Im Richard im not a flute player, just a average guitar player/drum basher, however my father has what looks to me like a oldish silver flute, its been around as long as i can remember.
Im wondering if anyone here could help me identify this flute, there is a few stickey keys, maybe some old damaged pads and it most likely needs a polish but unfortunatly there isnt many flute repair shops around here, the only markings i can see on it are...
Commodore, Paris, France
Made in France
and 3145
I dont want to break out the silver cleaning polish as i dont have a clue on the maintenance of a flute and what damage i might do just in case it has some value. Ive googled commodore flutes and not found much info.
If it will help and images are allowed on these forums i will upload some.
Now, this turned into a huge essay. Whoever reads this, don't be afraid to comment if you think something should be done differently. In most cases things can be done in different ways with the same or similar result, and I'd love to have a friendly argument. I'm just learning this stuff in college so don't be mean either!
1. Does it say on the flute "solid silver" or "sterling silver"? This you would find on the body where you put the headjoint in, right under the barrel (the barrel is the part that says the name of the maker). And/Or the headjoint and/or the footjoint.
2. Pictures would help a lot. If you want comment about the pads, try to take a close up of a pad.
3. I'm sure that a silver polish would be fine, just use a polish that is specially made for silver, not just any polish that can ALSO be used for silver. I'm doing flutes in repair school right now and we are told to use a cream silver polish. If there is a repair shop anywhere near you, I recommend just sending it in and they can put it through chem clean and make it really really nice with the appropriate chemicals.
Check those things:
Head joint:
1. Is the crown (crown is at the end of the joint, screwes on on the side that the embouchure is on) loose or missing
2. Did the flute come with a cleaning rod? If so, insert it carefully into the head joint (insert the end that does not have the hole on it to put a cloth in, the end you should insert has a line on it, a short distance from the end). Does the line show up in the embouchure hole? Is it in the middle?
3. Is the lip plate (the raised part that surrounds the embouchure hole) dented or scratched?
4. Does the head joint fit into the body without any loose play?
5. Is the plating (if the flute is plated) worn off on the lip plate?
Body and foot joint:
1. Does it have any dents, is it straight? (for dents, look at the light reflection, I'm not expecting you to find any tiny/small ones)
2. Does the foot joint fit into the body without any loose play?
3. Are the tone holes (the holes under the keys) scratched or dented/bent?
Key Mechanism
1. Do all the keys move freely? (Just push them down (or up if they are closed) and see if they are stiff or wont move)
2. Does anything look broken? Check for the parts coming out of the body that the key mechanism is mounted on (posts), the solder joints should not have cracks in them)
3. Is it missing pivot or hinge screws? Check the end of the flute, the post closest to the end should have a rod coming out of it going the other direction, and you should see a screw in the hole it comes out of. Check all the rods/screws on posts.
4. Are there missing or broken springs? This you can check mostly by pushing a key down gently and see if it comes back up. For closed keys press the touchpiece that opens them and see if they come back down.
Pads
1. Check for sticky pads (I saw that you mentioned them), now check if you see if the pads are torn, loose or missing (there is one key on the flute that does not have a pad under it, it's very close to the upper end of the body, but it doesn't have a hole under it either).
Case
1. Are there accessories loose in the case that can damage the instrument? (no sheet music is allowed in the case where you put the instrument, the cleaning rod should be secured in a special place).
2. Does the instrument fit well in its case?
3. Does the case close properly?
Now, I know what you're thinking, the case doesn't matter. It really doesn't, but it can tell you a lot about how the flute was treated.
This list should tell you a lot about how much is wrong with the flute, and I tried to write it so anyone could look at it and check things, I skipped loads of steps that are not easily checked by anyone but a tech. This I took from a list in the woodwind manual, the part about flutes, for the band instrument repair program in Red Wing.
Wow thank you for all that info, i will post some pictures as soon as i get back home tonight.
I'm always keen to learn about all different things, at the moment i am restoring a electric guitar so I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty, but i like to first understand the task at hand so your very comprehensive post will help alot.
I'm also hoping with some pictures i can find out the make and year of the flute.
The flute is fairly easy to take apart, as long as you remember to put the same screw in the same place it came from when putting it back together. I thought he just wanted to try it on the body and see if it gets better.
But after reading your link I agree with you, not anyone should polish their flute.
Today I was taking apart a flute that someone had buffed. The flute was plated and the plating had come off in weird places after the buffing (plated instruments can never be buffed). That someone also broke a post in the process! And it came from a shop, think about that.
Hi Rich. I looked at the photos of your flute and I believe it will take a lot of work ($$) to get it into playing shape. An old flute like that one will certainly need all new pads. Also, there appears to be some damage to the flute. In photo #10 (where your picture shows sighting down it like a gun barrel), it appears that the body is slightly bent. That will cause keys to bind, so that would have to be straightened. In photo #11, there is a blob of solder on the keys. That is likely the result of a previous poor repair job.
11a.jpg (33.86 KiB) Viewed 18990 times
So, the bottom line is, how much is the flute worth to you? As a musical instrument, it is not a top brand name and it has little value. Yes, it can be repaired and cleaned up, but unless the flute has a lot of sentimental value, I would not recommend putting a lot of money into it. If it does have sentimental value, one option you might consider is to have the flute cleaned, polished and made into a lamp. That way it could be displayed in your home and could be a nice conversation starter...
"Never give a flute player a screwdriver."
--anonymous--
Oh Wow!
That's bad.
If you try silver polishing the head joint it might be interesting to see what lies under, although I agree with pied_piper that it's probably not worth fixing up. Needing to clean, change all the pads+corks and probably most of the springs is expensive.
Always very sad to loose any type of musical instrument, maybe just a little clean and polish and leave it as a bit of a display piece. Ah well you win some you loose some, thanks for the info though i am most grateful.
