gilmo789 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 08, 2023 5:13 pm
As you can see, it doesn't have the traditional upper tenon setup - rather a sort of integrated tuning slide which is quite short. This all works but the pitch is a little funny. All the way in the flute plays a little flat of Eb. I can get it to D but the head is a little wobbly because there is not a whole lot of engagement between the metal slide parts and I think it is also losing air here. If the fit was a little tighter of the head slide was a little longer, it would work fine I think. Head is unlined btw apart from the slide.
Yeah, these come from the British High Pitch era, and they'd given up on the super long tuning slides of the preceeding "let's try to make one flute work at low pitch and high pitch" era. A bit inconvenient once they then went for modern pitch. It's quite common that modern pitch is at the very end of the short slide. I've racked my brains (both cells at once!) over the years and not been able to come up with easy solutions. See:
https://www.mcgee-flutes.com/HighPitchCure.htm Pleased to hear of any other suggestions!
You might be able to swell the end of the inner slide by inserting a steel rod and running it around, pressing outwards. Go lightly - you don't want to split the slide, or make it too tight to fit. Alternatively talk to your local woodwind repairer - they might just happen to have a slide stretcher that fits!
FWIW, the hole spacing is the same as the nach Meyer I have which plays in D fine
Yeah, that reminds us that the spacing on flute finger holes is set more to "what the customer can bear" rather than any acoustic ideal. The conical flute has the advantage in this regards as the same stretch will produce a bigger pitch change than on a cylindrical bore.
The next issue I need some advice on is how to fix a block. I didn't notice on the ad pics, but the G block, under the long F has sheared off at some point with the break occurring through the pin hole. I guess the key took a know because it looks like it has been repaired - I don't have the bit. I'm guessing its OK to sand it flat and try to shape some matching piece of wood to it.
Probably file rather than sand, or back the sandpaper up with something hard which will leave a flat platform suitable for glueing.
And of course you'll need to drill the second side of the block for the pin. You can get tiny drill bits for such tasks. A Dremel style tool is one way of doing it. Or if you have nerves of steel, run the drill in the drill press and bring the existing hole up underneath it, then lift. You have to be very careful not to open up the original hole.
Strong enough with a bit of epoxy?
It's funny. I used to use epoxy, but more recently I've used Tarzan's Grip rubber-enhanced superglue. I reckon it's better. Possibly because it soaks in better than the goopy epoxy.
Where does one procure tiny blocks of cocus?
There are specialy suppliers, such as Gilmer Woods in the US who sometimes have cocuswood. Given the tiny chunk you need, you could try your local flute maker. Wherever "local" is!
Would rosewood or mahogany or something be acceptable?
I think anything reasonably hard will be fine if you can get a reasonable colour match. Mopane even?
Finally, where the metal tenon goes into the body, there is hairline crack developing. I'm very reticent to try removing the tenon to glue it up because the wood is pretty thin and I don't have a lathe. I'm thinking I should just whip this with string to stop it propagating. Is dripping in some superglue bad?
This will be because the wood has shrunk in a less humid environment than where the flute was made. The metal slide prevents shrinkage, so crack! I've never been a fan of whipping, as it's not just a matter of holding the crack together - the metal slide prevents that. Unless you can get the slide out (and that's often just about impossible!) to relieve the pressure, I reckon I'd go with the superglue.
For context I've played the fiddle for a long time and have take a notion to learning the flute. I've already restored the old nach Meyer I mentioned above including pulling out the headliner and fixing all the cracks, re-padding, corking tenons etc. However its a sustantial stick of wood and this new flute is a little more delicate
Yeah, they got a bit obsessed around that period with thinness. That plus internal metal slides was a deadly combination!
Well done for taking this on. Feel free to come back with questions if we can help.
