When do they crack?

Irish Flute
1

I have a few flutes and never had cracks on them.
I believe I have been careful enough to prevent cracking from happening :slight_smile: .

I believe other people are as careful as I have been, but some of them unfortunately have experienced cracking on their beloved instruments :cry: .

I have heard that, in the classical music genre, they don’t oil the wooden instruments any more. I don’t hear that their instruments have cracked because they don’t oil the instruments.

Terry McGee’s experiment proved that the temperature change doesn’t really affect the wood.

We have been told to oil the flutes regularly, avoid exposing them to temperature change. But :really: …

If you have experience of cracking on flute, I want to hear their experience.

Does it happen while you are playing it?

Does it happen while it is stored in the case and you only find it when you open the case?

What is the cause of crack, do you think?

Thank you for your advice :party: .

2

I cracked my first wooden a flute, an unoiled boxwood baroque flute with brass rings, that had been treated (varnished??). I moved from Vancouver to Boulder (ie humid climate to dry), in winter, with electric heating. I was putting the upper section into the head (no barrels on baroque flutes) and it was tight. Instead of taking the hint, I forced it, and there was a loud crack, and the split was about 3 inches (7.5cm).

So I’d argue that as in the rest of the mechanical world, don’t force something that doesn’t want to go, and avoid my mistake.

Hugh

3

If you’ve read Terry’s bumf, you already know that the critical factor is moisture and humidity. Of course, going somewhere dry is often associated with going somewhere hot too! When I visit my parents in Spain in the summer I now take care to keep the flutes I take in sealed tupperware boxes with a piece of damp tissue on a jam-jar lid inside - speeds up tarnishing of keys, but protects the wood. Prior to so doing in previous years, I noticed the normally stable barrel crack in my R&R opening up after a couple of days out there.

By contrast, the boxwood flute in my avatar pic swells at the upper body tenon if left assembled after playing, or even during a longish practice session, even in moist old Wales - water gathers in the crack at the junction of tenon end and socket shoulder, especially if I’ve opened it a bit to tune down. It hasn’t jammed solid yet, but… and that’s despite my having multiply treated the tenon wood with Renaissance Wax. I don’t think it is going to swell enough to crack the socket whilst assembled - would have done it by now if was going to - but it can sure be a problem for taking apart/putting together and potentially risky then.

As for current “classical” thinking, I don’t know if there is any particular doctrine for wooden clarinets, oboes, bassoons etc., but there is never any difficulty buying proprietary bore oils for such, so I guess someone is buying and using the stuff!

4

Sorry, can’t figure out how to submit a post. There is a delayed reaction or something.

5

I owned a delrin Seery for a while and used to leave it out so that I could grab it and play it during short opportunities. I then acquired a fairly good wooden flute. I oiled it, dried it after playing and kept it put away in a leather case when I wasn’t using it. Then I got lazy and started leaving it out. It didn’t take it long to develop a large crack. So… this seems to be one way they crack. I am sure that there are other ways (exposing the flute to wide variations in temperature and humidity). This reminds me, I also had some mouthblown smallpipes that I was playing one cold and cloudy winter day in New Mexico. I happened to walk by a window and a beam of intense sunlight broke throught he clouds and hit the blackwood blowpipe on the pipes. The blowpipe cracked instantly and loudly, believe it or not. So, I guess this is another possible way that you might crack your flute, under certain conditions.

6

Some makers source seasoned wood and/or develop their own stock. Upon receiving an order, they will partially ream the wood blocks and let them sit for months, the longer the better. I suppose the dimensions of the wood can even be monitored for settling. Then the pieces are turned to their final dimensions.

My guess is some makers might forgo much of the above especially when confronted with a long list of eager buyers. At the same time we see that some makers have a higher reported incidence of cracked headjoints than others. Well I can’t prove there’s a correlation, let alone a causal relationship, but how could it be that those maker’s are attracting buyers that don’t care for their flutes? I don’t think it’s all user abuse.

7

For newer flutes, it’s mostly a matter of the makers not seasoning the wood long enough. The classical flute makers tend to have less cracking because they season their wood longer: Abell, Powell, Burkhart, etc. I say that knowing people at these places and having some idea how long they season their wood. They typically have wood that has seasoned 2-10 times as long as many Irish flute makers.

Certainly there is a certain amount of user abuse in some cases. And in other cases it is a regional thing, I mean it is tough for makers in Ireland to season flutes at a humidity that equals the U.S. desert southwest, no? Can’t really blame Hammy if one of his flutes cracks after 2 years in Death Valley, eh? That said, there are other Irish makers who’s flutes seem to crack wherever they end up so it goes both ways.

Loren

8

yes, sudden shifts from humid to dry.
(but I don’t know about pluto where the thread starter is located).

9

I set my flute down on my cushioned office chair, then a minute later sat on it.
I heard of a flute player who set his flute on the hood of a car outside, and then his father drove the car. The flute apparently fell off and was driven over.

These are two ways of cracking a wooden flute.

Michael

10

For newer flutes, it’s mostly a matter of the makers not seasoning the wood long enough

What is the best advice for the consumer who wants to make sure the wood is properly conditioned? I am planning on placing an order for a fully keyed flute, and this thread has me rethinking my choice of maker (not that the economy isn’t causing me to rethink this anyway). Is this a matter which can be discussed (comfortably) with the maker?

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11

To Richard, of the Rio Grande, yes I think it is a very legitimate matter to discuss with potential makers. Just explain your climate and ask what steps they would take to make sure your flute will be safe in it. Any problems are likely to surface in the first year, so make sure there is a one-year warranty.

Now, they say a gentleman is one who hears the William Tell Overture but doesn’t think of the Lone Ranger. Perhaps equally, a gentleman is one who hears of the Rio Grande, but is not reminded of the Ballad of Eskimo Nell?

I guess I fail.

Terry

12

Going back to the original question, I can think of four general ways in which flutes can crack. There may be others, but let’s see.

  1. Mechanical damage

Flute gets sat on when left lying on a chair. Flute gets trodden on on stage. Keyless flute rolls off table at session. Etc.

Simple mechanical failure, typically at tenons and sockets, but can be in the middle of tubes. Cracks normally follow grain lines, although can cut across at tenons.

  1. Irresistable force meets immovable object.

A flute made in a climate where there is a decent amount of moisture in the air is taken to a place where there isn’t. London to India. Ireland to America. Anywhere to Arizona.

The flute shrinks. Where it is permitted to shrink, it will, safely. Where it is prevented from shrinking, it will, unsafely. Things that try to prevent it from shrinking include (in approximate order of significance) metal-lined heads and barrels, silver-lined sockets, lined key slots, post mounting, keys.

You normally get away with block-mounted keys because of their narrow profile and the airspace around them needed for free operation. Post mounting normally only gives problems at weak points like the Eb key (close to the end of the piece, with the thin socket wood and possibly complicated by C and C# key mounts). Or the G# key, again close to the end of the piece with the hole and the tenon offering only weak resistance.

The other situations all present more serious risks because the widths (diameters) are great and there is nothing to “give”. These splits are normally clean and normally follow grain lines.

  1. Irresistable moisture gradient.

Flute hasn’t been played for a week and is dry. It’s been a long time since it was oiled. Great session, so player hammers away for 4 hours. Too many Guinnei imbibed, so forgets to swab flute out (frankly, was lucky to remember flute at all!). Inside of flute remains wet, and over the next few hours continues to soak into inside layers of wood. Wood swells and ruptures dry outside wood.

Cracks are ragged and angry looking, and cut across grain lines.

  1. Born cracked

Timber can come with faults, or be made faulty during the manufacturing process. Seasoning faults are a form of moisture induced fault and like them usually cut across the grain in a ragged line. Cracks caused by over stressing a part during manufacture display mechanically induced splits, usually clean and along the grain. They can be tricky because they may not show up until the flute has been played for a while.

All I can think of for now. What have I forgotten?

Terry