My best Ebay flute buy yet, a Fentum

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Jon C.
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My best Ebay flute buy yet, a Fentum

Post by Jon C. »

Image

Here is my latest finished Ebay buy, yet another "keeper". I guess I will be opening a museum at some point...
The flute looked like "firewood when I got it... (saying copyrighted by "glinjack") Not a bad flute for $400... :D (even came with the case!)
The flute was sold by Fentum / London a flute dealer. The C# key is marked with a "I N" , possibly the makere of the keys. This "I N" was found on Rudall & Rose and flutes made by Wylde.
Does anyone else have a flute with "I N" under the C#? It would be interesting to get more info on it. Terry Mcgee has a write up on it at his site.
"I love the flute because it's the one instrument in the world where you can feel your own breath. I can feel my breath with my fingers. It's as if I'm speaking from my soul..."
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Aanvil
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Post by Aanvil »

Holy moly... 400 bucks!

Just shows you can still find treasures on Ebay if you know what you are looking at.

How much work did you have to put into that? Do you have a before pic?

How does it play? :)


I'm new here btw. (waves)
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Post by chas »

Aanvil wrote:
I'm new here btw. (waves)
Welcome. Great avatar!

Nice looking flute, Jon. Aanvil, it's amazing what you can get off ebay if you know what you're looking for (and others don't). I got a couple of great keyed flutes. They both needed some work; I worked on one, had a pro work on the other. They were sweet players, a little more work than modern flutes, but very deep character.
Charlie
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Jon C.
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Post by Jon C. »

Aanvil wrote:Holy moly... 400 bucks!

Just shows you can still find treasures on Ebay if you know what you are looking at.

How much work did you have to put into that? Do you have a before pic?

How does it play? :)


I'm new here btw. (waves)
Hi Aanvil,
Welcome!
The flute plays great, still breaking it in, but it is a classic Rudall tuning.
It clearly hadn't been played for years.
I must caution, don't try this at home! There is still a lot of junk on ebay...

Image
This is the only before photo I could find, (of course it is from the ebay seller, so it doesn't show any of the damage!) the flute had cracks in the head, barrel, and was missing part of the short Fnat block and damage to the G# block.
Image
Image
"I love the flute because it's the one instrument in the world where you can feel your own breath. I can feel my breath with my fingers. It's as if I'm speaking from my soul..."
Michael Flatley


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daiv
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Post by daiv »

Jon C. wrote:This is the only before photo I could find, (of course it is from the ebay seller, so it doesn't show any of the damage!) the flute had cracks in the head, barrel, and was missing part of the short Fnat block and damage to the G# block.
for a moment my heart skipped a beat, and thought you said there were was a missing Fnat key, and i thought you made a new key.

how did you fix the blocks? i cant even conceive how it would be done.
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Jon C.
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Post by Jon C. »

daiv wrote:
Jon C. wrote:This is the only before photo I could find, (of course it is from the ebay seller, so it doesn't show any of the damage!) the flute had cracks in the head, barrel, and was missing part of the short Fnat block and damage to the G# block.
for a moment my heart skipped a beat, and thought you said there were was a missing Fnat key, and i thought you made a new key.

how did you fix the blocks? i cant even conceive how it would be done.
No, it has all the keys, that is the Metzler I just won, that I will have to make keys for...
On block repair, I just level off the break in the block and glue a new pice of cocus in, then trim it with the mill. Then you have to file and sand the new section. The hardes part is drilling the new pivot hole in the right place!
"I love the flute because it's the one instrument in the world where you can feel your own breath. I can feel my breath with my fingers. It's as if I'm speaking from my soul..."
Michael Flatley


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AaronMalcomb
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Post by AaronMalcomb »

It looks grand altogether. I expect a replica to be sent out as an ambassador by the end of the summer. :wink:
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Post by Jumbuk »

Is that Fentum 4 or a Feleron?
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Post by toddyboy50 »

Nice looking flute, Jon .... if you need storage for your museum pieces, I'll be glad to help you out. Are you having more fun with the restorations or making new flutes?

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Jon C.
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Location: San Diego

Post by Jon C. »

toddyboy50 wrote:Nice looking flute, Jon .... if you need storage for your museum pieces, I'll be glad to help you out. Are you having more fun with the restorations or making new flutes?

Tod
HI Tod,
Still looking for a lefthanded R&R for you... :D
Good question, I think both are fun. The thing about restoring old flutes, is bringing them back to life after being in an attic for 100 years! Also finding hidden markings under keys and scraping off crud and finding a makers mark, kind of like a treasure hunt.
With making new flutes, a lot of the steps are boring, until you do the finishing and the voicing of the flute, then it is worth while. Making keys should be fun, when I get around to it... :sniffle: Also thinking of making a replacement ivory Monzani replica, kind of like "he who shall not be named" owns...
"I love the flute because it's the one instrument in the world where you can feel your own breath. I can feel my breath with my fingers. It's as if I'm speaking from my soul..."
Michael Flatley


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AaronMalcomb
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Post by AaronMalcomb »

Jon C. wrote:Also thinking of making a replacement ivory Monzani replica, kind of like "he who shall not be named" owns...
Voldemort has an ivory Monzani? :o
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I.D.10-t
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Post by I.D.10-t »

Jon C. wrote: No, it has all the keys, that is the Metzler I just won, that I will have to make keys for...
How are keys made? Lost wax, Mill and file, sheet metal solder and press?
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Jon C.
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Location: San Diego

Post by Jon C. »

I.D.10-t wrote:
Jon C. wrote: No, it has all the keys, that is the Metzler I just won, that I will have to make keys for...
How are keys made? Lost wax, Mill and file, sheet metal solder and press?
That all depends. A lot of the makers cast the keys, that woould be with lost wax. A few makers, like Chris Wilkes and forge the keys, i.e.
(hammer away at it...) I have a set of Dapping tools, for making the saltspoon key cups, just need to hammer away... But as Peter Noy told me, "flutemakers" make flutes, "keymakers" make keys!
The Metzler I just won has a broken long Fnat key, and a missing short Fnat key, so this will give me a little practice. Hopefully silver will come back down to a resonable price, it doubled in price this year!
"I love the flute because it's the one instrument in the world where you can feel your own breath. I can feel my breath with my fingers. It's as if I'm speaking from my soul..."
Michael Flatley


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Post by treeshark »

Dapping tools!! What a wonderful name. I had to do a seach and here they are in all their glory:
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Post by Aanvil »

dp
Last edited by Aanvil on Wed Jun 28, 2006 5:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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