Hi all, haven't been around on the forum for a while, due to some hand surgery, and problems playing the SS flute. However I just won, at a local auction a D piccolo, and a German flute for a very reasonable price. I think the flute is a cut above the usual Nach Meyer offerings in that the tone holes are bushed in German silver, as is the embouchure. I would like to clean the thing up, but I cannot get the metal crown or foot piece separated from the body of the flute, as they appear to be pinned into the wood and buffed flush with the surface of the metal top and bottom caps.
Has anyone encountered this before in their restoration of similar flutes,and also the key pivots seem very tight into the posts, again, any ideas how to extricate them?
I value your input with possible solutions.
Thanks in anticipation
If I can figure out how to include photos, I'll post some.
German Flute
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fsharp
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German Flute
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Terry McGee
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Re: German Flute
Hi fsharp
I don't think I've ever found a way to remove those end caps you find on German flutes, especially those that involve pins.
With the post-mounted keys, I think over the years I've been confronted with a number of variants:
- a straight pin through the axle tube and the two pins. Tap it out either way.
- a mildly tapered pin ditto. Tap it out from the small end. Sometimes they give you a hint. The small end is flat and square. The large end is rounded.
- a long axle rod with a screw slot at one end and a thread at the other. Unscrew it.
With the "tapping it out" varieties, it's good to find a way to support the post at the opposite end while you tap with a narrow punch from the thin end. I hold a bit of brass rod vertically in the vyce, with a hole drilled into it so it supports the ball of the post but allows the pin to enter the hole. Once you have the pin started you can usually pull it using pliers.
Once you have the pin out, you can put it into the lateral hole in the post, and use it as a handle to unscrew the post if you want the posts out. You might need to use pliers or some other tool to get them started. They normally screw into the wood with a short fat tapered thread. Possibly important to keep track of which post goes into which hole as you want them to hit the bottom facing the right way. And especially if its a one-way tapered pin. Probably best not to remove them unless necessary.
Get back to us if you have more questions.
I don't think I've ever found a way to remove those end caps you find on German flutes, especially those that involve pins.
With the post-mounted keys, I think over the years I've been confronted with a number of variants:
- a straight pin through the axle tube and the two pins. Tap it out either way.
- a mildly tapered pin ditto. Tap it out from the small end. Sometimes they give you a hint. The small end is flat and square. The large end is rounded.
- a long axle rod with a screw slot at one end and a thread at the other. Unscrew it.
With the "tapping it out" varieties, it's good to find a way to support the post at the opposite end while you tap with a narrow punch from the thin end. I hold a bit of brass rod vertically in the vyce, with a hole drilled into it so it supports the ball of the post but allows the pin to enter the hole. Once you have the pin started you can usually pull it using pliers.
Once you have the pin out, you can put it into the lateral hole in the post, and use it as a handle to unscrew the post if you want the posts out. You might need to use pliers or some other tool to get them started. They normally screw into the wood with a short fat tapered thread. Possibly important to keep track of which post goes into which hole as you want them to hit the bottom facing the right way. And especially if its a one-way tapered pin. Probably best not to remove them unless necessary.
Get back to us if you have more questions.
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rogervj
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Re: German Flute
I restored a Geo Cloos Nach Meyer last year. I had the issue with the pinned head cap. The metal had deformed slightly allowing the cap to spin freely over the pins. I end up drilling the old pins flush and setting new pins . Worked great.
On my flute the key pins are threaded into the uprights. You would not be able to tap them out.
Good luck!
On my flute the key pins are threaded into the uprights. You would not be able to tap them out.
Good luck!
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fsharp
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"that's Alright, I still have my guitar"
I still have a great interest in ITM - Location: Herefordshire UK
Re: German Flute
Thank you both for your insight and advice. I'm not too enamoured of the endcaps, so it wouldn't be a great loss to me if they er, went missing! Of course they'd be replaced by something a bit plainer and more to my taste. Would it be a crime if they were to be removed totally?
"is it about a bicycle"?
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Terry McGee
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Re: German Flute
I don't think that it would affect tuning or performance noticeably. The wood underneath the caps is usually turned to the same general shape, but won't be finished as well as the visible wood, and you'll have the remnants of the pins or their holes to deal with, so there will be a bit of making good to be done if you remove the caps.
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Terry McGee
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Re: German Flute
Yeah, that's my third category:
- a long axle rod with a screw slot at one end and a thread at the other. Unscrew it.
Jeweler's screwdriver needed - the largest size that will fit the slot. Can sometimes be very tight - who knows when they were last unscrewed! A drop of penetrating oil might help. Be careful not to snap the slot - that makes them really hard to get out! Sometimes working them back and forward while introducing some penetrating oil will work better than just undoing them. Probably depends on whether or not and where corrosion has set in. A job to be taken carefully and cautiously!
Having said all that, you'll probably report back they were all dangerously loose and fell out of their own accord!