Just got my FIRST real Irish flute!

[Jon C.]

You can stain the upper joint using Terry's technique of dyeing it with dark brunnet hair dye. A little safer then the nitric acid fuming.

A little safer? That's an understatement Jon

Jennie, if you ever do get a wild hair to dye that center section dark, you'll get a much closer match to the aged cocus, and more depth to the look of the dyed piece by dying first with a red base colored hair dye, and then a black as the second step. Black alone tends to give an unnatural and "thin" look to the finish. It can also end up looking a bit green, depending on the brand and the color of black that you use.



Loren

Well, I didn't want to scare her...
Isn't that the same way they did the "Candy Apple red" car paint jobs?
I am using analine dyes now, instead of the hair dye.

[Jon C.]

I can just see me at the checkout counter with TWO colors of hair dye. The cashiers are all my students, or at least their parents. I am such a "granola girl" that I'm sure everyone in town would be watching for the day I show up with some odd shade. "It's for my flute," yeah sure.

Small town blues... You can buy the hair dye on line and have it shipped to Alaska, next day air...
You should have been there when I bought the hair dye, being a blonde and all...

Jon, you say yours plays in tune. This one doesn't seem quite so to me (I sent it to my wood turner friend before I had much time with it) and I suppose that it may be because it obviously wasn't created as a single flute. Or that my embouchure is used to my other flute.

Jennie

Well "playing in tune" is a relative thing, when you are dealing with a aged conical flute. It is intune for a aged conical flute....
Your F flute is probably a band instrument, sometimes they did unusual tunings on those. Also they didn't need the tuning slide, because next to the drum section what did it matter!:lol: Do you think it is a Frankinflute? It looks to be all the same flute to me. The first section has been stripped of its 150 year patina, a lot of times you will see different looking wood on the same flute, it all depended what was handy at the time. ll the HY Potter flutes have different color wood for the Head and foot. Maybe that is what was voge then?

[Chiffed]

Just got a sweet little anon. 6-key, and the woods don't match at all. The HJ looks like pure ebony sapwood and the rest is a lovely chocolate color.
This maker probably just pulled bits out of a parts bin, like building a Skoda. At least the bores line up!

[Loren]

You should have been there when I bought the hair dye, being a blonde and all...

Heh heh. I walked into the beauty supply store to pick up some 25-30 boxes of Miss Clairol, in 6 different colors, and the woman looks and me kind of weird and says "What are you going to do with this stuff anyway?"



Loren

[Jennie]

Do you think it is a Frankinflute? It looks to be all the same flute to me. The first section has been stripped of its 150 year patina, a lot of times you will see different looking wood on the same flute, it all depended what was handy at the time. ll the HY Potter flutes have different color wood for the Head and foot. Maybe that is what was voge then?

I got this one from Jordan, who tells me it's from two different flutes. He had to trim down the tenon sockets, the keys were missing (except the one), and the blocks were in such bad shape that it was better off without them.

So it probably is a Frankenflute. But I don't mind the appearance. The rosewood is quite pretty. My wood turner friend is going to try something that will match it for the endcap (the original endcap was parted out to someone else).

I'll let you guys who have experience with it mess with the hair dye. Blech! Doesn't it smell bad?

This flute smells like musty crayons. Nice. I like it.

Jon, we should get together and play thirds with each other.

Jennie

[Jon C.]

Do you think it is a Frankinflute? It looks to be all the same flute to me. The first section has been stripped of its 150 year patina, a lot of times you will see different looking wood on the same flute, it all depended what was handy at the time. ll the HY Potter flutes have different color wood for the Head and foot. Maybe that is what was voge then?

I got this one from Jordan, who tells me it's from two different flutes. He had to trim down the tenon sockets, the keys were missing (except the one), and the blocks were in such bad shape that it was better off without them.

So it probably is a Frankenflute. But I don't mind the appearance. The rosewood is quite pretty. My wood turner friend is going to try something that will match it for the endcap (the original endcap was parted out to someone else).

I'll let you guys who have experience with it mess with the hair dye. Blech! Doesn't it smell bad?

This flute smells like musty crayons. Nice. I like it.

Jon, we should get together and play thirds with each other.

Jennie

Wow, you have a original Jorden Frankenflute!
I imagine the crayons get a little gamey up there in the Alaska classroom!

[murrough o'kane]

Just seen another George Butler go on Ebay there for £62 & £4.55 = £66.55.

branded '' BUTLER HAYMARKET LONDON AND DUBLIN ''

Nothing as lavish as Jon C's one in the pic on the first post in this thread, as there seems to be 2 bad cracks on either side of the embouchure hole and the F natural key seems to be broke in a bad spot, and all stumpy keys - no long keys, like on Jon C's George Butler.

See: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 3D1&_rdc=1

Just wondering if this was a good (bargain) buy for bidder number 14, or a bit of an arduous project, repair-wise.

Your thoughts please?

[Sillydill]

That was not only a real Irish flute, it was also played by a Leprechaun.

That is to say it was a little flute (Key of F).

Fair price for a little flute with a broken key.

[jemtheflute]

I agree with Sillydill - I was watching that one, had a snipe on it, but well below the final price. It is an F flute, maybe at 440 given the overall length, but still quite possibly HP. The missing touch and spring of the short F key isn't too bad a fix, but yes, it needs a fair bit of LCAT. Not a huge over-price, IMO, but it certainly shouldn't have gone much higher.

[Jon C.]

Kind of took me down memory lane, with this old post!
Yes, fair price for an old band flute. Butler did make some nice large holed Rudall style flutes, if you could get your hands on one.