Flute cork question

Taking care of your instrument

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Delvianna01
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2016 12:11 pm

Flute cork question

Post by Delvianna01 »

Hey guys, I'm new here and I wanted to start repairing flutes. I'm just starting out and I'm having a hard time finding information since I don't know the correct name for most of the stuff, so I'm hoping you guys can help me.

I'm finding these corks on many different keys. Not trill corks, but these small, tiny... corks and I'm wondering if they have a name, cause I'd like to replace them.

Here's a picture to give you an Idea of what I'm talking about.

Image


If anyone can give me a name for it or anywhere where I can find information about this thing, I would seriously appreciate it. I feel like I've looked everywhere.

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pied_piper
Posts: 1962
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 1:31 pm
Location: Virginia

Re: Flute cork question

Post by pied_piper »

That is simply a silencer cork to keep the key from clicking against the body when it is depressed. Cork like that is not typically sold as an individual part. Rather it is a material that is bought in a sheet and then cut to fit. Cork sheet comes in various thicknesses and often different thicknesses are required for the various keys.

See the natural sheet cork at this link:
http://musicmedic.com/products/repair-s ... ducts.html
"Never give a flute player a screwdriver."
--anonymous--

fluteguy18
Posts: 2311
Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 3:11 pm

Re: Flute cork question

Post by fluteguy18 »

The feet cork/felt/silencer material is a part that has a dual function in the instrument's mechanics. It not only keeps the feet from clicking, but also helps regulate the key heights over the tonehole. As PP said, they're sold by thickness and in a sheet. JL Smith or Kraus Music Products are who I get my cork from. You generally use cork on student/intermediate instruments. You select the next cork thickness up, cut an over-sized piece, glue it on, sand it to the proper thickness, then use a razor blade to do the final 'finish' cut. There's a bit of an art to doing it beautifully.

On higher level instruments, cork is usually replaced with felt (natural or synthetic). It can't be sanded to thickness as easily so it is usually trimmed with a razor and the feet are adjusted as needed.

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