Platform for perfect pinkie position?

[Dominic Allan]

A customer recently asked me to add keys to her flute's foot joint. She experimented with a keyed flute that I loaned to her and decided that she wanted a little platform to rest her pinkie on. I tend to just keep my little finger up in the air when playing a keyed flute so personally I don't find it that useful but anyway this is the result:

[Casey Burns]

What a great solution! I've been pondering how to do this myself, as this is a common need with foot joints with just the Eb key.

Nice and sharp looking keys by the way. Cast or forged?

Casey

[Dominic Allan]

Thanks Casey,
largely filed and soldered, no actual forging involved. I make them from 2.5mm nickel sheet , cut filed, folded , ect.

[LorenzoFlute]

I make them from 2.5mm nickel sheet , cut filed, folded , ect.

Silver is soft and easy enough to work, but nickel I'd imagine it's quite a bit harder, no?

[Dominic Allan]

Yes silver is much softer, (IMO) it's too soft for this type of keywork. I do forge keys from silver for block mounted flutes.
The advantage of nickel silver is that you can make complex and delicate keywork that still has good strength.

[jemtheflute]

Forgive me if I'm being dense, but where is the pinkie rest? Is it the piece of metal underneath the C nat touch, roughly opposite the Eb key's cup? Looks bizarrely awkward to me from a use point of view, though elegantly done crafting-wise.

Also (you're all expecting this), what the devil's the point when the R little finger should be on the Eb key most of the time?! (Yeah, the customer is always......)

I do think your keywork is very attractively stylish, Dom.

[Dominic Allan]

Yes, it's the blob bellow the C/C# touches, that's where she wanted it.
The flute was originally keyless so playing with the Eb key open tends to make the E a bit sharp.
I have found myself putting my finger on it, looks a bit far down the instrument to be comfortable but it's not bad.

[Steve Bliven]

Also (you're all expecting this), what the devil's the point when the R little finger should be on the Eb key most of the time?!

Always venting.....

Best wishes.

Steve