So, I sat down at session today - made it through about 8 notes and then couldn’t get a sound out of the flute…at all. My first thought was condensation since it’s really cold outside today and the flute had just come inside (being polymer I don’t worry about warming it up first). I tried blowing out any spit, shaking the flute, and then I finally looked down and saw the cork nicely blocking the blow hole!
Luckily, I had a whistle with me, but I really prefer flute over whistle. The bartender was able to get me a hot glass of water (as hot as their tap goes), I dropped the cork in the water and put an ashtray on top of the cup to keep the heat in. 20 minutes later, the cork was rehydrated enough I could grease it up and slide it in. I’m sure I’ll need to get a new piece of cork soon (or try boiling this one), but it was a handy quick fix.
Now, I just need to find a good wine that uses those fake corks so I can replace my current one with something that won’t shrink in the future…any advice on what I need to drink to get the cork?
Is ye looking for wine advice from a connoisseur, or just an example of something that uses fake corks? I abstain from booze, so can’t help with the former, but this here fake cork from a wine-loving associate of mine says “Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi”. Looks like it’s made of some type of really hard foam rubber, not sure though.
You might want to check at a winemaking supply shop. I just did a google search and there seems to be several shops in your area. The corks are sold in whatever quantity you need and whatever type you need (whether “tradtional” or “fake” cork). Basically they are in a bin and you bag up however many you need…or at least that is how it works at the shop that I go to.
There are few differnent types of synth corks out there. Some are a dense foam with a plastic sleeve others are something akin to recycled plastic in various different colors… some cork colored too.
Syth corks, while not affected by the environment in the same way like real cork, will compress and eventually fail. One of the major reasons why wine makers are moving to screw closures.
Synth corks do not take well to sanding so if the one you have obtained won’t fit the head you’ll have to go looking for another bottle.
I found an old wine cork that had “seasoned” in my basement in a drawer for a year or two…so I sanded that down, greased it up, and rammed it down the headjoint with a dime and dowel set-up.
My only fear is it may be too tight, but on an M&E will that be an issue? Maybe I’ll start a new thread for some makers to give their opinion on that issue.
Jack - How can you keep plumber’s tape in place? I have terrible luck with the stuff…I can’t get it to stick to anything and it just bunches up. When actually working on my plumbing, I use plumber’s goop instead - seems to seal our old pipes better, but I don’t think I’d like to use it on my flute!
Just an update on the whole bad cork in the headjoint issue. I think the cork probably had been going bad/leaking for a month or two - as the air dried out thanks to our central heating.
With the new cork, man, the flute sounds wonderful again. Solid bottom D, the high B speaks much, much better, and it doesn’t take 15 minutes to “warm up” before it sounds good (probably the time it took to hydrate the cork by playing). Plus, the flute has a much improved dynamic range…I can still play as loud as I did before, but now I can play much, much more quietly.
I thought all the above problems were simply me…that if I kept trying I’d get back to my prior form (not that I’d ever had a break in playing - I play at least 6 days a week for 1/2 to 1 hour).
The lesson here is that sometimes, when you just don’t sound as good, and it goes on for some time…it might not be you but your flute.
I wonder how often a plain old cork needs to be replaced on a flute?
A delrin stopped held in place by an O-ring is hard to beat for durability. That’s what Dave Copley uses.
Robert Bigio will make one to fit. (He’ll make just the stopper, if you don’t want/need the end-cap.) http://www.bigio.com/stoppersandcrowns.html
Robert Bigio made a stopper and crown for the Bb flute I owned at the time after the stopper cork simply crumbled when I took it out…
Really beautiful work and the delrin disc is really nifty.
The one he made for me was more like this:
than the bulgy ones for Bøhm flutes shown on the ‘stoppers and crowns’ page.
