19th-century simple flute with stuck cork

Irish Flute
1

Hallo from Scotland! I’ve lurked on the forum on and off for some time but this is my first post. I’ve played the violin as an amateur for many years but two years ago got interested in the flute, after hearing a beautiful slow air on the radio. I thought of getting a cheap delrin Irish flute but my flautist husband persuaded me to get a 1-keyed / Baroque flute instead as it would be more versatile, being fully chromatic. Somehow I have acquired several (!), which I’ll describe later elsewhere.

Recently I acquired a 19th-century 8-keyed flute stamped “Halary a Paris”, made in grenadilla with German silver keys. I came across it by pure chance when I was looking for something else. It was pretty filthy but nearly intact - only the touch for the long F had been broken off. We cleaned it up and replaced the pads and a broken spring, gave it a good oiling with almond oil and got it playing again. It has a sweet though not very loud tone, though I’m sure I’m not getting the best out of it as it’s rather different from my Baroque ones. At the moment I’m only playing it for ten minutes twice a day.

It plays for me at A440 with the head joint pulled out by about 5mm, though my husband plays rather sharper. The cork could do with adjusting but unfortunately it is stuck though the button comes off all right. It is one of those wooden screw thread ones, with an indicator popping through the button. Seen from the end the cork appears to have a hard round plate, ?metal, while viewed from the bore it is reasonably intact but rather manky. The head joint is not lined apart from a couple of inches at the barrel end.

I’d be very grateful for any tips or advice. Would trickling in some almond oil and leaving it to soak help? I’ve forbidden my husband to use brute force involving wooden dowels and mallets!

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The stopper is likely a piece of cork or a piece of wood wrapped in cork. The metal disc is just a facing. Whatever cork grease was originally used has probably congealed and caused the cork to stick in place in the head tube. I would normally take off the head, take a wooden dowel of a diameter that will fit inside the head joint. Place it (the dowel) vertically on a bench. Slip the head joint onto the end of the dowel and push downwards forcing the cork up and out of the end where the end cap is. So basically, a brute force approach.

If that didn’t work, I’d heat the inside of the head and try again. But it has always worked first time without heating for me.

The cork may or may not survive intact, in which case you will need a new cork to be fitted. But this is often a good idea anyway with antique flutes. Those old corks harbor all kinds of nasty stuff that you probably don’t want in your flute.

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Many thanks for the advice. We did try the dowel method but rather half-heartedly as we weren’t sure it was the right approach. Fortunately we have a dowel which is a perfect fit so will give it another shot. A new cork is definitely desirable!

I’ll let you know how we get on.

4

Success! Just when I thought it wasn’t going to budge it popped out. I now need to remove the actual cork from the screw. What I thought was a metal covering plate is actually wood, and an integral part of the screw. Can I just cut the cork off and then clean up any residue? Are there any potential snags I should know about. I’m so grateful for your advice. :slight_smile:

5

I’ve cut the cork off and cleaned up the tapered screw that held it and the area of the bore where it sat. I’ve also oiled the bore, and will now look for a new cork to fit in the next day or two.

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