Leaking?

[FascinatedWanderer]

I think my Aebi 8-key has developed a leak of some sort. Picked it up this afternoon and had trouble getting the F#-D. What's confusing is that it was playing fine 2 days before, and it's been in its case since then. No cracks that I can see, but I suppose one of the keys could be leaking, but I've pressed them all down and had a go and it doesn't seem to help all that much.

We have had a somewhat sudden drop in temperature and humidity (and the flute is boxwood) so perhaps that has something to do with it? Any ideas? I'm fairly certain it's not a problem with my embouchure...

[Sirchronique]

I think my Aebi 8-key has developed a leak of some sort. Picked it up this afternoon and had trouble getting the F#-D. What's confusing is that it was playing fine 2 days before, and it's been in its case since then. No cracks that I can see, but I suppose one of the keys could be leaking, but I've pressed them all down and had a go and it doesn't seem to help all that much.

We have had a somewhat sudden drop in temperature and humidity (and the flute is boxwood) so perhaps that has something to do with it? Any ideas? I'm fairly certain it's not a problem with my embouchure...

Is there any way you can put something over the hole where you think the key is leaking, in order to seal it? If so, you could do that and then see if it is still getting the problem when you have that hole completely sealed with something else. This would help you rule out where the issue is coming from.

[Steampacket]

Is the cork stopper loose? Can happen if the humidity gets low. This can affect the low notes

[Terry McGee]

When you say trouble getting the F#-D, are we to understand that it's good down to F#, but things go awry below that? Ditto both octaves?

Have you tried any suck and blow tests on each of the sections to see if there are detectable leakages? You should be able to pull a vacuum on each section, and not to be able to blow the pads off their seats. If that works, try pairs of sections to see if the problem lies in a joint.

Terry

[FascinatedWanderer]

The F# is weaker than usual as well. I'd had some trouble previously with the G# leaking, but once I tweaked it and the pads readjusted it was completely fine, and now it doesn't seem to be an issue.

The 2nd octave also seems to play fine as far as the bottom notes. I haven't done a suck test yet, but I'm a bit flummoxed.

I've put in a box with a damp paper towel to try and get things to the right humidity. If it starts playing OK after that I'll assume it was some kind of humidity problem...

[Jayhawk]

The old suck test can be really revealing.

Also...any moisture seeping out around key pads when playing for a long time? I discovered a slight leak in my long F nat key by noticing a liquid leak when I'd been playing a few hours on my M&E. Removed the key, bent the spring back further a bit...and it's rock solid again...and the low end sounds perfect once more.

Eric

[woodfluter]

Tenons?
Cork or thread wrapped?

If condition is in doubt, could wrap with a turn or two of Teflon tape. That might tell you something.

You say second register is OK, only low register F#-D. From what I've seen, that's where you run into the most trouble if there's leakage *anywhere*. As was mentioned, check the stopper too. Push it out and see if it's tight and well greased (if cork). If you suspect it, try wrapping that in Teflon and re-inserting to see if there's a change.

I've checked for key leaks using aluminum foil. I just know someone will tell me this can't work. But I usually use little bits of foil to cover key pads when I oil a flute, when I'm too lazy to remove the keys. Not that there's a lot of loose oil anyway, just in case. When I've played with the foil in place, I've gotten a very good seal - you press down firmly on the key head and it molds to the beveled surface of the hole.

So once, when a Cnat pad was damaged by a parrot (it wasn't my parrot btw) I checked this way to confirm that it was the pad causing problems. You might try that, one key at a time.

[Aanvil]

Bloodly parrots!

[Cathy Wilde]

Boxwood, fall = I wouldn't be surprised. I've got two boxwood flutes and a boxwood set of pipes, and all require some attention in the fall.

So. First off ... This is just my observation, but I notice the culprit is usually the key below which all the notes go to h**l. So if your F# down is bad, I'd suspect either the G# or F key first.

If it's not the key seat (over the tonehole), check the keyway (the block the key arm goes through) for any interference. My long F consistently gets sticky in the fall; I think the wood just warps a bit because I can actually see it binding in the keyway. I've even had the keyway filed & sanded down a shade, but it still happens every year. So I just make sure that key's closed -- it usually gets better with playing, but a hair elastic is good to have along for emergencies.

If you have a 2-piece body, the leak might also be at that right-hand joint. A little fine poly thread run over a beeswax block should help there and keep you from binding the joint too tight (you don't want to get stuck when things swell back up in the spring and you've forgotten to take off the thread).

Good luck!

[FascinatedWanderer]

Pretty sure it's not the headjoint cork. I swapped them out and played on one of Steffen [Gabriel]'s headjoints on the Aebi body and had the same problem.

At this point I suspect it's a problem with the right hand joint. It's got a bit of wiggle room. This didn't seem to affect it previously, but it's quite conceivable that it's the culprit in the case at hand.

The whole flute seems a bit dry despite being in the makeshift humidor. I'm going to oil it and see if that swells things up enough to take care of the problem. If not, maybe some teflon tape over the tenon, or the use of Cathy's suggestion... Tom actually used synthetic strings for the wrappings, so I suspect teflon tape will not harm them.

[Jon C.]

So many places for leaks to happen!
Check for warping of tenons and sockets.
Check for loose head cork.
Check for leak in head liner, leak around embouchure.
Check for leak in barrel liner.
Check for leaky keys, especially Bb,Cnat and G#.
Check for small cracks, between key blocks.
It goes on and on and on...