The advantage of Delrin flutes...

[Jayhawk]

Desi Seery makes nice, keyed delrin flutes. He used to have a website, so I don't know if he's no longer making or just no longer maintaining a website.

M&E are wonderful sounding flutes if you spend some time with them...but I'll grant you the keywork is not up to the aesthetics of a really nice wooden flute (although the keys work fine...I traded a keyless Seery to move up to a keyed M&E).

Eric

[jim stone]

I played an ebonite flute at Ralph Sweet's place. It was old and green
and it sounded VERY good. I think Ebonite may sound better
than delrin. I believe some people perform on old Ebonite flutes.
Maybe we should bring them back.

[sponge]

Never played Ebonite, but have an amazing delrin Pratten, which for once I can compare to its wooden brother,my delrin Hammy is beautifuly made and I think about four years old the blackwood Hammy a few years older and on loan the owner reckons about 10 years old, he is selling it but it will probably end up on ebay.

I prefer delrin, and to be honest the differnce is tiny, both flutes can honk and sound very growly, but I can make the delrin do what I want easier and quicker than the wooden model, so all in all they sound alike, I know there are some purist that think wood is the only material, and I know I have years to go before I get reasonably good with my flute playing but to finally pick up a flute that sounds great from the word go is a godsend, it requires zero maitenance apart from a bit of cork grease every now and again, this is the first pratten I have owned, I e-mailed Hammy before buying mine, he said he didn't advertise the delrin as its a special order and takes him longer to make than a blackwood model due to its workability, and he charges a bit more so I am quite lucky to have got hold of one, which I bought of a chiffer and a top guy, so now I can move away from what I think Peter Laban calls flute Tourist, I like that expression.

sponge

[bradhurley]

I gotta say I tried one of Jon's delrin flutes and it was brilliant...the first one that made me seriously think about getting a delrin flute for myself to keep in the car or to bring when traveling to dry or otherwise extreme climates.

[DCrom]

I gotta say I tried one of Jon's delrin flutes and it was brilliant...the first one that made me seriously think about getting a delrin flute for myself to keep in the car or to bring when traveling to dry or otherwise extreme climates.

I'll second that. I own one of Jon's R & R models in delrin.

Wonderful flute (and a lot better flute than I am a player, alas). I've had some very good players say nice things about it after giving it a try.

Much as I love the look and feel of wood, the nice thing about my R & R I don't need to worry about it when I travel. I've hauled it everywhere from the desert to the humid tropics with no problems. I have noticed that I get more condensation inside when it's cold than I do with my Burns Folk Flute, but that's a minor annoyance. On the other hand, I can play the polymer flute in conditions that would have me worrying about damage to a wooden flute, so it's a worthwhile trade-off.

[Terry McGee]

Ebonite - that's the stuff that bowling balls are made of? Everything is slippery in my hands: metal, wood and delrin. Maybe the delrin surface could be given a sand-blast finish for better grip-ability in wet hands?

That would probably work well. Some 19th c flutes had cross-hatching applied to key support points, like the right thumb. Or sharkskin. Some "wet&dry" sandpaper applied with the sandy side out and held on by double sided tape is a modern reversible workaround.

So, only Terry McGee makes a keyed delrin today? I don't see a picture of a keyed delrin on his site.

I imagine any of the post monted flute makers could do you a keyed delrin. I've done a few block mounted delrin flutes - it's not too bad when there's an isolated block on the section (eg Bb, short F, G#, Eb) but cleaning up around long F and upper C, especially in the presence of adjacent blocks, is murder! So you'll understand why I don't promote interest in them!

I've only seen a M&E keyed delrin and the finish was not a match for the finest in wood flutes.

You have to work pretty hard to get rid of the scratch marks, and I wouldn't blame the makers of low end or medium price flutes for not achieving the best finish in the time they have available. Delrin has its attractions (water proof, tough, smooth, non-porous) and makes a very resonant flute (being an almost perfect container for a vibrating air column), but it needs to be worked very carefully to get the best out of it.

I've also worked in ebonite. It also brings the same benefits as delrin, and is also awful to work with. Does anyone remember seeing an ebonite block mounted flute? The worst bit is that it makes your workshop smell like a car tyre factory!

Terry

[Wormdiet]

Re: finish, Dave Copley sands his delrins for grippability. It works well.

[Aanvil]

Re: finish, Dave Copley sands his delrins for grippability. It works well.

Yeah, Jon C. does that too.

Its real nice finish and it looks like wood grain sorta.

It very "grippy".

I have one of his Delrin Pratten's. Its monster honkey good flute. Its thin and light and the profile is much like an Olwell.

For some reason it keeps getting better... I'm sure its the Delrin just getting seasoned.

[jim stone]

The really nice thing about ebonite is that sooner or later it turns green.
Fits right in on Saint Pat's Day.