Used Armstrong 104

[ElseaSparkle]

Hi again. I came close to buying a used Armstrong 104 for 159.99 plus tax, BUT the end piece fits extremely tight into the body of the flute. I tried Vaseline, which is what I have always used, and it only helps the first time you put it together, then it goes back to being incredibly tight.
If I bought it, and took it to a repair shop, could they fix something like that?
Again, I called the repair shops, but they won't tell me anything over the phone - have to bring it in. Thank you for your advice.

[pied_piper]

First things first: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER use Vaseline or any other kind of lubricant on flute joints. They are designed to fit together dry with no lubricant. Lubricants will actually make things worse because they will attract dust and dirt which gums up the works. A tight footjoint might just need a good thorough cleaning and polishing, but it also might need to be re-fitted by a repair tech. Unless the joint has been damaged (bent or badly scratched and/or galled) it's a simple procedure to have a tech correct the problem.