Piccolo overhaul

[ofstarstuff]

Heya folks. I'm currently a repair tech student and am in the middle of overhauling a piccolo. I couldn't find much information about this pickle-o on the webs, but it's an Armstrong Heritage 260 wood student piccolo. Anywho, upon replacing the head joint cork, I am not able to get the cleaning rod line in the middle of the embouchure hole. If holding head joint with the crown to the left, the line is about 5-7mm (sorry, I don't have the instrument in front of me at the moment) to the right of center of the hole. Otherwise, when centered, the crown sticks out and cannot be screwed in any further simply because the screw is too long. (I thought the cork might be too long and shortened it, but did nothing) What should the rod line measure at? Is this standard to all pic head joints? The instrument did not come with a cleaning rod and I have been using a generic rod for measuring purposes. I also did not think to check the measurement before removing the cork and don't know if it was perhaps always off. Is there a tolerance to where the line can be? Should the screw be trimmed and if so what is the best to go about removing it such that it will have no issue screwing into the crown?

I've never messed with the cork in my own flute so I'm not sure how much tuning is effected and don't want this thing to fall in the hands of a student who will end up with tuning issues - the pickle-o needs to be in tune!!!

Also, I was told to start to start with the thumb pads when it comes to padding. I understand why this key is difficult to repad as you end up with heat sinking issues. Do you perhaps have any tips when it comes to repadding a piccolo?

[pied_piper]

5 - 7 mm to the right will DEFINITELY mess up the intonation. I would guess that someone probably replaced the entire cork assemble with one that is too long.

To shorten the screw, first remove it from the head (obviously ). Find a steel hex nut with the same size/thread and screw it on the thread until it is near the cork (or at least past the place you need to cut it. Use a jewelers saw to cut off the excess - maybe 6mm to start. Use a flat jewelers file to dress the end and slightly round it so there is nothing sharp. Remove the nut; that will ensure that the threads are cleaned. Try it again. Repeat if needed until you can get the cork to the proper position.