Chiff and Fipple Forums

I'm looking for advice on replacement pads for my 19thC wooden 5-key flute. I've read that thinner clarinet pads are the likely option. Is there a recommended material/source/maker of these clarinet pads that flute players here prefer? I'm also interested in views on appropriate colour choice on an older flute.

I think the best pads are leather covered clarinet pads. You want the thinnest ones, which I think are about 3mm thick. You'll need to measure the diameter you need for each key. They come in 0.5mm increments. I'm in the US and I use Prestini pads on the antique flutes I restore. You can get them on eBay in bulk or from various suppliers over here. There are probably similar alternatives in the UK.

You'll also want to get some stick shellac for glueing the pads in place. You heat it up (I use an electric heat gun), put a drop in the key cup and float the pad into place. The technique has been discussed numerous times in the past, so you should be able to find a discussion of it if you use the search function.

Oh, and I use white pads and a white shellac stick. I think they look good.

Aye, google clarinet pads. Here for example - Windplus based in Leicester: https://www.windplus.net/supplies/premi ... isoni.html

There are other suppliers too of course. I bought leather clarinet pads for a couple of Rudall & Rose flutes, but finding myself in Miltown Malbay Co. Clare I was lucky to find Jon Dodd, an esteemed, flute, woodwind, craftsman, so he did a professional repad of the flutes.

I've gone the cheapo way for years and it works great... I have a sheet of "fake felt" I got at a craft store years ago and use it for pads - last time I replaced pads was probably a couple of years ago.

Here's how I do it: 1 - remove the key, 2 - remove the old stuff from the key, 3 - press the key against the felt (it will leave an impression), 4 - cut out the new pad, (now comes the tricky part) 5 - fill the key cup with hot glue, 6 - place the pad on top of your glue (carefully), 7 - quickly place the key back on the flute and gently press down on the cup for a minute or so (to ensure a good seal), 8 - reassemble the key.

Like I said, this works well for me on my Gallagher 8-key, but YMMV...

Pat

Instead of clarinet pads, which seems to be larger and thicker, I have good luck using skin oboe pads. Sometimes oboe and piccolo pads are listed together. You can get them from www.dawkes.co.uk. Apparently they used to be Windcraft, which was highly recommend by Hammy Hamilton. I think the pads, if I'm not mistaken are 2.2 mm thick. They also sell French cement sticks ($$), sealing wax and shellac flakes, all of which can be melted into the key cup to float the pads.

in the US, you can order pads from J L Smith (www.jlsmithco.com), which are even thinner (2.1 mm) but are more expensive - around $3 a pad - although they have a selection of brown or white, and even goretex, which don't require leather preservative; or from Ferree's tools (www.ferreestoolsinc.com), where they are about $1 per pad. I don't think that Ferree's sells the cement, although they do sell pad preservative.

Best of luck,
John Dura

I still don't have a witty quote to put here...

I've found http://instrumentclinicusa.com/ a great resource - they post cheaply Internatially.
I used to use MusicMedic but there shipping costs have skyrocketed recently

V

Don't use skin pads. Stick to leather ones. The premium deluxe leather clarinet pads from Dawkes/Windcraft are fine for most simple system flutes, though occasionally you may have to thin them. They're not cheap. And they're tan - no colour choices. There aren't any GB suppliers of good quality white or black leather ones SFAIK, nor anyone making them at 2.5mm thickness, which would be helpful.

That's exactly what I have bought. 3mm tan leather clarinet pads.

3mm does seem like just a tad thick. What is the best way to thin them if I need to?

There's some advice on adjusting pads on Terry's site, IIRA. You make them damp to release the glue and open out the crimping at the back and disassemble them. You can replace the card disc with a thinner one, you can carve a bevel around the shoulder of the existing one with a razor blade (for salt spoon cups), you can even slice the felt in half laterally with a very sharp, new razor blade to thin that. Reassembling them accurately and snugly is a little tricky. Easiest if you drill a shallow hole the diameter of the pad in a block of hardwood and press the moistened leather disc into that, then the inner parts, then put a tiny dab of PVA glue on the card and use a suitable probe and fine paint brush to draw the leather over and recrimp it, then compress it lightly until dry. Best to put a tiny hole through the middle of the forming hole in your block first so you can push the pad back out with a thin probe! Any problems, you should be able to re-do it.

The above said, I've relatively rarely needed to do this. One too often sees old flutes which have had over-large pads fitted. You can often get away with smaller than expected ones - as long as they cover the actual tone-hole correctly, that's all that matters. Don't rely on measuring the key cup diameter for salt spoon keys. Later flat-bottomed cups are another matter, but with those, if pads are slightly too thick one can usually adjust the rise of the key to suit.

Great advice and information. Thank you.

The keys on my flute are the flatter type rather than the salt spoon pattern. This is my first attempt at repadding, but so far it doesn't seem too daunting, just needs care and patience. Plus good advice.