Care of your flute
Great care must be taken with your wooden flute to play it in and prevent it from cracking.
Due to the difference in condititions it has to endure (hot/cold,wet/dry etc) I recommend these simple procedures be carried out;
Breaking in a new flute takes a while (3 to 6 months); do not play for long periods until the wood has settled.
Warm the wood with your hands and blow air through the tubes (head and body) to slowly bring the instrument up to room temperature before playing.
Apply cork grease to the tenon.
With time grease will build up on the cork and this will aid assembly.
Never force the joints together. The tenon to socket should be a snug fit with no interference. If the tenon has soaked up excessive water then the wood may have swelled. Leave overnight to dry and try again. If the problem persists return to Peter Worrell or consult a qualified repairer.
Always swab out the bore of the instrument with a lint free cloth after playing .
Using a small piece of cloth (no larger than 25mm x 200mm), thread through a cleaning rod eye and drop the rod into the bore of the flute and pull the cloth through with a twirling motion.
Continue 2 or 3 times to ensure the bore is dry.
Dry the entire instrument if playing outside in poor conditions.
The tuning cork should require little attention, but if it does require removal always use a wooden dowel to push the cork out. Do not use a cleaning rod to remove or adjust the cork as this will damage the surface of the blackwood stopper.
When the flute is new the bore will require oiling. Thread a small piece of cloth through a cleaning rod and apply a small amount of Bore Oil (available from Peter Worrell) to the cloth. Insert into the bore.
Make sure the entire surface of the bore is covered. Do not apply too much oil. When you see a slight sheen to all of the bore then you have applied the correct amount. Leave overnight. Swab out any excess oil with a clean cloth.
Never get oil on the pads as this will make them sticky and they will require replacing.
This should be carried out at approximately 2 week intervals when the flute is new.
Continue every other month when the flute is broken in.
The keywork is either silver plated (Crown style) or polished nickel silver (Coronet style). This should give good service for many years. Clean only with a silver cloth. Do not use silver or metal cleaning solutions (Silvo, Duraglit etc) as the chemicals in these products will damage the pads.
Apply a small amount of machine oil to the slotted end of the keywork screw. This should keep the mechanism in good working order.
I recommend that the flute is serviced at regular intervals. Pad deterioration and general wear will decrease the flutes playability and reliability.
Please contact me for servicing.