Posted 9 years ago
mikelv85
(1232 items)
This was a companion to the flute I posted the other day. There is also a fife that I've had my eye on too, if it's still there next week. Someone donated all these together obviously. Luckily this was still at Savers this morning right where I left it yesterday. Much simpler in construction and a lot earlier too. Mozart would have been very familiar with this type of flute. I ran across lots of these researching the other flute on almost every site I looked at. Most are boxwood or palisander (rosewood) lots of other names for this species. The inlay is fine ox bone and occasionally ivory was used on very fine instruments. This is still quite attractive though. I kind of hesitated on this one because it's in serious need of a lot of TLC. Most all these early instruments seem to have the same problems . Cracks have to be addressed which I found out are repaired using super glue and wood dust. Serious ones are sometimes pinned with brass wire but that's usually a last resort. The cotton thread that keeps the joints snug and air tight is mostly gone on the joint sections. Some of the bone pieces have cracked from age with wood expansion and contraction. The single brass key needs a new pad as well. It's not signed anywhere so a good guess is an anonymous German maker. I rescued these instrument and as much as I'd like to restore them my pockets aren't that deep. It would be a labor of love without much financial reward. Interesting pieces of history that Id like to learn to play at some point. :) -Mike-
Love old music instruments too!!!
Don't try the superglue with wood dust, it will be a mess.
You can find a wood paste in several colors in the ebenist part of a big store.
For a thin crack, special wood filling wax may work too.
Worth having the pad fixed and the thread changed by a specialist, cost won't be that high :-)
Thanks Kyra :) I wouldn't try anything myself except maybe the thread on the joints. Everything has to be reversible when it comes to conservation in case someone comes up with a better solution in the future. Restorer's charge 35 dollars an hour not including parts. So you're looking at several hundred to a thousand dollars depending on the instrument. My eight key flute probably falls into that category. If it had been a signed Rudall it would have been well worth it. Those are worth between two and four thousand easy. I'd still like to have these looked at by a professional but they're hard to track down.
very nice mike!!
Thank you Sean :)
Cool piece mike, even if it is Baroque... Sorry, I couldn't help myself :- )
lol....Thank you Rick :)
Mike, I found This for your baroque traverso, last item:
http://www.buyrecorders.com/other_woodwinds.htm
Thanks Kyra :) ....It does look almost identical ! Mine has a bone-ivory ring around the embouchure. That seems to be a little detail I haven't seen on too many. I wonder how they came up with the maker Schuchart. Theirs doesn't seem to be marked either...interesting.
I am glad to see you value these old instruments. I remembered that I have a flute my great-grandfather used to play, dating to the mid/late 1800's. I think it is German. I tried many times to play it but it is very difficult to get more than three or four notes out of it. You inspired me to post it- when I have time to look for it and hopefully find it - LOL
Thank you freiheit :)....I hope I can have this and the other one I posted repaired and put back into playing condition someday. Not very easy to find the shops that do this kind of work anymore. Hope you find yours. Looking forward to your post !