Internal cracks in antique flute foot...Need help!

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TxWhistler
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Internal cracks in antique flute foot...Need help!

Post by TxWhistler »

I'm hoping some of the flute makers or repairers of wood flutes, who frequent this forum, can give me some advice.

I've got an antique 8 key flute that has, what looks to me to be, internal cracks. They don't go all the way through to the exterior and do not go all the way down to the end of the foot. I believe the foot is not leaking because I have no problem getting the C# and C to play easily. The previous owner said they were there when he bought the flute but he thought they were scratches from a cleaning rod. They never worsened during the two years he owned the flute.

If these are cracks, then what is the best course of action?
1) keep it regularly oiled, played and keep it in a container with a humidifier.
2) Apply a thin coat of varnish or such like to seal the interior of the foot.
3) fill the cracks with wood putty (like that used to fill the nail holes in cabinets)
4) other.....if so what?

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Terry McGee
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Re: Internal cracks in antique flute foot...Need help!

Post by Terry McGee »

I have seen such things, but not commonly. Flutes crack on the outside when the wood inside gets too wet, swells too much and cracks the dry wood on the outside. Or the outside gets too dry, shrinks onto say a metal head or barrel liner which can't shrink, and cracks.

So consider what would make flutes crack on the inside. It would be the inverse of the process I just mentioned. The inside dries out and shrinks away from the damper wood on the outside. It's hard to imagine that happening except perhaps when the flute was first being made. Perhaps our maker was trying to get stock out without letting fresh timber season?

Let's see if anyone can come up with other suggestions.
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Re: Internal cracks in antique flute foot...Need help!

Post by TxWhistler »

Terry McGee wrote: Mon Jan 30, 2023 9:55 pm I have seen such things, but not commonly. Flutes crack on the outside when the wood inside gets too wet, swells too much and cracks the dry wood on the outside. Or the outside gets too dry, shrinks onto say a metal head or barrel liner which can't shrink, and cracks.

So consider what would make flutes crack on the inside. It would be the inverse of the process I just mentioned. The inside dries out and shrinks away from the damper wood on the outside. It's hard to imagine that happening except perhaps when the flute was first being made. Perhaps our maker was trying to get stock out without letting fresh timber season?

Let's see if anyone can come up with other suggestions.
Thank you for your reply Terry!

Let me see if I am following your logic correctly: if the maker was using timber that had not been adequately seasoned then the cracks could have occurred within the first few years of the flute's life. Since this flute was made sometime in the 1800's the cracks could have been like this for a century or more. Thus, if I play it regularly, swab after each playing, oil it as needed and keep the humidity within a reasonable range then the cracks should not worsen??? Am I correctly connecting the dot's you have provided???
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Re: Internal cracks in antique flute foot...Need help!

Post by TxWhistler »

Bumping this in hopes that Terry might see and respond. I know that no one can be sure of what will happen to this flute foot (whether it will get worse or stay the same) but hoping for some direction for care of the foot to lessen the "chance" of it worsening.

Or even telling me whatever you do...don't do this or that!!!
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Re: Internal cracks in antique flute foot...Need help!

Post by paddler »

My best guess is that these cracks are old and that they occurred as a result of the following combination of factors:

1. Wood that was not completely dry to begin with, resulting in subsequent shrinkage.

2. A finished flute that was acclimatized to a humid environment at the location of its manufacture, and which subsequently moved to a much drier location, resulting in subsequent shrinkage.

3. The fact that the outside of this foot section has probably received more treatment (French polish finish, etc) than the bore has, and so has not shrunk as much or as fast as the bore wood.

4. The fact that little moisture tends to reach the foot, even when a flute is played, and hence the bore of the foot is some of the driest wood in a flute.

5. The fact that there is nothing in the foot section to prevent inward contraction that would normally result in a crack on the outside as shrinkage occurs.

So, I would say that long ago the wood of the bore shrank more than the wood on the finished exterior, and over time as the flute moved to drier and drier climates than those in its place of manufacture, those cracks opened more.
Assuming this flute was made somewhere like London in the 1800s, and now resides in Texas, there is a big climatic difference, so it is not surprising that the cracks are wide enough to be visible.

What do do about it? Well, I doubt these cracks make much noticeable difference to how the flute plays. There is not much happening in that location unless you are playing foot notes. But the best thing from a performance optimization standpoint would be to fill them with a mixture of blackwood dust and CA glue, and then sand smooth using a rod with fine sandpaper or 0000 steel wool wrapped around it in a power drill. This will fill them and make them invisible. It may also add some stability.

The only potential concern I would have in doing this is "What happens if the flute moves back to a really humid climate and wants to expand again? Will this fill material in the cracks encourage cracking on the outside by preventing inward expansion?" My guess is that it is unlikely to make much difference, and so problems resulting from it are unlikely. Now that the flute has stabilized in a dry climate there is plenty of space to fill, and it'll most likely remain in a drier climate than it was originally manufactured in.

The above crack filling approach will be most robust if the foot is not oiled, or at least if all the oil is thoroughly removed from the cracks before filling occurs.

I hope this helps. I don't think anybody will be able to tell you, for sure, what the best approach is. In my opinion it probably won't make a whole lot of difference whether you fill them or not. But at least by doing a proper job of filling the cracks they will become invisible and you will remove potential safe havens for mold or other nasties in the bore. But again, at the foot, that is probably not that likely either.
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Terry McGee
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Re: Internal cracks in antique flute foot...Need help!

Post by Terry McGee »

Sorry for the slow response, TxWhistler. Trying to keep too many balls in the air, as usual!
TxWhistler wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 9:41 am Let me see if I am following your logic correctly: if the maker was using timber that had not been adequately seasoned then the cracks could have occurred within the first few years of the flute's life. Since this flute was made sometime in the 1800's the cracks could have been like this for a century or more. Thus, if I play it regularly, swab after each playing, oil it as needed and keep the humidity within a reasonable range then the cracks should not worsen??? Am I correctly connecting the dot's you have provided???
I would have guessed they'd show up by the time the flute was finished! But I guess none of us can tell what alternative bizarre circumstance might have caused them. The kid holding the foot of Daddy's flute over the bunsen burner because Daddy didn't increase his weekly allowance?

But whatever caused it is unlikely to be a live agent now. And encouraging to note that they don't seem to have ventured down to the end grain at the bottom. So your suggested maintenance routine should be fine. Keeping an eye out for change, of course.
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Re: Internal cracks in antique flute foot...Need help!

Post by TxWhistler »

Thank you Terry and Paddler for the responses!!!

I really appreciate you both taking the time to help a fairly new comer to wooden flutes!
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