How to repair a flute
Dear Flutists and teachers,
From time to time on our flute discussion groups we receive requests from well-meaning do-it-yourselfers about repairing old "found in closet" flutes.
Well, finally, there's a resource online which shows exactly how this is done.
By looking at this 6.5 MB pdf manual, you can clearly see.....
...er....um......(ahem)
.....that there's no way in fluteland that you'd ever want to try and repair your own flute!!!
It takes so many years of experience, so much training, and so many specialized tools that only a crazy person would even attempt to take a tiny screwdriver to one of the tiny screws.
You would seriously have to have a tiny screw loose.
I'm serious!!
ahhahahaha! :>D
(I'm laughing but I'm serious!)
So help yourself to a free download of this manual with its incredible pictures of everything, and just say NO to trying it at home. :>)
Then pick up a phone and find the most experienced flute technician in your area, and let them do the work for you.
It will take mere minutes instead of horrible decades, and you will actually be able to play the flute very very easily when you get it back from the repair shop.
Enjoy the pictures in the manual though.
I don't know how much longer the manual will be online for free.
Best,
Jen
posted by Jen Cluff at 12:02 PM
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Comments (8)
Ouch. I can't imagine even trying! I would never get it back together again!
I tried adjusting my flute once. Good thing I had a COA appointment the next week...
But it looks like fascinating reading!
Shari
Repair Your Own Flute, without any help but this manual? This is bsolutely not a good idea.
However, I do applaud the effort some flute degree programs and Masterclass/Flute Week type instruction groups are taking. These groups have students disassemble, say, a 20 year old Armstrong 104 available from eBay for $50 or less, and go through how the padding and adjustment actually work. Students can get an idea of what happens, and how exacting it is, without ruining their own really nice flute.
I have my own copy of Lillian Burkart and James Phelan's book, "The Complete Guide to the Flute and Piccolo", and it is an excellent reference.
I applaud your link to the flute repair manual, since it could serve as a very inexpensive reference for others- to understand more about how their flute works, rather than teach them to do their own repairs.
My stance is that the more I know about the mechanics of the flute, the better I can understand, myself, when I have a problem that needs my Professional Flute Technician's attention. The sooner a minor problem gets fixed, the less damage will need to be addressed- to the flute, to my hands over-gripping, etc.
I also find that curiosity and questions are welcomed by a good technician. It is always interesting to ME to watch some of the corrections being made, even if I don't do anything myself.
Thanks Rebecca. So interesting!!! Best, Jen
P.S. Thanks Shari too! :>)
As with anything, some of us took engineering in collage instead of music. Flute repair isn’t necessarily difficult, but it is precise. Now learning to form an effective embouchure for the first time … that’s tough! Thanks for the link to the repair manual. I’ve found it, as well as the rest of this site to be terrific information.
Thanks so much for saying so sir strolling along. :>)
Jen
I'm a professional flute player busking on the streets having the time of my life. I don't want to afford to send my flute to a repair person and I'd love to satisfy my curiosity of figuring out how to fix it myself. I sure wish someone out there would take the plunge and show me how to do it. I know there will be obstacles to overcome and inexperience to deal with, but hey. I'm an intelligent being who has enough experience to know what I'm getting into. I can do it.
Dear busker,
It's not just inexperience that slows down novice flute-repair trials. Many do-it-yourselfers have discovered that:
1. You need to purchase special tools to repair a flute. Regular tools won't do the job.
2. You need to have a multitude of special skills that have been honed over time and many flutes. (ie: Punching out steel pins, shimming pads; soldering fine points etc.)
3. You need to have a wealth of experience with the tools and the fine skills.
Those I've spoken to (professional flutists and teachers) who take repair courses can understand how to to basically shim, or weld, or punch out pins etc, but realize that to be GOOD at it, and to have success, they need to have fixed about 50-100 flutes reliably before they can completely do their own work.
So unless you can invest in the time to do all this, your own money and time is best spent on paying a qualified, experienced repair person to do the work, as it would take you 3-5 years of constantly repairing flutes to be half as good as a competent repair person.
If I were you, I would take it to a good repair person and then casually, and quietly watch them work.
Then you'll see the level of expertise.
The level of expertise is very HIGH.
The number of frustrating errors you can make as a beginner repairer is also very high.
Save up, and go observe a real professional working on it. You'll soon see.
Best,
J.