.
Pat
Woodfluter, what do you mean with “beeswax was too sticky for most of my slides”? I can’t see how it wouldn’t work. Maybe you used the wrong quality of wax.
I used beeswax such as shoemakers and leather workers use - hard cakes. I rubbed lines of that on a slide, but would generally have to heat it slightly to soften it enough to smear into a thin layer. That’s the only form of beeswax I’ve had around or seen, apart from some combs in honey jars.
Yes, it did work, but just wasn’t optimal for me. When the slide wasn’t moved for a while, it would seem to harden up and partially lock the slide, and then it would move suddenly when forced. I want to be able to gently slide it without lurching, but hold well enough to avoid accidental movement. My beeswax only did the latter particularly well.
Do tell, what kind of beeswax do you use? Maybe yours would be whole different story.
Oh dear. If I were you, I’d avoid silicone grease, or anything with silicone, like the plague. Because it is like the plague, or maybe The Blob. Just a little dab tends to spread everywhere, it never ever wants to go away, and it’s a bear to remove. If it gets onto the wood and into the grain, it can prevent proper oiling and, if ever needed, proper repairs or refinishing.
That’s why I tried it as well. It nearly destroyed the endcap of my Mag XL200 by spreading over the contacts. Nasty stuff.
I’d stick with one of the less invasive alternatives suggested above.
Try a mix of one part beeswax and two parts vaseline, heat in a jar or pot in hot water (until wax melts) and mix thoroughly. Recipe may (or may not) be on Sam Murray’s website.
Do tell, what kind of beeswax do you use? Maybe yours would be whole different story.
I don’t know if it’s different from normal beeswax, it is some brown wax stick that is used to fill cracks on wooden furniture. I’ve never had any problem with it, it holds well and the slide moves firmly but smoothly, just the way I like it. If I wanted it to move more freely, I’d put some cork grease on it, but I don’t find it necessary.
Your problem is probably because the two tubes are too round. Imagine two perfect cylinders that just slide nicely as a tuning slide should. Add a bit of dirt, and it will jam hopelessly. Slide it up and down a few times and wear off a few molecules and the head will fall out. We can’t have “perfect” tuning slides - they are perfectly impractical.
Leave the barrel slide nice and round, take the head slide between fingers and thumb and squeeze. Squeeze in some easily remembered dimension, eg side to side with the embouchure up. Test the fit. If not tight yet, repeat, in the same direction. If overdone, squeeze in the opposite direction.
This might seem like vandalism, but it’s exactly what’s needed. The head slide becomes slightly eccentric, but is forced cylindrical again when inserted into the barrel slide. The male slide then acts like a spring, permitting easy adjustment while preventing free movement.
Don’t run amok - we only need it fractionally eccentric! And don’t be tempted to squeeze the barrel too. If you have two eccentric slides, they will feel funny when you rotate the head. You will have loose and tight patches.
Keep the slide well lubricated to prevent metal fret and minimise wear.
Terry
Didn’t someone - Hammy? - used to recommend the wax sold as toilet rings? (Used to make a permanently flexible gasket at the spot where the ceramic meets the pipe. Get more than you’ll ever need at a plumbers’ or builders’ supply for about $7.)
MTGuru wrote:
“Oh dear. If I were you, I’d avoid silicone grease, or anything with silicone, like the plague. Because it is like the plague, or maybe The Blob. Just a little dab tends to spread everywhere, it never ever wants to go away, and it’s a bear to remove. If it gets onto the wood and into the grain, it can prevent proper oiling and, if ever needed, proper repairs or refinishing.”
OK, now you’ve got me worried!
Glad I mentioned this. Thanks for the warning.
I haven’t had the bleeding problem you mentioned with any of my flashlights, but then I use it extremely sparingly.
I’m not sure where I saw this first, but Larry Mallette wrote at the Woodenflute website:
“Chris Wilkes provides a small vial of silicone grease with his flutes. A small dab applied to the tuning slide with a finger tip and spread around once or twice a year keeps the slide tight enough but quite functional. I obtained an additional supply in the plumbing department of my local hardware store. Low low cost. Non-abrasive enough and won’t ever congeal or act as glue.”
Also, at http://www.bleazey.co.uk/flutecare.html#THE is this:
“The best lubricant for tuning slides and corked joints is good quality, food grade silicone grease which lasts for ages without drying out and is unaffected by temperature. You may find this difficult to source but try companies that sell bearings or plumbers’ suppliers, otherwise use the cork grease available in your local music shop, or even a little Vaseline.”
Maybe the issue is how much of it to apply? The way I do it, there’s no realistic way for any excess to move onto the wood. There isn’t enough to see, almost too little to feel. As I slide it together, if there’s any excess accumulating on the edge, I pull it apart and wipe more off. Microscopic film left is what I aim for.
Mr Gumby wrote:
“Try a mix of one part beeswax and two parts vaseline, heat in a jar or pot in hot water (until wax melts) and mix thoroughly. Recipe may (or may not) be on Sam Murray’s website.”
That’s a real possibility. Sounds to me like Sno-Seal (for boots)…I’ve got lots of that around! I’ll give it a try.
Said Terry:
“Leave the barrel slide nice and round, take the head slide between fingers and thumb and squeeze.”
Yes indeedy, mine are non-concentric. On yours anyway. The Olwell not so much, but it’s quite tight as is. Now the Healy F… sheesh, the slide was so tight whether lubricated or not, that I finally had to use a polishing abrasive on a rag to slightly reduce the diameter. Hated to do that but it would bind up super tight every time. I thought I was going to break it getting it apart. So I’m not squeezing that one!
Sorry, I didn’t mean to be the voice of doom. Well, maybe I did, but just being extra cautious, so maybe I can be talked down. 
Silicone is a nasty issue in the guitar world. I remember a fellow a few years ago who sued for the full collectors replacement value of his handcrafted guitars after an exhibitor sprayed them with silicone polish. And a few minutes with my flashlight collection convinced me to toss the little pot of Danco plumber’s silicone grease in the trash, despite some recommendations on the CPF forums. Actually, I use cork grease on my lights, and I find that works very well.
It would be a good idea to find out what the maker of your flute recommends, if you can.
The dry, hard beeswax you mentioned trying wouldn’t really work well at all - needs to be thinned and softened first, as Mr.Gumby says.
A mix of beeswax and vaseline is pretty commonly used and it’s what I use on my flutes. The actual proportions depend on the consistency of the particular brands of beeswax and vaseline you have on hand, as well as how tight/loose the slide is before you put any grease on it. Vaseline can come in liquid as well as the jelly form, for example - and the jelly can also be thicker or thinner depending on the brand you buy. So you may need to adjust the proportions by experiment to see what works best for a particular slide.
The slide needs to be able to rotate but not while you’re playing, so it needs to be ‘firm’ and the grease needs to hold it in place and prevent air leaks. You should rub some grease on both the outer surface of the inner slide tube and the inner surface of the outer tube and then clean out any blobs of grease in the bore after.
A microwave is also a handy way to do the mixing but however you do it, you’ll need to have some time available since you have to wait for the mix to cool down each time before trying it.
I believe the soft beeswax ring for plumbing use may only be sold in the US and possibly Canada and I don’t know what it’s consistency is but it seems to work well by previous accounts on this board. Maybe it might need thinning with vaseline for some tighter slides?
Garry
MT, everyone needs to hear the voice of doom now and then! Good to hear different experiences.
And yeah, cork grease should work nicely on flashlight threads.
BTW, I’ve been using the Doctor Slick cork grease for a while. Actually, ever since I had some cork lappings deteriorate and disintegrate for no apparent reason. And then read that petroleum-based grease wasn’t so great for cork. The Dr. S description might be sales hocus-pocus, but it’s been working so far.
Maihcol, good to know details about beeswax/vaseline mixture. Very helpful. Thanks.
When I get some time, I’ll try that.
I totally agree about the easy rotation slip but holding power balance.
Again, I’ve never put so much of anything on a slide that excess ended up in the bore.
I smear it on with my finger, very thin, and then usually wipe off some of what remains.
On mine, it doesn’t seem to take more than a tiny bit if distributed well.
Our local hardware store has the toilet rings, and it sounds plausible that they’re beeswax - maybe mixed with something. I would guess it needs thinning to serve on slides - fairly stiff stuff. We have one of those rings sealing our toilet. If you bump the toilet really hard, it may leak a little but then heals itself nicely.
If the slide is too loose, you can tighten it using the toilet ring wax. If still too loose, you can smear a little bit of epoxy to the exposed surface of the inner slide. Separate the slide, and then clean off the inner slide with some alcohol. Then smear on the epoxy. Let it harden a good long time and use just a tiny amount.
Casey
Why not just do what Terry recommended? I’ve been doing this for years.
It’s called The Julia Delaney Disconcentric Flute Tuning Slide Adjustment.
Thanks for everyone’s feedback. Very useful. Cheers