This page will summarize the first re-pad of a flute. This re-pad is on a 1960's Artley student-level flute. It is a silver-plated flute with a nickle sliver head joint.
I began this re-pad by inspecting the flute and filling out an information sheet, detailing the pad protrusions, cork thicknesses and various work that needed to be completed on the flute. This process will make everything go much faster when re-assembling the flute.
Next, the flute was disassembled and all of the pads and corks were removed. The hinge rods and tubes were cleaned and everything was washed in both Simple Green and phosphoric acid. Before silver-dipping this flute, some much needed body work had to be completed.
After the body was aligned and dents were removed, two of the ribs had to be soldered back on. To do this, I made a brass bit to tap the ribs back into shape, then wired them down with cork and binding wire. The ribs were then soldered back down with lead-free soft solder. Key fitting could now take place.
Many of the keys on this flute were bent, which would explain why the ribs were pulled up. Straightening flute keys is very similar to straightening clarinet keys. There are hinge rods and tubes that get bent in the same way. One problem that occurred was wearing on the C/Bb/A hinge rod. This particular rod has two different functions on the flute. It acts as a hinge rod for the C key and as a headed pointed pivot screw for the Bb and A. In this case, the wearing was on the pivot screw portion. To fix this, the shoulder of the rod had to be filed to fit to remove the play.
The damage to the ribs on the foot caused a very large amount of end play on the C key, to big to compensate through swedging or plastic shims. In order to fix this, I had to level the faces of both the hinge tube and post. Once they were level, I measured the size of washer I would need to fabricate to fill the space.
To make the washer, I turned a stock rod down to the diameter of the hinge tube, and turned a recess into the stock to the diameter of the hinge rod. I then faced the exposed nub to the exact width of washer that I needed. Using a drill bit the size of the hinge rod, I drilled into the center of the stock. Once the bit hit the recess, the washer was cut off and exactly the size I needed.
Once the keys were fit, I disassembled everything again and silver dipped the instrument. Everything was then polished with a silver polishing compound and cleaned. After all of the work is completed, the flute will be polished again with a polishing cloth so that no compound is left behind for the customer.
The flute was then padded. Padding a flute is not like padding a clarinet. Rather than floating the pads into level, the pads are shimmed and screwed into place. Because the tone holes are not level, this proves to be a tricky process to get the hang of. After a few days, the padding was complete.
After the pads were installed, we bake a light seat into the pads to ensure a good seal. With soft clamps, the pads are pressed shut and the flute is put into a mailbox oven. With some water on the pads, the oven irons them onto the tone holes, retaining a light indent to seal the pad.
While the pads were setting up, I turned my attention to the head joint. Some of the plating was flaking off of the inside, so I polished the inside using the lathe with some black rouge on a clothed dowel. Once it was clean, I could install the head cork.
The head cork was cut to suit a nickle sliver head joint. It was then cemented onto the stem and sanded to fit. Using paraffin wax, the pores of the cork were sealed and the cork was put into place. The crown was screwed on tightly and the head joint was warmed to allow the paraffin wax to seal around the bore of the joint.
After this was done, the tenons were fit. Each socket and tenon was brought back to round and the tenons were expanded slightly to fit. After this was finished, the flute was corked.
Corking a flute is very similar to corking a clarinet, except it must be completed in a specific order. After all of the corks are cemented in place, the flute is regulated and vented in a sequence that ensures no lost motion is present on the flute. Using protective tape and 320 grit sand paper, the venting was set for each key.
After the corking was complete, the flute was polished again and play tested. After fixing a minor issue, the case was cleaned and the paperwork handed in. Like the clarinet, we will quickly revisit these instruments next semester so they can be oiled properly and returned to the customer. For more information, leave a comment or email me at
airbandrepair@gmail.com.
I began this re-pad by inspecting the flute and filling out an information sheet, detailing the pad protrusions, cork thicknesses and various work that needed to be completed on the flute. This process will make everything go much faster when re-assembling the flute. 
The damage to the ribs on the foot caused a very large amount of end play on the C key, to big to compensate through swedging or plastic shims. In order to fix this, I had to level the faces of both the hinge tube and post. Once they were level, I measured the size of washer I would need to fabricate to fill the space. 
To make the washer, I turned a stock rod down to the diameter of the hinge tube, and turned a recess into the stock to the diameter of the hinge rod. I then faced the exposed nub to the exact width of washer that I needed. Using a drill bit the size of the hinge rod, I drilled into the center of the stock. Once the bit hit the recess, the washer was cut off and exactly the size I needed.
Once the keys were fit, I disassembled everything again and silver dipped the instrument. Everything was then polished with a silver polishing compound and cleaned. After all of the work is completed, the flute will be polished again with a polishing cloth so that no compound is left behind for the customer. 
The flute was then padded. Padding a flute is not like padding a clarinet. Rather than floating the pads into level, the pads are shimmed and screwed into place. Because the tone holes are not level, this proves to be a tricky process to get the hang of. After a few days, the padding was complete. 
While the pads were setting up, I turned my attention to the head joint. Some of the plating was flaking off of the inside, so I polished the inside using the lathe with some black rouge on a clothed dowel. Once it was clean, I could install the head cork. 
The head cork was cut to suit a nickle sliver head joint. It was then cemented onto the stem and sanded to fit. Using paraffin wax, the pores of the cork were sealed and the cork was put into place. The crown was screwed on tightly and the head joint was warmed to allow the paraffin wax to seal around the bore of the joint. 
After this was done, the tenons were fit. Each socket and tenon was brought back to round and the tenons were expanded slightly to fit. After this was finished, the flute was corked. 
Corking a flute is very similar to corking a clarinet, except it must be completed in a specific order. After all of the corks are cemented in place, the flute is regulated and vented in a sequence that ensures no lost motion is present on the flute. Using protective tape and 320 grit sand paper, the venting was set for each key. 
