Chiff and Fipple Forums

Anyone know a good way to seal a tone hole normally occupied by the long F key. Im having the key extended to make it easier to access. I just put some tape over it for now, but Im concerned it will allow air to escape. Any ideas ?

Ballygo.

The preferred method seems to be plugging it with the sticky putty used to put posters up on interior walls. One common brand is Blu-Tack. It works well because it seals uneven surfaces well, stays in place, and comes off easily.

However, I've only used it for short-term blocking. It's possible that the adhesive might migrate a bit if left on for many days in a row.

Brian Finnegan uses raisins.

Seriously ... He had a key-stripped flute that played perfectly well, and didn't discover until some time later that the previous owner had plugged it with raisins/sultanas.

So maybe we can discuss the merits of various dried fruits.

Prunes. For that honking low D.

benhall.1

At least you didn't offer that solution on the thread: "clean out tone holes and embouchure hole?"


Seriously: I have used hot-melt glue to temp. fill holes. Doesn't really stick to a oiled flute and can be simply pushed out later.

benhall.1 wrote:Prunes. For that honking low D.

Bravo.

Ballygo wrote:Anyone know a good way to seal a tone hole normally occupied by the long F key. Im having the key extended to make it easier to access. I just put some tape over it for now, but Im concerned it will allow air to escape. Any ideas ?

Ballygo.

I really see nothing the matter with tape. Done right I can see no reason why it
shouldn't plug the hole fine. And it's minimally invasive. This is temporary.

Wax is used for this purpose with success.
S.

Electrical tape will usually make a good seal, though tends to leave a gluey residue which has to be cleaned off after removal (not a big deal). Ditto gaffer/duct tape. Blu-tack is fine and is what I'd probably use. I wouldn't use wax of any kind for a temporary job like this - more awkward to clean away properly.

So chewing gum has gone out of favor?



I so can not keep up with all the new fads...

Denny wrote:So chewing gum has gone out of favor?

No, that's out of flavor and you have to put it on the bedpost overnight.
(sorry...)

On a more serious note, my local Ace Hardware store sells black rubber stoppers in a wide range of sizes, including tiny. If it were me, I'd get one of those and trim off one or both ends so that it would fit snugly into the hole...for now. It's easy to extract and there's no residue to clean off, and it's black too so it blends right in.

Long ago I messed around extensively with a (presumably German) blackwood 8-key high pitch flute. I converted it to 5 keys, filling in the holes with ebony plugs epoxied into place. Irreversible but tidy. (It now hovers around Eb, but with quirks.)

Thanks for that. I`ll try the electric tape.

best

Ballygo.

woodfluter wrote:

Denny wrote:So chewing gum has gone out of favor?

No, that's out of flavor and you have to put it on the bedpost overnight.
(sorry...)

well, no wonder it hasn't any flavor then.

lucky it's still there, damn cat searches for odd things to bother all night, she does

If it were me, I wouldn't mess around with the half-measures that others have mentioned, such as electrical tape or blue tack or "whatever" ( I hope you know the hand signs for "whatever"). Dum-dum putty is what you need to use, at least that is what my dad called it in the auto body shop. The closest thing that I can find to genuine dum-dum, or is it dumb-dumb, is mastic that is used for sealing doors and windows. It usually comes in strips in the home improvement stores. It stays pliable and is thus easy to mold into the right shape. Of course if you want a more permanent hole plug, I have a coal-black two-part epoxy that starts out as a putty that you can mold with your hands, which within a few hours turns quite hard. As I said before, be careful not to listen too attentively to the quick-fix artists on this board.

But Doug, he wants a quick, temporary but reliable fix! If he wanted a long-term or permanent fix, I'd agree with you/some of the other up-thread suggestions - e.g. hard wax, rubber bung or cork cut to shape, Miliput (epoxy putty). But it's just while the key is being custom-adapted - a few days, weeks at most and the key will be back and refitted.