Short review of the Galeon Firth Pond & Co. delrin flute

[Geoffrey Ellis]

Nice thanks! I made a big q-tip out of 0000 steel wool and a shishkabob skewer and twisting it on those bevels by hand for a minute or so smoothed them over perfectly, it looks totally professional now!!! No regrets, this flute is fabulously comfortable and good looking now!!

And i have no way of measuring it but after playing it a bit more, it is louder I think. It has some resonant trumpety blurts available! Though it could easily be that I’m adjusting more to this flute and it was always this strident. But I’m happy to believe that this adventure in beveling has given the flute a bit more juice!

Happy to help . I keep a bunch of those skewers in my shop as well--they come in handy for all sorts of odd tasks.

[Terry McGee]

Well done, jefff, and thanks for jumping in, Geoffrey.

Yes, I use the same approach for polishing the embouchure and finger holes on flutes. I have a short length of 1/8" brass rod with a slot cut in it lengthways. The rod goes in the chuck of the Dremel, I take a small tuft of fine steel wool, slide it down the slot and rotate the tool to wind it around it. Important to wind the right way - you want it to tighten up as the steel wool enters the hole, not unwind! So then I polish the bigger holes first, starting with the embouchure, then R2, L2 etc until finally I get down to R3. Keyholes too on keyed flutes. The diameter of the tuft automatically gets smaller as you go from big holes to smaller!

You obviously have to be very careful when polishing embouchure holes - you don't want to round over the "edge" but you don't want to leave any rough patches or ragged edges either.

[jefff]

Here’s what the Galeon Firth Pond & Co looks like after the small xacto beveling of finger/ tone holes followed by 0000 steel wool. Thanks for the help, Geoffrey and Terry, I like it much better now!






Since the steel wool buffed the gloss out around the holes I made it more uniform by just buffing over the whole thing. It feels better to hold more for me anyway, and doesn’t look bad either!

[Geoffrey Ellis]

I like a matte finish with Delrin, myself. In the past when I've used it, I've also rubbed it with fine steel wool, going "with the grain" to give it more of a wooden appearance as well as making it less slippery.

[kkrell]

This is the look and feel that I prefer also.

I like a matte finish with Delrin, myself. In the past when I've used it, I've also rubbed it with fine steel wool, going "with the grain" to give it more of a wooden appearance as well as making it less slippery.

[jefff]

I like a matte finish with Delrin, myself. In the past when I've used it, I've also rubbed it with fine steel wool, going "with the grain" to give it more of a wooden appearance as well as making it less slippery.

Yeah I think I prefer the matte finish a lot, too. It really *does* feel much less slippery. And, I have to say that it feels a lot less heavy. I mean, the mass is obviously still about the same, but note that it’s more comfortable to hold it no longer feels like it’s too heavy. And yeah it totally makes it look like wood oh my gosh!

Andy did put a really cool satin texture on the surface but it was done using tiny clean lines that feel unique and catch your eye but they only made it less slippery in one direction, and more slippery in the other direction. But buffing it lengthwise with 0000 steel wool couldn’t have been faster or easier, so it’s easy to recommend!

[pancelticpiper]

Cuts on the mid E (top space of the staff) using your left ring finger won't work on the Galeon Firth Pond flute.

Yes I've learned to use my right index finger for cutting middle E, also on some Low Whistles.

The other thing is the little double-cut ornament, which I've learnt to do using my right index and middle fingers in sequence.

For many years I'd used my left index finger for rolls, cuts, and double-cuts on middle E.

[Denicd]

Hi, I liked your review since I’m going through the same route. I bought a Galeon Pratten’s Perfected flute from The Irish Flute Store (IFS) in Greeley, CO. As you mention the flute is made in China by an interesting fellow who became a real fan of Irish music and began producing Tin Whistles and Irish flutes. As you found the Pratten model has problems with fingering. I have long fingers but still had trouble with stretching and covering the holes. I contacted IFS and they offered to ship out a Galeon Firth & Pond flute for me to compare. I spent my 7 days allowed trying various tunes and realized the Firth & Pond was easier and more accurate at hitting the notes. I did like the full sound from the Pratten over the F&P but in the end the fingering made all the difference, so I shipped the Pratten back to IFS. I have searched for other F&P flutes but only found mentions of them in museums! The Galeon company may be the only maker of this style of Irish flute!

[Steve Bliven]

There were a number of NY makers back in the day (Reilly, Firth, Hall, Pond and their various linkages) that made flutes with a general similarity. There are also contemporary makers who begin their designs with these makers (e.g. Paddler on this forum). And from time to time, antique flutes by the early makers show up in the Used Instrument Exchange forum — I've gotten a Firth, Hall, Pond and a Reilly instrument this way. A bit of searching and some patience might come up with other makers and/or instruments from this period.

Best wishes.

Steve

[bigsciota]

The Galeon company may be the only maker of this style of Irish flute!

Adding to what Steve said, Terry McGee (who commented earlier in this thread) makes a significant number of flutes based on the FHP design, and has some good info about the original makers up on his website. Worth checking out if you like the feel of these flutes!