I’m a beginner, and I’d like to buy a Hamilton Practice Flute. I live in the U.S. and I don’t want to pay shipping from Europe. Does anyone know of anyone who sells them in the U.S.?
[ This Message was edited by: Bartleby on 2002-12-08 00:20 ]
Shipping on that weight from overseas is quite similar to postage here, probably within $3. It’s not like it’s $20 for shipping.
Thanks, Paul. I hope you’re right. I e-mailed Shannaquay for a quote including shipping. I’d still like to find one in the U.S.
Hmmm… not that I really care who you order from :roll: , but why don’t you try getting one direct from Hammy? He’s sure to charge less for the flute itself and might charge less for shipping (though you won’t get a free whistle pouch 
).
Chris
I’m going to go against ordering one directly from Hammy, due to the fact that I had to pay $35 for shipping (which includes insurance)(this is for a keyless blackwood not the practise flute BTW) and the damn thing still hasn’t gotten here and it has been over 15 business days since the flute was put in the mail. Hammy told me and others that he is really swamped right now so if you want a flute in a farely small amount of time, I would go against ordering one directly from Hammy. My 2 cents,
Jack Murphy
Hammy told me and others that he is really swamped right now so if you want a flute in a farely small amount of time, I would go against ordering one directly from Hammy. My 2 cents,
Jack Murphy
so that means I might have to wait longer than April for mine!! 
If my experience is any indication planxtydt, your overall waiting period will be more like 8-9 months instead of 6.
Like MurphyStout, I’m about 8 1/2 months into my own wait for a keyless Hamilton flute. Hammy is, I’m sure, insanely busy, so take with a large grain of salt his advertised waiting period of 5 months. My guess is that that estimate is probably off by about 100%.
It’s been my experience, along with heresay re other makers, that this delay holds true with most makers; only a few come in close to the estimated time, and even fewer ever beat it (and then I’ve heard quality-control complaints). The more popular a maker, it’s safe to say, the shakier the estimate is, vs. reality.
If the wait has been 15 days since it was sent, though, the delay may be customs, which has a habit of holding things, and that’s only gotten worse since 9/11. I was also then hit with a custom’s charge for the flute, which was unexpected – I needed something like $45 buck to get the flute out of the delivery man’s hand after I’d signed for it. But that, of course, is not the fault of the maker.
Hammy’s wait time has definitely gotten longer (mine was supposed to have been 4 months, and it was more like six, just before he changed the estimate to six, and now it’s obviously more like 
, but the flute’s will arrive, have no fear. He’s an honest guy.
On 2002-12-07 21:05, Gordon wrote:
If the wait has been 15 days since it was sent, though, the delay may be customs, which has a habit of holding things, and that’s only gotten worse since 9/11.
Mine’s 2 years old, before 9/11 and took 3 weeks, with me gnawing my fingers. The date on the customs declaration, and shipper’s marks, however, indicated that Hammy sent it off when he said. Not likely his fault, other than not preparing you for a possible longer wait.
Hammy’s wait time has definitely gotten longer (mine was supposed to have been 4 months, and it was more like six, just before he changed the estimate to six, and now it’s obviously more like >
Mine was quoted at 9 months, and took 9 months. It spent a considerable time as a block of wood with a hole in it. This was OK with me, as one of the reasons I chose him as a maker was his building philosophy, which includes sufficient time for the wood to stabilize at each step in the process. And it’s been a very hardy flute. The shorter quoted times must mean some blanks were already well on their way, but orders may have outstripped what was in the pipeline.
Kevin Krell
Your flute was a 6 keyed, if I remember, right Kevin? The wait time for that is now much longer as well (mine was keyless, the wait time projected as shorter, but then he ran a bit longer than that), and his estimates seem to have gotten longer, with some elasticity toward the end. But we’re still talking only a month or two over, which seems interminable when you’re waiting, but really isn’t that much longer from a distance, so to speak.
As for the flutes themselves, I agree wholeheartedly – the wait often represents elements of the flute’s construction (he was replacing his lathe bore during the time mine was ordered, which delayed things a few weeks), but since these are hand-made instruments, what you really want in the end is a well-seasoned, well-crafted instrument.
And with Hammy, at least, that’s what my experience says you’ll get.
I can’t help wondering why it is so difficult for guys who have been at the top of the flutemaking businnes so long to provide a better estimate of the waiting period. After you’ve been waiting a good while in good faith and that wait keeps getting protracted, you can’t help but start to feel, well, jerked around a bit.
You also don’t want to irk the guy who’s making your instrument–I don’t want an instrument made by someone who thinks I’m a jerk, at any rate. But, this is a contractual relationship in the final analysis, and it would be nice to have the terms laid out a little more plainly in the beginning.
I feel much better now that I’ve vented, thanks.
I’ve probably bought dozens of custom instruments over the years and predicting their schedule is something very few builders do well. Many also aren’t the best business or sales people, so they don’t always handle customer expectations well either.
To me, it’s part of the research you do on the builder. If you know going in that their delivery date is fuzzy, you mentally go “I’ll check with him on X to see how close he is” as opposed to really believing the instrument will be done on X date.
We buy from builders because they build well. Expecting all good builders to be good business people and good sales people too is a bit much.
Yes, first and foremost they are craftsmen. Thankfully our finest instruments are not yet being produced in unmoving, perfectly consistent materials by digitally accurate machines.
I suppose the best things still take time.
Regards, Harry.
I’ll second what MP said; it’s excellent advice.
These excellent builders are artists and I treat them as such. No matter who it is, take his/her completion date with a grain of salt, and use it as a guide for when you can start to bug him/her about your instrument. I have generally contacted makers maybe a week or two before their quoted completion dates and try to soften the blow by asking if they’re ready for me to send final payment at that time. My experience has invariably been positive, and if I’m not given a more definite completion time, then I just let the builder know I’ll contact him or her again in a month to see what’s up.
As far as flutes go . . . let’s see. I bought from Terry back when he had a selection of completed flutes, so no problems there. Bryan Byrne took a little longer but he called me to tell me he was doing X or Y and wanted it right[/]. (“No, no, don’t make it perfect.”) Grinter was a little off as well, but when he told me he wanted to make sure Kevin Crawford approved of the design, I said, “Ooh, OK then! You just let me know!” Pat Olwell was right within a month. I try to avoid calling Pat too much because I’ve never had a conversation with him that lasted less than 45 minutes and that’s time away from flutemaking, people!
Eamonn Cotter was WAY early, and he has the distinction in my book of being the only maker with whom I’ve dealt who was early.
I think something else is brought up as well . . . if a foreign (non-US) maker has an American agent, I don’t think I’d circumvent the agent. It makes for awkwardness. Usually, they work the deal so that the prices are comparable if not the same, and the agent in the US takes care of importing the instrument and all that entails as WELL as nagging the maker. If you’re in doubt as to the relationship of the builder vs. a North American contact for the builder, just ask the builder.
Just my thoughts!
Stuart
I thought I should let you all know that I had a note from Hammy today telling me my flute was ready. That’s the kind of news that can really make your day! So, I’m happy to say I was being overly pessimistic in thinking I’d be waiting much longer. Now I just have to hope that US customs doesn’t decide to keep it another couple of months.
Please post when you get your flutes!
I have a Hammy coming–it’s not ready yet but sounds close to it–but I do want to know about how long a wait through customs to expect.
Hammy has a stellar reputation; I doubt he’d tell you he had mailed it if he hadn’t, so I do suspect customs is the holdup.
Also, it occurs to me that if a flute is to set on a shelf in customs for 3 weeks before it gets to you, it’s a good thing to have a maker who takes great care to stabilize the wood through the making process. 3 weeks is a long time for a new flute to dry out and be unplayed; I would definitely go easy on it the first couple of weeks once you do have it to avoid cracking from the wood suddenly getting moist.
Best wishes to all,
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
Hey James here’s an update.
My flute arrived back at hammy’s door today. The U.S. post office said the address was “illegible.” GGGGRRRRRRRRRRR. So he sending it by EMS courier (whatever that is?). He said they guaranteed delivery to any major U.S. city in four days. Any bets?
Jack Murphy
goes and bangs head against wall
Shannaquay answered my inquiry very promptly. They quoted me $90 (U.S) including shipping/currency exchange for the Hamilton Practice Flute. It lists for 59 Euro on their website. That’s pushing the price up close enough to $100 that it makes me think it’d be worth it to go ahead and get the Dixon 3-piece polymer from the Whistle Shop. Anybody have any input on this?
That’s quite a markup for convenience. It’s $50 plus about $10 shipping US if you buy from Hammy directly.
Find out from Hammy if he’s got any in stock and cost of shipping.