I have a 5 year old Hammy Hamilton keyless flute and am wondering if it would be possible to recork myself without having to send it back to Hammy. Any ideas on materials and methods needed to do it.
Hello.
I would like to share with you this video (if you didn't see it) on Hammy Hamilton and his work. kind regards and greeting from italy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp-RndJFKz0
well... it's a pretty simple operation. the only thing that might catch you off guard is that you should make sure you know the distance between the embouchure and the cork before you make the flute, so you can reset it. a good rule of thumb is that the width of the bore should be the distance between the cork and the middle of the embouchure hole. you can mark off a small ord to do this.
I'm sure he means the cork lapping on the joints. I've a Hammy and I think it has a plastic type stopper. Dunno re the cork lapping - try Chiff & Fipple. I replaced the cork on a flute I have with thread, seems to work grand.
You need sheet cork - 2mm thick or so - contact (rubber) cement,
a sharp knife like an x-acto knife and some string or something
to wrap around the cork holding it until it dries.
Then you trim and shape with a knife and maybe carborundum
paper. Use heaps of cork grease and by trial and error get it
worked down to the right thickness. Obviously it needs to be thick
enough so the joint doesn't wobble and you get a good seal but
not so thick that you have to force the pieces together.
use thread - thers a proper type dunno wat u call it..Why take so much hassle re corking..as Hammy which thread..Loads of makers use thread anyway, cork on the tennons is just for asthetics as much as function
It's called hemp. Any highland pipe supplier will have it. You can get different thicknesses. Pull it through a lump of beeswax and wind it on. Some people roll the finished hemp between two bits of wood to compress it; but you can easily wind a bit more on if you need to. A little finger dipped in vaseline to finish will help, and occasionally thereafter.
I have had good results with waxed silk too. Pick a nice colour and lay it down as evenly as you can. I put it on the flute unwaxed and then liberally apply my cork grease of choice until it will take no more. It is important that the thread is greased to limit the amount of moisture it can absorb (causes swelling...). It is wound on the tenon fairly tightly, though not brutally so.
I use a mixture of beeswax and almond oil - I melt the wax in the oil, adjusting the proportions until I am happy with the consistency - this is also what I use for daily re-greasing of the joints. I also use it on my pipes, but make it considerably stiffer for the joints that are not meant to move, e.g. drones into stocks.
Hemp works fine too, it is just that on at least one of my flutes the fit is very close and the silk allows a very precise adjustment of the thickness of the binding.
On the other hand, cork works fine too and any woodwind repairer should be competent to replace the cork on a tenon with new cork if you want to go that road. Make sure they don't make it too tight, though be aware that cork squashes over time, so it shouldn't be too loose either.
Hello.
Hammy Hamilton has released a DVD containing instructions to re-corking and re-padding a flute. I think the best way it's to email him directly. Regards.
Sergio
Flute Repairs
Flute Repairs
I have a 5 year old Hammy Hamilton keyless flute and am wondering if it would be possible to recork myself without having to send it back to Hammy. Any ideas on materials and methods needed to do it.
# Posted on June 6th 2009 by whistlin_bouy
Re: Flute Repairs
Hello.
I would like to share with you this video (if you didn't see it) on Hammy Hamilton and his work. kind regards and greeting from italy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp-RndJFKz0
# Posted on June 6th 2009 by Sergio Corriero
Re: Flute Repairs
well... it's a pretty simple operation. the only thing that might catch you off guard is that you should make sure you know the distance between the embouchure and the cork before you make the flute, so you can reset it. a good rule of thumb is that the width of the bore should be the distance between the cork and the middle of the embouchure hole. you can mark off a small ord to do this.
as for how to do it... i would say either go over to the flute forums at chiff and fipple ( http://forums.chiffandfipple.com/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=df9203168d884b65f23ddb8913a27173 ). there are plenty of makers over there who would be more than happy to help you.
# Posted on June 7th 2009 by daiv
Re: Flute Repairs
*small rod.
# Posted on June 7th 2009 by daiv
Re: Flute Repairs
Do you mean the cork on the joints or the cork stopping the closed end of the headjoint?
# Posted on June 7th 2009 by Crackpot
Re: Flute Repairs
I'm sure he means the cork lapping on the joints. I've a Hammy and I think it has a plastic type stopper. Dunno re the cork lapping - try Chiff & Fipple. I replaced the cork on a flute I have with thread, seems to work grand.
# Posted on June 7th 2009 by the wounded hussar
Re: Flute Repairs
You need sheet cork - 2mm thick or so - contact (rubber) cement,
a sharp knife like an x-acto knife and some string or something
to wrap around the cork holding it until it dries.
Then you trim and shape with a knife and maybe carborundum
paper. Use heaps of cork grease and by trial and error get it
worked down to the right thickness. Obviously it needs to be thick
enough so the joint doesn't wobble and you get a good seal but
not so thick that you have to force the pieces together.
# Posted on June 8th 2009 by Hup
Re: Flute Repairs
Disclaimer: this is the method I worked out for renewing
the cork joints on my clarinets. There are probably more
'professional' ways of doing it.
# Posted on June 8th 2009 by Hup
Re: Flute Repairs
use thread - thers a proper type dunno wat u call it..Why take so much hassle re corking..as Hammy which thread..Loads of makers use thread anyway, cork on the tennons is just for asthetics as much as function
# Posted on June 8th 2009 by Miss Mulligan
Re: Flute Repairs
ask hammy*
# Posted on June 8th 2009 by Miss Mulligan
Re: Flute Repairs
It's called hemp. Any highland pipe supplier will have it. You can get different thicknesses. Pull it through a lump of beeswax and wind it on. Some people roll the finished hemp between two bits of wood to compress it; but you can easily wind a bit more on if you need to. A little finger dipped in vaseline to finish will help, and occasionally thereafter.
# Posted on June 8th 2009 by gam
Re: Flute Repairs
I use pure silk thread, pulled through beeswax, or a mixture of beeswax and vaseline (50/50).
# Posted on June 8th 2009 by Tim@Copenhagen
Re: Flute Repairs
I have had good results with waxed silk too. Pick a nice colour and lay it down as evenly as you can. I put it on the flute unwaxed and then liberally apply my cork grease of choice until it will take no more. It is important that the thread is greased to limit the amount of moisture it can absorb (causes swelling...). It is wound on the tenon fairly tightly, though not brutally so.
I use a mixture of beeswax and almond oil - I melt the wax in the oil, adjusting the proportions until I am happy with the consistency - this is also what I use for daily re-greasing of the joints. I also use it on my pipes, but make it considerably stiffer for the joints that are not meant to move, e.g. drones into stocks.
Hemp works fine too, it is just that on at least one of my flutes the fit is very close and the silk allows a very precise adjustment of the thickness of the binding.
On the other hand, cork works fine too and any woodwind repairer should be competent to replace the cork on a tenon with new cork if you want to go that road. Make sure they don't make it too tight, though be aware that cork squashes over time, so it shouldn't be too loose either.
# Posted on June 8th 2009 by Crackpot
Re: Flute Repairs
Hello.
Hammy Hamilton has released a DVD containing instructions to re-corking and re-padding a flute. I think the best way it's to email him directly. Regards.
Sergio
# Posted on June 9th 2009 by Sergio Corriero
Re: Flute Repairs
does anyone if recorking a flute is the same as recorking a clarinet???
# Posted on June 13th 2009 by whistlin_bouy