MarkHoza wrote:I think that the term you are looking for is the "barrell joint" that is the tuning slide portion of the head joint, if that helps.
That's what he meant, but it only has one "l".
I agree with some of the other comments here - caution and patience are vital. Buy some penetrating oil (not expensive) from a DIY shop, bike shop or motor factor. Put a very little on the metal bits you can get at - inside the barrel socket and (if exposed) where the female outer slide (barrel half) overlaps the male (head liner) part and leave it a while. Then gently warm the whole thing up with say a hairdryer and try to twist-&-pull the parts apart. Be careful how forcefully you twist, especially if using an assistant, cloths to improve your grip, etc. However, and thinking of Jon's caveat about tool use, as you only need to get it to move rotationally a tiny bit to "break" the seizure, there is one tool you can use fairly safely if you can get them - those rubber strap wrenches that work the same way as a chain wrench but which won't damage the wood of your flute (e.g.
on eBay). I doubt whether in a modern made flute there is too much risk of you breaking the glue holding the liner tubes in place inside the wood, but there is just that outside possibility, so keep a very close eye (in the embouchure hole) on what is happening as you twist and the minute you get some movement check it isn't the wood shifting on the metal rather than the two metal parts moving
A bit strange for a modern flute that has been in regular use to have this happen, whatever climatic conditions it is living in! Do you never adjust the tuning slide to play in tune with other folk????? Looking to the future and caring for this flute and any others you may come to own, it is a good idea when storing a flute to close the tuning slide to stop fluff and dust getting onto the metal. You'd then have to open it to tune up when next assembling and playing..... and the regular movement would militate against it seizing up. Even if there is a build-up of old grease and accreted gunk, maybe also affected by any water getting between the metal tubes, it shouldn't seize up unless left unmoved for long periods or, just maybe, exposed to extreme conditions. It is not surprising if an antique, untouched for decades and with old grease and maybe electrolytic metal corrosion products affecting it seizes, but it should not happen to a flute in regular use.
When you do get it apart, clean any penetrating oil off the wooden parts and clean and polish all the metal parts. Then use some slide grease on the tuning slide (e.g.
http://dealnay.com/132789/superslick-slide-grease.html - easily available online or in a music shop! - "cork" grease will do but is less suitable) when reassembling it, and in future clean that off and reapply periodically (say 3-4 times a year) as well as making sure you regularly move the tuning slide to and fro.
You may think this is funny, but I had a repair where it got out of hand, and he decided that vise grips would give him a good bite on the flute.
