Wood Piccolo Not Enjoying the Cold Weather

[beanie19]

Hello all!
I have a wood piccolo and a solid silver flute that I keep together in a combination case. I live in Canada and the cold, dry weather here is killing my poor little piccolo . The end ring has become very loose and kept falling off today in rehearsal! I have thought about buying a humistat but I'm not sure how I would go about using it. I feel like I shouldn't use the humistat in my combination case because my silver flute doesn't need the moisture, but it's the only case that I have so I'm not sure what I should do.
Any suggestions??

[pied_piper]

Stop!!! Do not play your wood piccolo in its current condition.

In the extremes of very cold, very dry weather, wood instruments dry out and the wood shrinks. In these circumstances, playing it introduces warm, moist air into the bore. This sets up the perfect conditions to crack your piccolo. The warm air and moisture from your breath cause the interior bore to expand faster than the exterior. When the inside expands faster than the exterior, something has give and a crack can form to release the stress.

Your piccolo is in drastic need of an intervention and needs to be hydrated. Here is an easy way to do it. You need the following items:

A plastic container with a lid - you just need one larger than the piccolo

Plastic Bin.jpg (9.58 KiB) Viewed 7005 times

and a cake cooling rack to fit inside the bin.

Cooling rack.jpg (95.12 KiB) Viewed 7005 times

Place a little water in the bottom of the plastic bin. Place the cooling rack inside, feet down, to create a platform inside the plastic bin. Be sure that the water level is lower the the rack. If need be, place a couple of blocks (wood, styrofoam, etc.) under the rack to elevate it a bit higher. Place your unassembled piccolo on the rack. Place the lid on the plastic bin to keep the moisture inside. Leave the piccolo in the bin for several days. Check it every two days or so to see if the metal end ring has tightened and the water has not all evaporated. When the ring is tight again, leave the piccolo in the bin for two more days. After that, it should be safe to play it again, but take it slow to give the piccolo a chance to go through a break-in period and acclimate to being played again.

In your climate, you may need to repeat this several times each year.

[beanie19]

Thank you so much for your help!! I'm going to do this right now!!

[pied_piper]

You are welcome. I forgot to mention - Be sure the ring is fully on in the correct position before you start the re-hydration process. Otherwise, it may be stuck in the wrong place.

It may take a week or even more for your piccolo to absorb enough moisture. Each wood instrument is unique. If, after that time, the ring is still loose, then you need to take or send it to a professional flute technician who has the capabilities to deal with a severe case.