Hi all,
I wanted to try my hand at some basic flute repair so I purchased this old flute off of ebay. Very close inspection reveals no makers marks. I was very successful at new cork joints and re-padding, and the crack repairs are not bad at all. The headjoint was cracked thru the embouchure, the whole length of the head. The barrel was in two pieces. I pulled the metal liners, glued and clamped the wood back together, re-bored and reassembled. The flute had all its hardware and looked to be in original condition. All is nickel silver. These keys look remarkably like the keys on my W. Hall&Son. It plays in very good tune with the slide out about a half an inch.
Its been in a humidified environment, and getting played in gradually for about a month and a half. It went to session last night and held its own, although a bit quieter than my William Hall or Copley flutes. I will figure out how to post a soundclip, am looking a ‘soundlantern’ and will try later.
The last seven pics are the flute in the unrestored condition, the rest are as it is now. I may still do a little fine sanding to try to blend the crack repairs, but really they don’t look too bad. Sorry for the picture quality, but I think you can make out the details close enough.
Thanks for any opinions you may have on who the mystery maker may be.
Doug
Hi S1m0n
For the cork and pads, kudos must go to Hammy Hamilton for his recent “Wooden Flute Maintenance” DVD. The tools needed for these jobs are on this video, and most of us can do this at home and it is a satisfying piece of work when completed.
It is an excellent resource that made it possible for me to do this work out here in the hinterlands of Montana. If you are a wooden flute player, this DVD is a must have. You will learn a lot about wooden flutes, even if you do not intend to perform these repairs.
For the headjoint and barrel crack repairs, I searched on this site for all the information I could find. And there is a lot!!! Jem and Jon and many others offering up ideas on “how to do” things such as pulling the slides out, what kinds of glues, clamping, etc, etc,. I have in the past made a few musical instruments and repaired some too. So I had a general idea of wood characteristics. This was just a different ‘shape’ and a much older piece of wood. I would have to say that every cracked headjoint repair that involves carefully getting the metal slide out of the wooden headjoint sleeve without further damage will be handled differently, as each situation will be unique. And as had been said in other posts, let the maker handle this repair if possible as its not for the faint of heart. As this flute is quite old and seemingly anonymous, I took it on myself, and in this case I won!!!.
Tools included, heat gun, padded pliers, plastic head hammer, wood blocks, clamps, fine sandpaper, steel wool, favorite wood glue, super glue, acetone, rags, wood dowel sticks, strong reading glasses or magnifying glass, good light, patience, trips to the hardware store, dremel motor tool, hummmm I better go have a look at my toolbox and all the things in there now that the job is finished. And another thought, think things thru several times before making your move, sleep on it!. Many times your initial idea on how to attack a problem will change after a few days of considering all angles.
I’ll chime in some more if you have a specific question on what you intend to do ( do searchs here!) and hopefully the more experienced will add to your questions also.
It was a fine project that provided many hours of enjoyment, and I hope to do it again sometime. D.
After you have removed the metal and reglued the crack(s), the bore will be a few thousands of an inch smaller inside. In order to put the slide back in, you must carefully sand out some of the bore to allow the slide back in. I used a wooden dowel with fine sandpaper around it, being very careful not to ‘wallow’ out the bore. Keep the movements of the sanding action straight. I imagine if you could chuck the piece into a lathe you could accomplish this also. D.
Nicely done, Doug. Welcome to flute-fettling! Glad you found useful stuff in our various ramblings!
I’m afraid I’ve no idea about it style/provenance-wise, though. Those chunky ferrules and that unusual short F touch are quite distinctive, aren’t they?
Yes Jon, I am kind of sorry its done, I am ready for another project. And thank you and Jem and all the others for all this information from so many conversations on this site. This flute does seem unique/odd, but it sure is a player now. I wish some sort of mark was visable, I wonder if it had gone thru buffings or polishings and rubbed it off.
And hey, I have a neat little note to add to the pile. We sometimes see someone ask about slide grease and differing mixtures folks have recommended. Wax and vasoline, how much of this , how much of that etc,.
Well, I think I have found the perfect pre-mix, ready to go product. Here in Montana we still use different ski waxes for the bottoms of our cross country ski’s, depending on the current temperature, and it is available in all the sporting goods stores here in town. I am using “Swix” brand V45 Violet Special, with a close second choice of the V60 Red for all the slides on my flutes. Its a gentle firm feel when moving the slide, holds its position once set and while playing. It never seems to break down in viscosity, I have been using it a few years now. If you want it cleaned off, just a little WD40 on a rag and its off the slide leaving a great shine!
Take care all, Doug.
Your flute is either a William Hall or a Firth, Hall and Pond. There is a chance that it is a Peloubet. But I would say it is probably a William Hall. The keys, especially the short F are the give away.
Yep, those keys look just like the ones on my William Hall & Son (thanks again, Jon!), although mine has a more standard looking block for the e flat key than that wide baroke-looking-knob-thingy on yours (is there a name for that thing? ).
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