Cork chunk fell off

[bigsciota]

A small bit of the cork on one of the tenons of my flute (Olwell Pratten, tenon between the body and foot) fell off. It must have been sticking up slightly and gotten caught as I assembled the flute, because it fell out when I disassembled. It's only a couple mm in total, but now there is a slight part of the cork where you can see straight through to the wood.

I figure I should just get it re-corked, but I was just wondering if this is the sort of thing that happens from time to time or if there's something I should watch out for. I've been playing for 9 years and this is the first time I've seen it! I use cork grease, take care the flute, etc.

[Jayhawk]

I've had it happen before both on a delrin flute and a wooden flute. I doubt you did anything wrong and just lean towards the theory it sometimes happens and it's expected maintenance at some point. Corks and pads (on a keyed flute) are like tires and mufflers on cars...at some point they'll be replaced.

Eric

[Flutern]

I've been playing for 9 years and this is the first time I've seen it! I use cork grease, take care the flute, etc.

If you've been playing for 9 years the flute this happened to, I'd say the corks have served their purpose pretty well . Cork replacement is a part of regular maintenance on woodwinds.

[bigsciota]

I've been playing for 9 years and this is the first time I've seen it! I use cork grease, take care the flute, etc.

If you've been playing for 9 years the flute this happened to, I'd say the corks have served their purpose pretty well . Cork replacement is a part of regular maintenance on woodwinds.

Have only had this one for about 6 months, but it was used so no idea how long the cork's been on there. I've got a woodwind shop nearby that can do the recorking, so it'll be in good shape soon enough!