Body Tight on Headjoint and Foot

[Scrolfe]

My head joint is a little big for my body, the foot is too. Will vasoline damage my silver flute?

[fluttiegurl]

Never put anything on the tenons! Not only can it damage the flute, it will build up and cause more problems over time. If it is too tight, it may simply need to be cleaned with a soft cloth. If it is too big, it will need to be taken to a tech for fitting.

[woof]

My head joint is a little big for my body, the foot is too. Will vasoline damage my silver flute?

Is your flute new? Often the tightness of a new flute will work itself out over time. Is the foot tenon clean? Any dirt there as Fluttiegurl mentioned will cause problems. I have used a paraffin candle in the past. The technique is to gently make one pass around the tenon with the candle leaving a very slight streak of wax (accent on slight). Then use a clean cloth to wipe all of it off. The result is you will leave an incredibly thin film of wax on the tenon that will help lubricate putting the footjoint on. The caveat is that, as fluttiegurl mentioned, you must not to leave big deposit which will really cause problems later. On my flute this has worked well, there is no build up. The footjoint/headjoint should of course be tight or you will have other problems but not so tight that it is very difficult to get on. Perhaps a trip to a flute tech might be in order if the problem is really severe.

I wonder if anyone has tried using a very thin smear of powdered graphite as a lubricant??

[fluteguy18]

I've tried the graphite before. It worked a little bit, but not significantly. But, this was quite a long time ago. I would give it another try if I needed it though. Graphite won't really hurt anything I think...

I would just give it time if the flute is new, and if it isn't a trip to your tech is in order.