How to Repair a Wooden Irish Flute
Wooden Irish flutes made of a variety of wood and metals have been around for centuries. Sudden changes in humidity, temperature and instrument moisture will put your flute at risk for damage such as cracking, warping or shrinking of the wood, sticking of parts and dried out keypads and cork linings. But there are some steps you can take to repair your wooden Irish flute in case it gets damaged.
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Things You'll Need
- Thin card stock, 8 1/2-by-5 inches
- Thin felt, 8 1/2-by-5 inches
- Thin oiled leather, 8 1/2-by-5 inches
- Glues, material and wood
- Thin paint brush
- Damp cloth
- Mandrel
- Knife
- Vegetable oil
Instructions
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Dried out pads
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1
Separate the keypads into their individual layers of card backing, felt and leather. Measure the thickness and shape of each keypad layer.
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2
Cut replacement keypads from new card stock, felt and leather according to the measurements that you made of the keypads.
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3
Place the leather pieces on a damp cloth. Glue the card stock and then felt pieces to the leather.
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4
Run a thin layer of glue around the pad sides with your finger or a thin paint brush.
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5
Pick up the pads and turn each one around with your fingers until the glue and leather have dried.
Cracked head and barrel
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6
Loosen and remove the metal head and barrel liners.
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7
Glue the wood cracks together with wood glue. Don't move the head and barrel until the glue has dried completely.
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8
Replace the metal liners in the head and barrel of the flute.
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9
Oil the freshly glued wood to prevent further cracking. Store the disassembled flute in a plastic bag until you want to play it again.
Sticky tuning slide
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10
Grasp the tuning slide section of the wooden Irish flute, and firmly pull and twist this section simultaneously to pull the slide apart. Proceed to the next step if the slide remains stuck.
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11
Hold the barrel section of the flute in one hand and place a mandrel, a shaft or arbor used to support and shape materials, inside the lower end of the inner slide. Tap all the way around the inner slide until both slides come apart. Proceed to the next step if the slide will still not move.
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12
Gently wedge a knife blade in the gap between the head and barrel. Move the knife around the gap's circumference to loosen the tuning slide. Proceed to the next step if this does not free the slide.
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13
Insert a heated mandrel through the socket into the lower part of the inner slide. Keep the mandrel in place until you can gently move the tuning slide again.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Clean out any condensation and lubricate your wooden Irish flute on a regular basis to prevent the wood from cracking and shrinking and the metal parts from sticking.
Trying to jam sections of the flute together when the cork and wood at the joints have shrunk will cause the wood parts to crack.
