Chiff and Fipple Forums

Cocus, I have one just like it with keys, lovely flute for someone

Hello again,
I've been away for a long time and explored other things.
The flute is still for sale, but I will only sell it in Europe because of CITES 2017.
The EU Commission says the new requirements do not apply to sales between EU member states.
£900 + shipping

Sold.....

If someone has a cocobolo flute that they love but have developed an allergy to, there is a trick that might help. It would probably only be feasible on a keyless flute--or rather it would be much less of a pain--but if you can put a barrier between the wood and your skin it might solve the problem. I'm currently using up my own small stockpile of cocobolo (liquidating all CITIES woods and not restocking) and making one-piece flutes for ITM (for players who like the more folk type instrument ala something like Pat Olwell's bamboo flutes). But I finish these in a way to create a solid barrier. However, it might be considered a bit sacrilegious to do something like this to a Grinter

I seal the surface grain with thin CA glue. Then I brush coat it with lacquer. Then it is topped with a nice wax of some kind. On a flute that already has an oil finish, I'd skip the CA glue and simply paint on the lacquer. You could do a couple of coats if need be.

Pros:

-it effectively separates the player from the wood

-it makes an attractive finish that can be anything from matte to glossy

Cons:

-takes a lot of practice to apply lacquer to a flute like that without making a mess. I've been brushing lacquer for 20 years and it's an art, especially to get it nicely onto a cylindrical object without drips or runs.

-the finish must be protected and maintained. Regular coats of wax to prevent skin contact from wearing away the lacquer, which will eventually happen if unprotected. You might have to give a thin coat of wax every few days if you play regularly. Takes minutes.

-player might have to endure shocked expressions and gasps of disbelief from anyone who learns that they had monkeyed with such a sublime piece of art

If someone doesn't like the lacquer finish or if they ever sell the flute, it can be (carefully) sanded off and the flute re-oiled. I'd leave all of this to a professional, however

I should add that someone who is highly allergic might react to the mere smell of the cocobolo from inside the flute, but on an older flute I'd be surprised if this was an issue.

I have always put a strip of clear packing tape (or even scotch tape) immediately under
the embouchure hole, so that the top edge of the tape creases the lower edge of the hole.
The idea is to protect the wood from my lips and to protect me from potential allergies.
Any reason why this shouldn't work well enough?

CA alone is a better option than adding lacquer, something I detailed in a post on the forum more than a decade ago, because the CA can easily be removed with something like Golden West Super Solvent. Also, CA is very easy and controllable to apply in thin layers - simply mask off the area around where you’re going to apply the CA, using painter’s tape, then paint the CA on the flute in thin layers with a pipe cleaner. DONT BREATHE THE FUMES. Let dry between coats, no need to sand. Easy.

Will help some folks, but not all. Remember, if you aren’t wearing gloves while playing, you’re still having skin exposure to the offensive compounds in the wood, thus you may still react, and/or continue being sensitized to these woods, which is baaaaad.

Loren wrote:CA alone is a better option than adding lacquer, something I detailed in a post on the forum more than a decade ago, because the CA can easily be removed with something like Golden West Super Solvent. Also, CA is very easy and controllable to apply in thin layers - simply mask off the area around where you’re going to apply the CA, using painter’s tape, then paint the CA on the flute in thin layers with a pipe cleaner. DONT BREATHE THE FUMES. Let dry between coats, no need to sand. Easy.

Will help some folks, but not all. Remember, if you aren’t wearing gloves while playing, you’re still having skin exposure to the offensive compounds in the wood, thus you may still react, and/or continue being sensitized to these woods, which is baaaaad.

Hearing you say this I have to agree. I had a brief lapse in my logic because I thought "Lacquer sticks to oily surfaces (much like shellac) so it's a better option". But of course so does CA glue! I've used it as a catalyst for linseed oil in the past and found it very useful. The pipe cleaner option is new to me, however. I just use little squares of paper towel, but this obliges me to wear gloves, etc..

Pipe cleaners are an excellent tool for when you need to apply CA to a relatively small area, in a controlled fashion. Hold the pipe cleaner not far from the end, apply a few drops of CA, immediately paint on. When the glue starts to dry on the pipe cleaner, whitish “smoke” will begin to rise from it. At this point clip the that part of the pipe cleaner off over a waste basket and you can apply a few more drops of CA to the next part of the pipe cleaning wand. Works great in tight areas like tenon cork slots, if you’re of the mind to coat the wood before applying rubber cement and cork, for example.

Loren wrote:Pipe cleaners are an excellent tool for when you need to apply CA to a relatively small area, in a controlled fashion. Hold the pipe cleaner not far from the end, apply a few drops of CA, immediately paint on. When the glue starts to dry on the pipe cleaner, whitish “smoke” will begin to rise from it. At this point clip the that part of the pipe cleaner off over a waste basket and you can apply a few more drops of CA to the next part of the pipe cleaning wand. Works great in tight areas like tenon cork slots, if you’re of the mind to coat the wood before applying rubber cement and cork, for example.

Brilliant! Having a low-cost, disposable applicator would be very nice. I actually have some pipe cleaners in my shop (for another purpose) so I can test it out. Great tip.