Anyone know why a flute key would be stiff?

The Chiff & Fipple Irish Flute on-line community. Sideblown for your protection.
Post Reply
User avatar
AuLoS303
Posts: 464
Joined: Sun Apr 30, 2017 12:17 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I have a fascination for musical instruments of all kinds, and though I'm not a very good player I have a small collection of acoustic instruments including 5 recorders, 3 tin whistles , 3 guitars and 2 ukuleles.
Location: Darlington UK
Contact:

Anyone know why a flute key would be stiff?

Post by AuLoS303 »

Anyone know about flute repair? I have no access (or money) to a flute technician. The flute, a student model made by Fortissimo, was given to me to practice on. Anyway... The Eb key on the foot joint is tight, so it doesnt spring back, and I think the spring was on the wrong side of the post, so I moved it to the other side. Now there is a bit of spring action but its still stiff. I also undid the screw at the other end but it was very tight! I might have to disassemble the whole rail and inspect the rod barrell.

Video here
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi4ICTFHu-a/
You can play beautiful music on an ugly flute
My musical endeavours on my blog
User avatar
AuLoS303
Posts: 464
Joined: Sun Apr 30, 2017 12:17 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I have a fascination for musical instruments of all kinds, and though I'm not a very good player I have a small collection of acoustic instruments including 5 recorders, 3 tin whistles , 3 guitars and 2 ukuleles.
Location: Darlington UK
Contact:

Re: Anyone know why a flute key would be stiff?

Post by AuLoS303 »

I fixed it!

All it took was lubrication. I had no oil per se but we had a little tub of olive oil from my daughter's cooking class. I took a very fine needle and just carefully applied a few drops. Capillary action drew it in, and the key now springs back. Victory!

Image
You can play beautiful music on an ugly flute
My musical endeavours on my blog
User avatar
kkrell
Posts: 4828
Joined: Mon Jul 29, 2002 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Mostly producer of the Wooden Flute Obsession 3-volume 6-CD 7-hour set of mostly player's choice of Irish tunes, played mostly solo, on mostly wooden flutes by approximately 120 different mostly highly-rated traditional flute players & are mostly...
Location: Los Angeles
Contact:

Re: Anyone know why a flute key would be stiff?

Post by kkrell »

Nope. But you can download
"AN ILLUSTRATED BASIC FLUTE REPAIR MANUAL FOR PROFESSIONALS.pdf"

AN ILLUSTRATED BASIC FLUTE REPAIR MANUAL
FOR PROFESSIONALS
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS DOCUMENT
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
The Degree Doctor of Musical Arts in the
Graduate School of The Ohio State University
By
Horng-Jiun Lin, M.Mus
* * * * *
The Ohio State University
2008

There's an active link to download a 7MB file:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... 4nPa26daNB

If you can't access it, I can possibly arrange a Dropbox for the document.
International Traditional Music Society, Inc.
A non-profit 501c3 charity/educational public benefit corporation
Wooden Flute Obsession CDs (3 volumes, 6 discs, 7 hours, 120 players/tracks)
https://www.worldtrad.org
User avatar
an seanduine
Posts: 1997
Joined: Sun Sep 13, 2009 10:06 pm
antispam: No
Location: just outside Xanadu

Re: Anyone know why a flute key would be stiff?

Post by an seanduine »

:thumbsup: kkrell's suggestion. It will shed a little light on the subject.

Olive oil is probabably not a good long term solution. Eventually, parhaps after a long time, it will become viscid and the problem will repeat itself.

Bob
Not everything you can count, counts. And not everything that counts, can be counted

The Expert's Mind has few possibilities.
The Beginner's mind has endless possibilities.
Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi
User avatar
AuLoS303
Posts: 464
Joined: Sun Apr 30, 2017 12:17 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I have a fascination for musical instruments of all kinds, and though I'm not a very good player I have a small collection of acoustic instruments including 5 recorders, 3 tin whistles , 3 guitars and 2 ukuleles.
Location: Darlington UK
Contact:

Re: Anyone know why a flute key would be stiff?

Post by AuLoS303 »

an seanduine wrote::thumbsup: kkrell's suggestion. It will shed a little light on the subject.

Olive oil is probabably not a good long term solution. Eventually, parhaps after a long time, it will become viscid and the problem will repeat itself.

Bob
Yea its a bit thin but its all I had. I read elsewhere that engine oil is best, or even 3 in 1 oil.
You can play beautiful music on an ugly flute
My musical endeavours on my blog
awildman
Posts: 612
Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2006 12:44 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Location: Washington State

Re: Anyone know why a flute key would be stiff?

Post by awildman »

Viscosity is probably overrated. How well the oil wicks and sticks, as well as its longevity is way more important. Others might disagree, but the fact is that viscosity is only one single factor in oil performance.

Personally, as somebody who has been around a lot of machinery and tools, i don't think that the type of oil generally makes much of a difference unless you are talking about high performance or high stress equipment. Basically anything expensive. That being said, I would probably never use motor oil or a generic oil on a musical instrument. But I'm sure those won't hurt anything. There are products designed specifically for woodwind keys. Hetman synthetic is a fine product. A small bottle only costs $7 and will probably last you for life.
User avatar
an seanduine
Posts: 1997
Joined: Sun Sep 13, 2009 10:06 pm
antispam: No
Location: just outside Xanadu

Re: Anyone know why a flute key would be stiff?

Post by an seanduine »

To be clearer: viscid=gummy. :D
Bob
Not everything you can count, counts. And not everything that counts, can be counted

The Expert's Mind has few possibilities.
The Beginner's mind has endless possibilities.
Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi
User avatar
oleorezinator
Posts: 1625
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2003 1:21 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I love uilleann pipes I love tin whistles I love flutes I love irish music I love concertinas I love bodhrans
Location: Behind the anthracite and shale curtain.

Re: Anyone know why a flute key would be stiff?

Post by oleorezinator »

Oil is probably it but you
could back the screw out
a very tiny bit.
Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love.
Love is not music. Music is the best.
- Frank Zappa
Kade1301
Posts: 167
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2018 4:44 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I've been trying to learn the recorder for about 5 years now and want to add a new instrument (tin whistle) to my repertoire. I hope with only 6 holes life will be a bit easier... (John Sheahan's Marino Casino in the Gaiety theatre has something to do with it - whereas my head knows that 40 years of practice is the reason why it sounds so good, I'm still hoping...)
Location: France
Contact:

Re: Anyone know why a flute key would be stiff?

Post by Kade1301 »

As Bob says, olive (and other vegetable oils) get sticky with time. In the bore of wooden recorders, that's good - on moving parts, not so much. Super Lube Synthetic Oil comes in a 7 ml Precision Oiler that should be perfect. Or, in a pinch I'd try to get a few drops out of a WD40 spray can (every household should have one of those) to unstick things.
User avatar
keithsandra
Posts: 461
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2007 2:55 pm
Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
Location: BC., Canada

Re: Anyone know why a flute key would be stiff?

Post by keithsandra »

If it's a wooden flute I'd definitely check for Priapus syndrome.
Post Reply