Is the cap of Aulos AF3 (Stanesby Jr.) traverso removable?

[skap]

I think that quite a few members of this forum have, or have had at some point, the Aulos AF3 "Stanesby Jr." baroque traverso. Have you ever tried to remove the cap? Is it possible without breaking it? And it would be disappointing to break it off just to discover that the cork is glued to the bore (which I could expect). The idea is of course to move the cork to make the octaves a bit wider (they are terribly narrow on some notes). Thank you!

[chas]

I just tried to pull the end cap off of mine, and it wouldn't budge. If you have to put too much effort into it, it's likely that it's a bad idea.

[cac]

No, it is not removable. Chet

[skap]

Thanks anyway! I find it really mysterious. With the manual that came with the flute there was a piece of paper where the possibility of adjusting the cork is clearly mentioned:



(https://ibb.co/vP8ySLc)

Also there is one music shop that sells "re-tuned" Aulos Stanesbies: they told me that they modify the toneholes and also change the position of the cork.

I can see why Aulos would make it extremely tight, I don't see why would they permanently seal it. And it doesn't really offer a good grip (the cap is thin and slippery). I feel like if I handed it to the right person (one of those guys that bend horseshoes barehanded etc.) he would remove it without even putting to much effort into it.

I won't have peace of mind until I hear from someone who either opened it successfully or broke it off.

[Uke]

[Thread revival. - Mod]

The Answer is YES!! Instead of guessing I actually contacted Aulos and got the answer from them directly after I saw how one person just outright said "No" with nothing to qualify the firm NO, meanwhile I am thinking of course there must be a way because A) the instrument comes with a little disclaimer note regarding moving the cork and B)logic would dictate that such an expensive instrument that is a perfect copy of the original would have a way to be able to exercise repairs on it. SO, without further adieu, here is a cut and paste of the email response I got from Japan. Glad I could help and finally solve this vexing mystery:


Thank you very much for your email about AULOS flauto traverso AF-3.


AULOS flauto traverso model AF-3 (a’=415Hz) is provided only the head cap as same as the one

on the original Stanesby Jr. flute. The model was not provided with the gadget of tuning the pitch.

You can push and remove the cork and chrome end cap from the head joint by using a wooden dowel

of the same diameter as the cork. You have to hit the dowel lightly by wooden hammer to push

the cork little by little. The chrome end cap was fixed tight (not glued).


Thank you very much again for purchasing AULOS flauto traverso.

With best regards,

Tatsuo Ozaki

Trading Director

*************************************************
　　　　　　　　　　　　
　　　　　TOYAMA MUSICAL INSTRUMENT CO., LTD.
　　　41, Oharacho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 174-0061, Japan
　 Phone: +81-(0)3-3960-8305 Fax: +81-(0)3-5916-2877
　 E-mail: oversea@aulos.jp Website: http://www.aulos.jp

[cac]

I'll be damned. Kudos to you for persisting in trying to find the answer. I bought mine used, and the little piece of paper you've posted was missing.
On a different topic, are you sure that it is the AF3 that is being retuned and not a different Aulos model? The intonation on the Stanesby Jr. model is really excellent. Chet

[Uke]

I'll be damned. Kudos to you for persisting in trying to find the answer. I bought mine used, and the little piece of paper you've posted was missing.
On a different topic, are you sure that it is the AF3 that is being retuned and not a different Aulos model? The intonation on the Stanesby Jr. model is really excellent. Chet

Hi! Thanks for the Kudos I like where my cork is in my AF3 as well. I posted this to help others because I was curious as well regarding how could it be done if I decided down the road I wanted to adjust it. I don't know regarding the original posters instrument but I believe it is a Stanesby Jr. as well. Now everyone knows how - with a tight fitting dowel from the inside banging it off by moving the cork out towards the cap and the cork will pop the chrome cap off. -Mike

[skap]

Thank you, Uke, for sharing this information. I myself have e-mailed AULOS
at the time, but have got no answer. A word of caution: while dislocating the cork
from its position was relatively easy, the cap itself sat insanely tight, but there
was no going back. I succeeded only by hitting really hard the protruding end of the dowel
against a concrete floor while holding the headjoint firmly with my both hands in rubberized
work gloves that would prevent any slipping and in a way that it would be my hand and
not the headjoint hitting the floor when the cap eventually flies out. The stopper is
a natural whole cork, quite fragile and fragilized even more by humidity if you don't
regularly carefully wipe the headjoint (which I neglected at some point). The dowel
I used wasn't optimal and even though I put a larger felt pad on top of it to protect
the cork, the side of the cork in contact with the dowel still got a bit deformed
non-uniformly, so I'll have to put it back reversed or, better, replace it with much
more resistant agglomerated cork. I tried to put the cap back with a bit of vaseline
around it and was able to push it out with the same dowel (without putting the cork in)
relatively easily, so with a harder stopper (agglomerated cork) and a bit of lubricant
it should be possible to do it routinely (for experimentation with the tuning or maintenance)
without having to use a vise and a hammer (or gloves and concrete floor, in my case).
Here's a photo to show you how it looks disassembled. The metal cap is quite heavy.



(https://ibb.co/LtXfm0h)

[Uke]

Hi Skap, That is really cool the picture you sent of the final result of finally getting that cap off. Rubber gloves was a great idea. Better than a vice or vice grips!! LoL
Thanks for sharing your adventure in getting that to happen. -Uke (Mike)

[chas]

Oh, I was likely trying to pull the ring off. : (

[Uke]

I was doing that as well!

[MikeS]

Also there is one music shop that sells "re-tuned" Aulos Stanesbies: they told me that they modify the toneholes and also change the position of the cork.

There is a one-man operation called Antique Sound Workshop.

https://aswltd.com/index.htm

Here is an excerpt from their page on the Aulos Flutes:

These excellent reproductions exhibit the same intonational problems as the museum originals, specifically sharpness on a number of notes in the second octave due to dehydration and shrinkage over several centuries. However, our low discounted prices on these instruments also include custom tuning and voicing in our workshop, which nicely corrects the intonational problems.

[Uke]

Hi Mike S, Ironically in real life I am a Mike S as well lol
I saw that too regarding retuning et cetera. The thing is, Ivory like teeth doesn't shrink. The original for this particular model is ivory. Also, the owner of the original, who is a Japanese virtuoso on the instrument worked with Aulos personally to make the AF3 as near perfect as possible to Baroque standards and tuning and temperament which is a lower pitch as well as meantone. These quirks are unavoidable and to mess with it would defeat the purpose of having a genuine period copy. The sharper upper octave can usually be checked by moving the cork around until you find the sweet spot hence my wanting to crack the code on how to get into the cork of this particular instrument. The AF-1 I could see it worth tweeking; however, I would leave the AF-3 be and just spend a lot of time doing long tones and octaves until one learns how to feel and hear the baroque way of handling these quirky instruments. What is neat when one doesn't mess with it is that playing in modes and different keys actually evokes different colours and emotional flavours! I was a very decent cornetto player for years until I injured my pharynx and it required the same type of rethinking versus retooling of the instrument.
Hope this helps. Sincerely, Uke (Mike).

[Uke]

OK! I got the cap off.
In the end I did need to adjust the tuning for pitch and octaves.
It was really easy!! Just use a 1/2 inch dowel, put it inside the head joint and just tap the dowel off the floor (I used a cement floor) and it will push the cap out and off and the cork with it. Reinsert the cork and use the dowel to push it in and out from either side until you find the sweet spot, then push the cap back into place and voila, Bob's your uncle.
And that's it ;-D

[skap]

In the end I did need to adjust the tuning for pitch and octaves.

Did you end up with a cork position different from the default one ? (The factory position corresponds to 25 mm from the center of the embouchure hole.)
You can mesure it by making a mark on the dowel through the embouchure hole.