Somewhere - on this forum I think - I read to pull the pins on block mounted keys by sliding a knife blade behind the upturned part to hook it out. Ever since I have only seen instructions - from people who clearly know what they are doing - to pull the pin with pliers.
Having a great knack for damaging things with tools I have always used a (bluntish) blade as it seems safer. But then they have never been hard to get out.
Which is best and why?
Pulling key pins
- kkrell
- Posts: 4834
- 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: Pulling key pins
You can get them out with just about anything. However, you might want to try with a tool less likely to cause damage to pin or flute. Remember, you have to push the pins back in, too, aligning through both sides of the mount & the pivot point of the key. Key springs make that less than trivial.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XU21QT4
or alternative
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T3PBZ5B
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XU21QT4
or alternative
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T3PBZ5B
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
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
- Julia Delaney
- Posts: 1082
- Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:15 am
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: I play fiddle, concertina, flute. I live in NH. Lived in Kilshanny, Co Clare, for about 20 years. Politically on the far left. Diet on the far right (plant-based fundamentalist). Musically in the middle of the pure drop.
- Location: New Hampshire, USA
- Contact:
Re: Pulling key pins
First I try to hold the pin with my fingers, perhaps getting a thumb nail under the curl, to pull it out. If it is too hard to pull it out with my fingers then I use pliers. I have also used nail clippers to grip the curled end of the pin but it requires care and patience to avoid cutting the end off. Good luck.
Freedom is merely privilege extended, unless enjoyed by one and all. The Internationale
Re: Pulling key pins
If the pin is bent into a hook at one end I try a thumb nail first. If that doesn't work then I'll use pliers to twist the hook back and forth, hopefully loosening up any gummed up oil or gunk that's causing it to stick. If there is a little bit of pin sticking out at the opposite end to the hook I will push on that with the side of a small screwdriver. Usually that frees everything up enough to extract the pin with a thumbnail. Otherwise it's back to pulling and twisting with pliers. When putting the pin back in I like to have a white well-lit background so I can align the holes in the pin and the key by looking through them and then try to stop them from moving while the pin goes in. Short F and low C / C# pins tend to be the hardest to align and get back into place.
-
- Posts: 261
- Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2007 8:49 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: I have a keen interest in wooden flutes (modern and antique), early music (Renaissance, Baroque), Romantic music and Irish Traditional Music of course! I also play the clarinet (my first instrument) and I've also started learning the cittern.
- Location: Sherbrooke, Quebec
Re: Pulling key pins
I use this type of knife:david_h wrote:Somewhere - on this forum I think - I read to pull the pins on block mounted keys by sliding a knife blade behind the upturned part to hook it out.
I use the punch to push the pin out by half a millimeter or so, going slowly so as not to damage the hole. Then I put the end of the punch through the hook and pull. I find that this works very well.
Putting the key back is another matter though
Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.
-
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 10:16 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Re: Pulling key pins
Aaron Olwell once told me that dental floss works, and it does.
-
- Posts: 731
- Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2003 8:06 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Re: Pulling key pins
Yogifluter wrote:Aaron Olwell once told me that dental floss works, and it does.
The dental floss idea is genius! I've done the thumbnail. knife edge and smooth jawed pliers depending on how loose or tight, but dental floss is going to be in my hand next time,
-
- Posts: 1735
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:04 am
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
- Location: Mercia
Re: Pulling key pins
Thanks everyone. That's very comprehensive.
I'll start with dental floss (hands against chest and breath in for controlled pull) and twist with smooth jawed pliers if it seems stuck. It's the squeezing hard with pliers to pull I don't like.
I'll start with dental floss (hands against chest and breath in for controlled pull) and twist with smooth jawed pliers if it seems stuck. It's the squeezing hard with pliers to pull I don't like.
-
- Posts: 44
- Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2016 9:18 am
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: Hi, it's me- the hack with a flute! I visit sessions all over the US and even play a few tunes while I'm there! Probably best to bring ear plugs if you know I'll be at your session!
Re: Pulling key pins
Just another helpful hint:
The spring on the key is causing upward tension on the pin- this is why the pins don’t work their way out of the block with use. Pressing down on the key at the fulcrum point will relieve that tension and help the pin to pull out easily in some cases.
The spring on the key is causing upward tension on the pin- this is why the pins don’t work their way out of the block with use. Pressing down on the key at the fulcrum point will relieve that tension and help the pin to pull out easily in some cases.
Charles Henderson
The Hack with a Flute
Student: "Teacher, what's the best sounding flute in the world?"
Teacher: "The one you practice for two hours a day."
The Hack with a Flute
Student: "Teacher, what's the best sounding flute in the world?"
Teacher: "The one you practice for two hours a day."