Polishing a Flute's Bore or My 2nd Peeve with Mopane

[Sillydill]

Kudos Loren,

Thank you, for the well-stated and eloquent addition to this thread!

I don’t mean to come off sounding like a “know it all”, I know a modicum and am continually trying to increase my knowledge.

I think people saw the cordless drill and freaked! POWER_TOOL!! !! In actuality, I choose to us the drill (at less than 200 rpm) because on the body of the flute I preferred the twisting action to the scrubbing action done by hand in the head (done to preserve the sharp edges on the bottom of embouchure). I tried to continually harp “DO NOT ALTER THE BORE PROFILE!” and noted that the steel wool was to be loose, not tight. I choose the term POLISH to emphasize this is a very light application, if I had use the term “shaving”, as in shaving off the whiskers; I was sure readers would've run amuck! The wood dust I removed during my polish wouldn’t make a decent snack for a termite!

I showed the picture of the head, shiny and polished, what I didn’t show was what I left in the body and foot. Perhaps this was a disservice! Here is a picture of the body (arrow shows one patch of whiskers) and the foot (not pretty).



These areas were left as seen in the picture, because I was not willing to risk altering the bore to remove them (especially the foot)!

I’m not a good follower; I take no one’s word as gospel! I will consider and ponder statements from knowledgeable people, but ultimately make decisions for myself (knucklehead). Perhaps it is a mistake to assume that others do the same and would not blindly follow.

All the Best!

Jordan

[jim stone]

I like very well Loren's post--with one irrelevant but still
important reservation.

By all means argue with surgeons. I've argued with them,
and with other physicians too, much to my physical
benefit. There's a lot of unnecessary surgery, I believe,
and a good number of other unnecessary yet dangerous
medical procedures. Pressing hard on these people, doing research on your own and asking hard questions, is simply prudent.

(I recently had a battle with my doctor, who had ordered a
stress test because I'm upping exercise even though I
have a slight anomaly in my heart beat. No other symptons.
So I checked the
website of the American College of Cardiologists, which
recommends against stress tests in these circumstances.
The risk from the test itself, or that the test will yield a false
positive that will lead to a still more intrusive test that will kill you, is statistically greater than having a heart attack during exercise,
at least for people in my condition. On another occasion a
surgeon got mad at me because I refused exploratory surgery
for knee pain--turns out there was nothing wrong with my
knee; weak knee muscles were the problem; a couple of weeks
on an exercise bike fixed me up.)

Again this is irrelevant to Loren's post, as it was just an analogy
and he was talking about
arguing about minutiae (staples vs sutures). But I would err
on the side of arguing. If surgeons/physicians knew as as much
as flutesmyths or less were at stake, Loren's advice would
apply across the board.

[treeshark]

but I wouldn't repaint the Sistine Chapel!

Oh go on... I thought blue would be nice!

[Loren]

Jim,

I don't think your point is the least bit irrelevant, in fact, I had meant to put a bit in at the end of my doctor analogy, about the value of getting, and weighing second opinions, both with regards to doctors and instrument makers/restorers, however I got distracted and forgot that bit. The only thing I'll add at this point then, is that when in comes to getting second opinions, they should, of course, be from someone qualified (experienced.) All too often I think we see folks here ask for second, third, and fifteenth opinions from any and all comers, just so they can get the answer that they are looking for, rather than starting with an open mind, and sorting experience from enthusiasm.

Jordan,

I think that no further defense is needed on your part: I honestly wasn't referring to you specifically, and I imagine we all agree that your intentions were honorable. In addition, I absolutely admire and can relate to the "question everything" philosophy, as I tend to live my life the same way, and I encourage others to do so as well.

Loren

[Aerowhip]

Hey Loren -

Might you be willing with your years of experience to make a short list and description of the most common and most destructive home repairs you have seen? It might help some of us avoid the temptations, the way the "don't drink and drive" films did in Driver's Ed classes ! Perhaps a new post?

[Chiffed]

Crumb. I just retuned my flute with an angle-grinder - don't tell me now!

[Lambchop]

Before we move to another post, do we have time here for me to share the new technique I've been working on for using that squishy kind of contac paper on the tenons? You know how they get loose sometimes? Well, the contac paper is great because it has that foam stuff on the back. It kind of poofs up and provides a real good seal. I was amazed how nice and tight it was. Decorative, too. There is one in a blue floral that looks right purty with my living room furniture--a whole lot better than the duct tape I had been using.

The only problem I had was that it kept coming off when it got wet, so I hied myself off to Home Depot and got me a staple gun. It's only a "light duty" model, so the staples don't go in very far. I think one or two should do the trick. I'll let you know how it goes.

Gosh, I guess I should get a camera so y'all can see how nice my flutes look . . .



Oh, Dale! Here I am needing that eye-rolling icon again . . .

[brianormond]

-My problem with something prone to spontaneous combustion (apart from whether its good for the wood) is safe disposal of the rag or whatever's used to swab the oil through the flute. I live in an urban condo and can't put this down the garbage chute, so another oil like almond makes sense. I can't say if all linseed oils are required to carry the combustion warning, but those that do scare me off. The salesperson at Daniel Smith said they had none without the warning, unlike the "Refined" variety I used to get there.

[Doug_Tipple]

Before we move to another post, do we have time here for me to share the new technique I've been working on for using that squishy kind of contac paper on the tenons? You know how they get loose sometimes? Well, the contac paper is great because it has that foam stuff on the back. It kind of poofs up and provides a real good seal. I was amazed how nice and tight it was. Decorative, too. There is one in a blue floral that looks right purty with my living room furniture--a whole lot better than the duct tape I had been using.

The only problem I had was that it kept coming off when it got wet, so I hied myself off to Home Depot and got me a staple gun. It's only a "light duty" model, so the staples don't go in very far. I think one or two should do the trick. I'll let you know how it goes.

Gosh, I guess I should get a camera so y'all can see how nice my flutes look . . .



Oh, Dale! Here I am needing that eye-rolling icon again . . .

What a terrific idea! I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this before.

[Chiffed]

-My problem with something prone to spontaneous combustion (apart from whether its good for the wood) is safe disposal of the rag or whatever's used to swab the oil through the flute. I live in an urban condo and can't put this down the garbage chute, so another oil like almond makes sense. I can't say if all linseed oils are required to carry the combustion warning, but those that do scare me off. The salesperson at Daniel Smith said they had none without the warning, unlike the "Refined" variety I used to get there.

Oils that polymerize quickly create a little heat. That heat, if not dissapated, speeds the reaction making even more heat. Pretty soon you're talking to the guys who arrive in big red trucks.

Option 1: Dissapate the heat. Hang the rag in open air rather than crumpled up.

Option 2: Reduce the reaction. Use the most non-reactive oil you can. I wouldn't make bets on this without some testing. The only time I had a rag flash was with polymerized (boiled) rosewood oil mixed with unpronouncable volatile organics. Raw linseed oil, on the other hand, is used on workboats out here because it's relatively safe and it never really dries.

Option 3: Speed up the reaction. Burn the rag.

Stay safe and have fun!

Edited to add qualifications: NFPA Firefighter, Workplace Hazardous Materials Training, Fire Theory 1, built a few boats, and I once lit my toolbox on fire.

[Lambchop]

Oils that polymerize quickly create a little heat. That heat, if not dissapated, speeds the reaction making even more heat. Pretty soon you're talking to the guys who arrive in big red trucks.

Option 1: Dissapate the heat. Hang the rag in open air rather than crumpled up.

Option 2: Reduce the reaction. Use the most non-reactive oil you can. I wouldn't make bets on this without some testing. The only time I had a rag flash was with polymerized (boiled) rosewood oil mixed with unpronouncable volatile organics. Raw linseed oil, on the other hand, is used on workboats out here because it's relatively safe and it never really dries.

Option 3: Speed up the reaction. Burn the rag.

Stay safe and have fun!

Edited to add qualifications: NFPA Firefighter, Workplace Hazardous Materials Training, Fire Theory 1, built a few boats, and I once lit my toolbox on fire.

I just wash the rag in Dawn--the dish detergent they use on oil-soaked seabirds and mammals because it cuts through grease--then dispose of it still wet in a jar.

That sound ok? I don't think it would work well for shop-type oils, but the refined linseed comes out as readily as kitchen oils. It's just flaxseed oil, after all--refined to remove particulate matter.

[Chiffed]

Absolutely. Dawn is even the original standard for Class A Firefighting foam. It even works on hydrocarbons (and ducks), except that the resulting emulsion is still pretty icky.

And yes, 'icky' is a valid technical term.

[Loren]

"Option 3: Speed up the reaction. Burn the rag.

Stay safe and have fun!

Edited to add qualifications: NFPA Firefighter, Workplace Hazardous Materials Training, Fire Theory 1, built a few boats, and I once lit my toolbox on fire."

Hah, very funny, that last bit!

Option 4: Place the rag(s)in a non- flammable air tight container when finished. The danger of flashing is certianly real, it happened at least once at vH, before my time. Consequently, metal "firesafe" disposal containers were purchased, although nothing so elaborate would be needed for a rag at home.

Loren