Repairing Pads on a Wooden Flute

Your wooden flute's pads need to be replaced regularly.

The wooden flute, more commonly referred to as the Irish flute, is a simple cone-shaped woodwind instrument notable for its wooden composition and keyless fingering, which gives it a distinctly different tone than a standard concert flute. Like all musical instruments, the wooden flute needs regular maintenance to preserve the quality of its sound. Over time the pads, or the small flat surfaces which form seals over the instrument's holes, will deteriorate and need to be replaced.

Things You'll Need

• Card stock
• Sheet of felt
• Sheet of leather
• X-Acto or similar heavy-duty precision knife
• Screwdriver
• Glue

Instructions

1. Remove the first key pad from the flute by gently sliding a screwdriver underneath its plastic cap and prying the cap loose. The pad can then be lifted free of the flute.

2. Separate the pad into its three layers of leather, felt and card stock by pulling them free of the pad's housing.

3. Place the card stock from the pad on top of your new sheet of card stock. Place your knife flush against a point on the edge of the old card stock and, very slowly and carefully, cut a new section of card stock from your sheet in the exact same shape as your existing one.

4. Repeat Step 3 with the felt and leather layers.

5. Glue around the sides of the pad by applying a small dab to your finger and running it around the side of the pad housing.

6. Insert the three new layers of the pad back into the housing in the same order as they were in when you removed the old ones. Allow time for the glue to dry.

7. Insert the plastic cap back into position over the completed pad. It should slide right into place.

8. Repeat Steps 1 through 7 with each successive pad on the flute. It is always better to replace them all at once to ensure the best quality of sound from your instrument.

References

• Rod Cameron; Rod Cameron's Flute Care Sheet; October 2006