Taking care of your timber flute!

[lilt]

Hi all! I'm new to this site and am amazed at the amount of input to all the different forums. Its great! There's a huge amount of info there, quite a lot of it so witty and tinted with good old Monty Python humour. Now a question for all you flute players. I play a keyless Cotter timber flute. What is the proper way to care for a timber flute? Is almond oil the best oil to use on the timber? Is it a light rub or should I rub alot of the oil in? What should I do with the internal metal in the head? Do I put oil on that or just push a cloth in and clean/dry it? I have used almond oil all along but Im interested in what you think. Thanks!

[Jon C.]

Hi all! I'm new to this site and am amazed at the amount of input to all the different forums. Its great! There's a huge amount of info there, quite a lot of it so witty and tinted with good old Monty Python humour. Now a question for all you flute players. I play a keyless Cotter timber flute. What is the proper way to care for a timber flute? Is almond oil the best oil to use on the timber? Is it a light rub or should I rub alot of the oil in? What should I do with the internal metal in the head? Do I put oil on that or just push a cloth in and clean/dry it? I have used almond oil all along but Im interested in what you think. Thanks!

Hi,
Welcome to the site that deals with all those little details of the pros and cons of oiling the flute, with an array of different flavors of oil... I think it comes up every other week!
Almond oil with a little vitiman E is good. You don't want to let it build up to thick in the bore, gets gunky. The metal liner can be wiped out with a clean cloth, not a good idea to oil that, as the oil will only muck it up!

[spittle]

The question of what oil to use on your flute is liable to cause the same kind of incindiary fallout as created on an Auto-enthusiast forum as to what's the best motor-oil to use, so be careful (been there, done that - don't even get them started on Synthetic vs. Dino ). Seems there's good, albeit somewhat anecdotal evidence to suggest the humidity the flute's kept in is more important over time than oiling for preventing cracks and warping.

I oiled my Blackwood flute frequently when it was new and now do it only once a month if that, paying special attention to the ends of the sockets and tenons and the edges of the finger and embouchure holes since with Blackwood, that's about the only place I witness much absorbtion.

I don't even think you'd want to wipe the headjoint completely dry - that extra moisture woul help humidify the instrument in whatever case you keep it in.... you do keep it in a case, right? Don't store it assembled on your coffee table - if it's a high-enough quality flute, it's likely to leave a horse's head at the foot of your bed in the morning!

Cheers!
- Ryan

[johnkerr]

The best (and most fun) way to care for a timber flute is to play it. Often. This keeps the wood good and moist, and helps avoid the changes in internal humidity of the wood that are the reason flute players even need to worry about things like which oil to use and how often to apply it. If you live in a year-round moist climate (like Ireland) this may be all you ever need to do - play your flute daily for a good long time (an hour or so, minimum) and swab it out when you're done. If you live in an area where it gets dry for entire seasons at a time (like most of the US), then during the dry seasons it's also a good idea to store your flute in a humidified environment (a sealed Tupperware container with one of those soakable-style humidifiers like they sell for use in guitar cases will do the trick). Use oils for "first aid" (such as things like impending air travel with the flute, where it's a good idea to oil the flute beforehand to seal in the moisture before it hits the dry air of the plane cabin at altitude) rather than regular preventative maintenance. The only time you should need to worry about a regular periodic application of oil is during extended periods of time when you're not playing the flute. But if you only have the one flute, why would you not be playing it nearly every day? (Aside from hospitalizations and such, of course...)

[lilt]

Thanks, guys, for all the tips. I do play the flute each day for about 2 hours anyway and your point, johnkerr, about the advantages of the moist climate in Ireland is very interesting. Flute-players' Paradise, eh? Im getting a keyed flute shortly and think I'll have it made by Eamonn Cotter again. Had an Arie De Kieser flute a while back but sold it. Cotter flutes seem so light to hold and so easy to fill and have such a nice tone. That reminds me! Must call my masseuese! She'll be delighted to get all that extra oil, now that I wont be needing it after all.