padding a flute

atkins · Post by **atkins** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 11:40 am

i decided to learn to play irsh flute so i bought one. it has 5 keys but none of them have any pads on them,its just the metal that will touch the holes when you push them down. its a old flute. one little peice of a pad is still left it looks like leather. can i cut my own pads out of leather or would cloth be better/or do i absolutely have to buy them? i spent alot on the flute already so i cant afford repairmen to do it for me atl east not right awat,,and i want to start playing

how do you get the paddings to stay on? does superglue or rubber cement work? does it hurt the metal (i think its nickle) or the wood. i am just checking before hand to make sure i don't damage my flute!

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 11:58 am

Others will give you some advice about pads,
of which I know virtually nothing, but
I wonder if you'll say more about the
flute, what it's made of, who made it,
how old it is? Curious. Thanks,

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 3:02 pm

I would be inclined to buy some leather-on-felt clarinet pads and float the pads in on shellac.

Unless you have some experience in padding woodwinds, you might want to consider taking the flute to a local repair facility. Anyone competent at working on modern woodwinds such as clarients and oboes will have no difficulty working with an antique wooden flute.

Padding a flute as a do-it-yourself project is certainly doable--but it is a non-trivial project.

--James

Post by **Nanohedron** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 3:05 pm

Atkins, if I'm not mistaken, re-padding usually isn't an expensive undertaking. Have you priced out such services, yet?

Ted · Post by **Ted** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 4:02 pm

See my post in the uilleann pipe forum in a thread called leaks. Ted

WistleEnvy · Post by **WistleEnvy** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 4:16 pm

Check out this page from flute maker Terry Mcgee's we site:

http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/repad.html

Terry's site is full of great flute information. It is a great resource.
If you have any questions you might want to check out the yahoo group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/flutemakers/

Terry is a frequenter of that list as well

Happy fluteing,

Colin

shoner · Post by **shoner** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 4:49 pm

I've had tremendous results using an extremely inexpensive method I picked up here or somewhere else. It's so simple it doesn't sound possible but it works just as well as shellac and goatskin pads. Go to the hardware store and purchase a tube of 100% silicone. Remove your keys from the flute and scape out the old pads. Goop a bit of silicone on the pad seat, shape it with a wet finger and then let it skin over for about five minutes. Attach the key back to the freshly oiled keyhole and let the spring form the hole impression in the slicone. Your're ready to play in about ten minutes. I use the silicone in place of cork on the taps of the keys as well.

brad maloney · Post by **brad maloney** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 7:02 am

I don't know bip about pads, I would bring it to a repairperson. In the meantime you can tape over the holes that the keys are supposed to cover with electric tape. You won't be able to use the keys, but you will be able to honk out choons.

rama · Post by **rama** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 9:34 am

If your game, you can try to make some pads yourself. It's fun, pretty harmless and worth a shot. Hammy Hamilton's book on fluteplaying goes over this stuff. But first read up on it to get a good idea of how to proceed.
I make my own pads whenever I find or think I need a replacement. It's
quite handy to be able to that and to tighten springs, replace axle pins etc. I have some old leather gloves (from my great aunt) that are made from really supple leather that I cut up for the pads. I didn't like the pads some people (alleged repair experts) used on my flutes and on other flutes they have repadded. They didn't always seal. So I got into making my own.
In the meantime, like Brad suggested, just cover the holes with something. I use electrical tape or bluetac, but I'm sure there are other things that would work too.