Can You Repair Your Own Flute?
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- With maintenance and flute repair costs going up, it had me wondering a couple things. First of all, if you take a chance buying a cheap - I mean dirt cheap used flute, what are you really getting? I'm anticipating it to be bad, so then leading to the question, can I learn to repair the flute myself? How hard can it be to repair my own flute?
Follow along my journey of attempting to fix a flute. Keep in mind, I read some books, read an instruction manual, watched videos... I did everything I could without talking to a flute tech.
Do you think you could fix your own flute?
Disclaimer - if your flute is in need of maintenance or repair, DO NOT... I repeat DO NOT attempt to fix it yourself. Take it to a flute tech.
Not to give away the ending, but my flute ended up worse than the condition it was in. AND the estimated repair cost after I messed with it ended up being higher than a new flute would cost. Don't do it. Just don't. Can't say I didn't warn ya.
![Flute Maintenance! | Clean, Oil, & Adjust [Flute Center]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MbvPiI7Uiro/mqdefault.jpg)
![Flute Maintenance! | Clean, Oil, & Adjust [Flute Center]](/img/tr.png)
![Eminem - Fuel (Shady Edition) feat. Westside Boogie & GRIP [Official Audio]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/k1OquBida9s/mqdefault.jpg)
Musical instrument repair can be quite demanding. I have been doing occasional woodwind and some brass repairs for my better half, a music teacher at a private school. I am to a point where I will work on my high end flutes (piccolo through Contrabass!) always remembering to not be in a rush! In my case it is a great help to have some precision machine tools and some mechanical common sense. None of this happens "over night" so be prepared for the long term.
Also, learn from others. There are a couple of "RUclipsrs" that I watch fairly regularly just to see how they do repairs. Wes Lee has an exceptional channel where you see a lot of detail in his repairs. Most, however are Brass instrument work although there are some woodwind gems among his videos. Another one is The Brass and Woodwind Shop. One thing to take note of is the amount of specialized tools that they use. If you only intend to repair flutes then the required tools and supplies amount to a relatively small investment. Simple things like jewelers screwdrivers are a hardware store or Harbor freight purchase, but pad irons, spring hooks or other specialized tools are a Ferree's Tools or other supplier type item.
One more thing, ditch the candle!! that is a relatively dirty flame compared to an alcohol lamp or small propane torch! Always go for clean in all aspects of your work!
Seeing the state of the case that flute would not touch my face 🤢🤮🤢
Don’t forget to do the realignment on how the key pairs close, there are videos out that show you how to do that. My cheap flute got knocked around quite a bit, but I was able to make it 100% playable again!
make sure the flute is in adjustment and in regulation, it looks like the F# key is not sealing after your repadding, look up a tutorial of disassembly and reassembly as well as adjustment and regulation
I would disinfect that thing first, I know a man who caught tuberculosis from a second hand trumpet.
I bought a cheap flute and immediately, thought, “I’ve always been curious about how a flute works, if this flute doesn’t work and I can fix it and make it pretty and playable again….BOOOOM - flute repair/restoration side hustle.”😂 I’m pretty sure I’d be one of a handful people in the area that could do it.
That's awesome! I just have heard of a lot of people attempting to do this & then being in the same boat as me, where they make it worse... & that they were attempting to fix their not so cheap flutes! I'm actually taking a class for flute repair coming up next week!
@@crazyflutelady I happen to be one of those DIY, “fixers” type of people, and have been since forever, its one of my nerd superpowers. Lol. I know my bounds, If I can’t fix it (and had zero fun in my attempts to fix “whatever”) I hand it over to someone that can, or just go get a new one. If it were a flute that was thousands of dollars, I’d see if it were a quick fix, but more than likely just send it off for repairs to protect my investment.
Oh, and other than a popped spring or two from shipping and figuring out how to adjust the screws so that the right keys came down all at the same time with no leaks and my cheap flute is working, play it daily for at least an hour. It’s wasn’t the cheapest flute on amazon, more in the $200 range. I just went ahead and got the intermediate, open holed, b foot with split and offset/G and the “gizmo”. Im using plugs at the moment, but plan on keeping this one as “quick grab/ daily” always out flute. Where if I do end up getting a more expensive flute in the future, that would be the one for more serious study or performances if I decide to go that route. Lol I realize that its like going from a pinto to a Cadillac, but I’m just fine with that.
You are on the right path, don't give up.
Thank you! I'm still going! Even took a class over the summer.
Really useful and instructive video. Thanks from Paris, France..
Most important thing is.... You did it. Great video, lots of information.
You cannot just make blanket statements like "if your flute is in need of maintenance or repair, DO NOT... I repeat DO NOT attempt to fix it yourself." Believe it or not, some of us have been in the trenches for decades and know what we are doing. We live and breathe this stuff.
I have to learn and do this with all my instraments, i have over 27 i play, i buy a beat up one, learn about the anatomy, and repair and serveice them myself, so i can afford to play them all lol, im a jeweller by trade, so i guess if you have a level of finesse, you can get away with doing this.
When I took the repair class, they said that jewelers and carpenters do the best in this trade!
This 😊is fun and entertaining. I see a box for a keyboard in the room too.❤ Also guitars. Are you a “tinkerer” like I am?
You were pretty thorough with the pad change. Can't say if the replacement job was as a school band tech so we can't say where you may have went wrong. It could have been as early as the pad placement...But it was the regulation and adjustment parts that you skipped over. I could tell by the look of one key way higher than the others on the left hand before you even tested it. I have an old student flute that "plays" still that I often think to just make my "project/test" flute...but it is also my very first, ever Armstrong flute from elementary...just the though of screwing it up hinders me from taking it apart.
Yeah, when I first did this, I didn't know about regulations and adjustments. Now that I know how to regulate and adjust, I should go back and see if I can fix it now.
& I wouldn't work on your first flute. There's something special about your first flute. I sold mine in college and I actually recently bought it back. I love that flute, even though it was just a cheap Bundy as well.
Jeez, what’s on the outside of that case??
Yo can improve of each pad sealing just to check adjustments with a cellophane strip from 4 main directions of the key and adding and adjustment with the rings or a part of it under the pad, it is a good practice to mark the direction you see that needs an adjustment with a sharpie line, that would seal the leaks that you have on each pad, for heating and centering the padded keys is better to use directly heat on the key but not a full flame maybe you need to look for a less aggressive device like an alcohol lamp flame. People with that kind of curiosity moves our world girl I really enjoyed your video.
Thank you! Fully noted! That'll help!
All that effort was only possible because a cat is not around your work table
Not this round! Now that I've been working on some flutes, their always trying to get on the work bench.
My flute is bad. I need help please 😭
Do you plan on attempting to fix it yourself?
@@crazyflutelady yes please
@@crazyflutelady Hello there. Please I await a response from you
@@praize111 Ok. First note that repairing your flute is risky and can take a lot of time & patience. What brand of flute do you have? Do you know what's wrong with it?
@@crazyflutelady thank you so much for your response. Yes, my flute brand is Proel. It's not a major issue actually. Just Bb and A keys sound the same. Also, the foot joint of the flute DOESN'T sound as good as it was before
PS: edited message above.
What is that keyboard 😂
🤣 I'm actually a video editor as my main profession, so that's my editing keyboard.