Cleaning rod stuck

JeffS · Post by **JeffS** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 12:19 am

My baby is okay! I got home from work and read all the feedback here. Then, I calmly got a pair of pliers and forcefully pulled the rod through the flute. Viola!

Again, thanks for all the suggestions from the board.

Warmly,
Jeff

jemtheflute · Post by **jemtheflute** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 12:27 am

Phew! Well done!

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 3:44 am

Excellent!

I'm glad your flute is ok.

Be careful; now that you've fixed it yourself, you may discover that working on these things is every bit as addicting as playing them!

--James

Whistlin'Dixie · Post by **Whistlin'Dixie** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 4:57 am

I wasn't gonna say anything until I heard that you got the cleaning rod free and the flute was ok,

but.....

I NEVER swab out the foot joint of my flute anymore!!!!!!
It's too small!!!!

Just shake it out! Then dab the ends dry with the cloth around your small finger only.

How much water gets down there, anyway, and how harmful can it possibly be even so????????????????

M
(yeah, I did it once, too, but not as badly...)

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:22 am

Whistlin'Dixie wrote:I wasn't gonna say anything until I heard that you got the cleaning rod free and the flute was ok,

but.....

I NEVER swab out the foot joint of my flute anymore!!!!!!
It's too small!!!!

Just shake it out! Then dab the ends dry with the cloth around your small finger only.

How much water gets down there, anyway, and how harmful can it possibly be even so????????????????

M
(yeah, I did it once, too, but not as badly...)

How about this for a compromise position?

The foot joint is short. Here's how I dry mine: take the silk off of the cleaning stick, and just start feeding one corner of the silk through the footjoint, twisting as I go.

It doesn't take long for the silk to appear at the other end, where I grab it and pull it through.

Ta-da!

Foot joint comes out dry as a bone, and there's no cleaning rod to get stuck.

You can oil it the same way if you like.

--James

Lyn D · Post by **Lyn D** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 6:13 pm

Glad to hear both baby and dad are doing fine!

What a relief. Phew

Lyn

kkrell · Post by **kkrell** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 6:38 pm

For the body and foot joints, I attach a silk cloth threaded through the eye of the cleaning rod. Then drop the cleaning rod (bottom first) through the joint. Grab the bottom, and pull the rod through, trailed by the cloth. That way, both rod and cloth are not wedged in there at the same point.

Kevin Krell

Berti66 · Post by **Berti66** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:00 pm

good to see that you managed to pull the rod out, whew....

for drying the body of the flute, I use a pull through kind of flag that a friend made me.
piece of chamois or ultrasuede, attached with one corner to a string........at the end of string are some metal beads for weight.
insert the beads at the left hand part of the body after you removed the head.......they will drop right through the flute to the foot.
there grab the string, and pull.
nothing gets stuck, and flute dried in an instant.
works a treat.

berti

fluti31415 · Post by **fluti31415** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 8:42 am

Wow -- I'm glad that this resolved itself!

If this happens to anyone in the future, and you absolutely can't get the rod out, there is a tool that is made especially for this purpose. I wouldn't propose that you go out and buy it, but rather head to a music store to have the tech take care of it. If the technician is in house when you come in, there's even a chance that s/he'll take care of it right then and there.

It's basically a small metal hook with a long (about one foot) shank. they reach in and hook the cloth to pull it out. Takes about 10 seconds.

boyd · Post by **boyd** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:22 am

Whats wrong with using a hairdryer????