Old flute, sharp bottom D : worth working with?

[FromFlanders]

Hello there,
on my mission to rehabilitate aged keyed cheap flutes, I have a candidate here for the weekend to test-drive before deciding whether to have it. It's great in every way but has one possibly fatal flaw - the low D is sharp, really sharp, half a semitone easily. The pads and keys are all fine so it's not that, it seems to be just the way it's made. I can lip it down to pitch with a huge effort. May I canvas opinion? Is it a dud? Is there a fix? Have tried cork adjustment, no improvement.
It's an old 8 key ebonite Hawkes-style nameless. Everything else about it is pretty nice. A is even 440. I'd be really grateful for any light you might be able to cast...
many thanks
F

[celticmodes]

I corrected an oversharp D on a whistle once by lengthening it a few mm with rubber grommets from the hardware store. I glued them together to get the length I wanted and then shaved them to match the inner and outer diameter. It's a blackwood whistle so it's undetectable to all but the maker perhaps

I don't see why the same couldn't be done to a flute, perhaps with a decorative ring on the end the serves the same purpose. I don't think a few millimeters would affect the overall physics terribly bad. But as Anvil says, I am not an expert!

[chas]

Since it's an 8-key, it's possible the pad/plug is sitting too far away from the C# hole or both C and C# holes. Fixing this for pads is really easy, just use thicker pads. I have no idea how it would be done for plugs.

[rama]

to flatten the note maybe try to pull out the foot joint alittle bit to lengthen the bore for the 'd' hole (located under the 'c#key') .

[Maihcol]

If you have the slide pulled out a long way to get A to play at 440 it might be easier to play in tune with itself at a higher pitch than A 440...that is if it's a high pitch flute.

Or maybe the footjoint is not original...As in, somebody stuck a footjoint on it which is too short...
In that case 50 cents flat would be a lot to bring up to tune. I'd be thinking of making up a longer section to graft onto the socket end of the foot to make it longer or extending the lower joint instead to do the same - though it would probably be better to just make up a new foot but that assumes a reamer.

Garry

[FromFlanders]

Thank you very much for these suggestions - I shall try them all and report back! In my ignorance I was especially surprised to learn that the heights of the pads in the foot keys affect the tuning - I have much to learn...again, thanks....
F

[FromFlanders]

Well I did say I had much to learn... after trying all your suggestions I couldn't solve it. It's the headjoint that is a modern replacement and I think what someone did was make a headjoint to play a low-pitched old flute in modern tuning. If so, it works really well except for that last D which won't go in tune nohow. Except at a lower pitch with the slide out. So I've passed it up. Thanks very much indeed again for your suggestions - I learnt a lot about pitches, tone holes and lipping this weekend! I seem more in command of the niceties of intonation on my regular flute squeeze now so it wasn't a wasted experience.
best
FF

[Jon C.]

Well I did say I had much to learn... after trying all your suggestions I couldn't solve it. It's the headjoint that is a modern replacement and I think what someone did was make a headjoint to play a low-pitched old flute in modern tuning. If so, it works really well except for that last D which won't go in tune nohow. Except at a lower pitch with the slide out. So I've passed it up. Thanks very much indeed again for your suggestions - I learnt a lot about pitches, tone holes and lipping this weekend! I seem more in command of the niceties of intonation on my regular flute squeeze now so it wasn't a wasted experience.
best
FF

The flute is probably a Eb ont a D flute. So don't fight it, just play it in Eb...

[FromFlanders]

Oh Jon you have puzzled me now. The flute played best at a pitch below modern concert pitch, I assumed it was an old low pitch flute with a modern head on. Ah well I decided to give it a miss! As Homer said, "It's too hard son, give up."