earlier today and had taken it to the shop to get
the head joint tightened. When I got home and went
to put it together it did not seem to want to go in
so I tapped it in. I was careful about it but I think
now that if it gets to that point, then it may be better
to stop and try to find out what's wrong, instead of
forcing it.
Later on, when I wanted to take it apart to check and/
or adjust the cork stopper, I could not get the thing to
budge. I knew from my reading that you do not use the
mouthpiece to grab, because it is soldered on and you
can break it. I assumed also you would not want to use
the key mechanism for a handle, either. So you are not
left with a lot of room for grabbing onto. I decided I needed
some sort of mechanical device to assist me to get a grip
on one end or the other. I looked around at the tools I had
lying about, handy from a recent car repair job. Here's what
struck me as being suitable:
It's called a tube spring lock coupler tool. These can be had
at your local auto parts store and they are for taking apart
air conditioning lines. The nice feature is they have a hinge
on one side so it opens to clip onto a tube. They are color
coded, with white identifying the 3/4 inch nominal size.
Open it up and clip it onto the tube, between the mouthpiece
and the body, and rest it up against the little lip at the body
end. Grip the tool in your hand so it does not open. Pull away
with your other hand on the tube. That should give you enough
grip to pull it out, without wrecking your nice flute.
Well, it worked for me, so I wanted to share that experience.
