As you can see, it doesn’t have the traditional upper tenon setup - rather a sort of integrated tuning slide which is quite short. This all works but the pitch is a little funny. All the way in the flute plays a little flat of Eb. I can get it to D but the head is a little wobbly because there is not a whole lot of engagement between the metal slide parts and I think it is also losing air here. If the fit was a little tighter of the head slide was a little longer, it would work fine I think
Head is unlined btw apart from the slide.
FWIW, the hole spacing is the same as the nach Meyer I have which plays in D fine
The next issue I need some advice on is how to fix a block. I didn’t notice on the ad pics, but the G block, under the long F has sheared off at some point with the break occurring through the pin hole. I guess the key took a know because it looks like it has been repaired - I don’t have the bit. I’m guessing its OK to sand it flat and try to shape some matching piece of wood to it. Strong enough with a bit of epoxy? Where does one procure tiny blocks of cocus? Would rosewood or mahogany or something be acceptable?
Finally, where the metal tenon goes into the body, there is hairline crack developing. I’m very reticent to try removing the tenon to glue it up because the wood is pretty thin and I don’t have a lathe. I’m thinking I should just whip this with string to stop it propagating.
Is dripping in some superglue bad?
For context I’ve played the fiddle for a long time and have take a notion to learning the flute. I’ve already restored the old nach Meyer I mentioned above including pulling out the headliner and fixing all the cracks, re-padding, corking tenons etc. However its a sustantial stick of wood and this new flute is a little more delicate
Yeah, these come from the British High Pitch era, and they’d given up on the super long tuning slides of the preceeding “let’s try to make one flute work at low pitch and high pitch” era. A bit inconvenient once they then went for modern pitch. It’s quite common that modern pitch is at the very end of the short slide. I’ve racked my brains (both cells at once!) over the years and not been able to come up with easy solutions. See: https://www.mcgee-flutes.com/HighPitchCure.htm Pleased to hear of any other suggestions!
You might be able to swell the end of the inner slide by inserting a steel rod and running it around, pressing outwards. Go lightly - you don’t want to split the slide, or make it too tight to fit. Alternatively talk to your local woodwind repairer - they might just happen to have a slide stretcher that fits!
FWIW, the hole spacing is the same as the nach Meyer I have which plays in D fine
Yeah, that reminds us that the spacing on flute finger holes is set more to “what the customer can bear” rather than any acoustic ideal. The conical flute has the advantage in this regards as the same stretch will produce a bigger pitch change than on a cylindrical bore.
The next issue I need some advice on is how to fix a block. I didn’t notice on the ad pics, but the G block, under the long F has sheared off at some point with the break occurring through the pin hole. I guess the key took a know because it looks like it has been repaired - I don’t have the bit. I’m guessing its OK to sand it flat and try to shape some matching piece of wood to it.
Probably file rather than sand, or back the sandpaper up with something hard which will leave a flat platform suitable for glueing.
And of course you’ll need to drill the second side of the block for the pin. You can get tiny drill bits for such tasks. A Dremel style tool is one way of doing it. Or if you have nerves of steel, run the drill in the drill press and bring the existing hole up underneath it, then lift. You have to be very careful not to open up the original hole.
Strong enough with a bit of epoxy?
It’s funny. I used to use epoxy, but more recently I’ve used Tarzan’s Grip rubber-enhanced superglue. I reckon it’s better. Possibly because it soaks in better than the goopy epoxy.
Where does one procure tiny blocks of cocus?
There are specialy suppliers, such as Gilmer Woods in the US who sometimes have cocuswood. Given the tiny chunk you need, you could try your local flute maker. Wherever “local” is!
Would rosewood or mahogany or something be acceptable?
I think anything reasonably hard will be fine if you can get a reasonable colour match. Mopane even?
Finally, where the metal tenon goes into the body, there is hairline crack developing. I’m very reticent to try removing the tenon to glue it up because the wood is pretty thin and I don’t have a lathe. I’m thinking I should just whip this with string to stop it propagating. Is dripping in some superglue bad?
This will be because the wood has shrunk in a less humid environment than where the flute was made. The metal slide prevents shrinkage, so crack! I’ve never been a fan of whipping, as it’s not just a matter of holding the crack together - the metal slide prevents that. Unless you can get the slide out (and that’s often just about impossible!) to relieve the pressure, I reckon I’d go with the superglue.
For context I’ve played the fiddle for a long time and have take a notion to learning the flute. I’ve already restored the old nach Meyer I mentioned above including pulling out the headliner and fixing all the cracks, re-padding, corking tenons etc. However its a sustantial stick of wood and this new flute is a little more delicate
Yeah, they got a bit obsessed around that period with thinness. That plus internal metal slides was a deadly combination!
Well done for taking this on. Feel free to come back with questions if we can help.
So I’ve dripped in the superglue so I guess the crack is now stable, that was easy enough! I also tried to expand the tenon hole with a metal rod. This has worked well enough to keep the head from falling off. I’m not convinced its perfect but it is playable.
Some more questions…
After the gluing. I had to remove the excess which I did gently with a knife and wet sanded (gently) 600, 100, 2500. It’s hard to see now but the area is slightly lighter around the repair. Is that just because the wood was stained dark? Is there any finish I should put over the top of it? (Boiled) Linseed oil or something?
Should I just change all the pads? they’re all very dry leather. They seem to work but I’d say the springs could be expanded a bit first. Would the flute restorers just replace old pads as a mater of routine or make the attempt to preserve old ones?
Enough at least to see if the flute has merit enough to perservere with!
Some more questions…
After the gluing. I had to remove the excess which I did gently with a knife and wet sanded (gently) 600, 100, 2500. It’s hard to see now but the area is slightly lighter around the repair. Is that just because the wood was stained dark? Is there any finish I should put over the top of it? (Boiled) Linseed oil or something?
That looks like natural cocus, so I’m guessing that it just has to darken a bit with exposure to light. It will look nicer after oiling, but of course that means you can’t stain the new surface if it doesn’t go dark enough! So perhaps hold back on oiling until you see if it needs some touching up.
If you do need to darken it, I found hair dye works well on cocus, and comes in a good range of shades. Decoré, because I’m worth it…
Should I just change all the pads? they’re all very dry leather. They seem to work but I’d say the springs could be expanded a bit first. Would the flute restorers just replace old pads as a mater of routine or make the attempt to preserve old ones?
I’d be guided here by the suck and blow tests. You don’t want to be able to suck any air past the pads. If they are really old and hard, I’d replace them, but be aware that’s a bit of work to do well. You should be able to find YouTube or other guides on replacing clarinet pads. If they seem to have life, you could try replenishing the leather with something from your local shoemaker. Even cork grease might help, at least to confirm the flute’s usefulness.
Now, do be very careful about bending the springs and attempting to straighten any bent shafts (that Long F looks a bit odd!). Remember these are brass, very old, and very “work-hardened”. So they are looking forward to any opportunity to snap. Unless you are looking forward to improving your hard-soldering (brazing) skills! So only make changes you have to!
And check out where the tips of the springs touch the body of the flute. Is this plain wood, or has the maker inset little metal striker plates? And if plain wood, has the tip of the spring dug itself a little hole in the wood, making it harder for the spring to function well? If so, it often repays the effort of gluing in a tiny metal plate, particularly on those keys you feel return sluggishly. I use stainless steel, but it probably doesn’t matter what metal you use as long as it doesn’t rust.
And if you decide that the surface is ok, put a dob of cork grease or similar lubricant on the tip of the spring to reduce wear and drag in future.
I thought my eyes were fooling me a bit, the wood has darkened already
I assume the F was bent when the G was broken…
I just straightened it and it seemed pretty malleable, not like trying to bend stainless. I probably won’t use it much anyway
Are they brass, not Nickel silver? they’re not as yellow as they look in the photos
or are they metallurgically similar? CuZnNi isn’t it?
Yes, nickel silver, or German Silver as it was known back then. It’s essentially brass - copper and zinc - with some nickel thrown in to give it a silvery colour. But it behaves like brass, and will work-harden and crack if maltreated.
Nickel Silver tarnishes greeny-yellow, whereas real silver tarnishes black, especially if you live near a coal-fired power station! Some of the 19th century catalogues list the same flute with silver or German Silver fittings. For the budget-minded player…
Oh, and if needing repair or replacement, a convenient source is the EPNS (Electroplated Nickel Silver) cutlery you can sometimes pick up in op-shops. The bowl of desert or soup spoons great for pad cups, the handles of spoons or forks for key touches and shafts, rings can be made from various parts depending on how thick they need to be. So be nice to Granny, and maybe you’ll inherit the cutlery…
Correct. Mostly run by religious charities, eg, locally we have:
the St Vincent de Paul, run by the Catholics, abbreviated to Vinnies
the Salvation Army, run by that group, abbreviated to Salvos.
The Australian tendency to abbreviation is so strong (eg Op-shop), that the shops are now signposted with the abbreviations, not the organisational name!
Yes, silver and the usual borax paste works fine. If wanting to form keycups from spoons, you do need to anneal the metal first, or it will crack, as it is already work-hardened. Indeed, if any significant forming is required, wise to anneal, start to form; anneal, continue to form; and even anneal, finish forming!
I’ve even used the tines from an EPNS fork to make replacement Nickel Silver keypins for old flutes where some of the pins had been mangled or lost! It’s a bit of an effort, but possible!
It sounds like you’ve got an interesting flute there! For the pitch issue, you might want to try experimenting with different headjoint positions to find the sweet spot. If the head is wobbly, you could consider some gentle modifications like adding a thin lining to improve the fit. As for the broken block, you might need to carefully inspect it and see if any repairs are needed. Happy playing!
several years later…
it looks worse in the photos. Used a bit of mahogany for the repair, but it’s not hard enough and the grain’s quite open. It;s functional though and hidden under the f key
