Flute Repair
Repairs and Modifications, New
Products and Info
Professional
repair services are the cornerstone of the Cincinnati Fluteworks.
A thorough understanding of manufacturers' techniques and many years of
experience in instrument building, restoration, and mechanism design enables
us to offer guaranteed professional repairs of every kind.
It also equips us to make modifications to suit the needs of each individual
flutist.
Pat North has over 35 years of experience in repairs of any type of flute
imaginable.
Why
Our Repairs Are More Stable and Reliable
There are specific
techniques and materials that make our repairs more stable and last longer
than other repair shops. Here's a sampling:
- Before padding the flute,
the stability of the mechanism is assessed. Excess movement on all axis,
left and right, back and forth, is gauged and corrected. Many aspects
of a flute contributes to how well your instrument will wear, stay in
adjustment, and how long your pads will last. These details are checked,
corrected, and tweaked using techniques only repair people accustomed
to building flutes employ. This experience, in addition to the patience,
and fine touch of a flutist, makes a world of difference between us
and most repair shops.
- I suppose if just reading
about our procedures would make other repair shops also do them, their
repairs would be as reliable too. However, the skill, fastidiousness,
and experience of what works and what doesn't, as well as 30 years of
repairing handmade professional flutes, shows up in the stability and
longevity of our repairs. Clients often comment that their instrument
plays better than when they were new.
Good Products
Also Contribute To This Stability
- We only use Moisture-proof
Shims in padding Pro and Pre-pro flutes. They are impervious
to moisture and make a much more stable seat for the pad. Moisture is
the enemy of pads, adjustments, and the paper shims that make pads seat.
It makes them swell and leak. With moisture-proof shims, the pad will
last longer without as much maintenance or downtime for repairs. We
shim to .0005 inches. That's much less than the thickness of a human
hair! Shimming this finely with plastic and moisture-proof shims takes
more time during the repair and the shims are much more expensive than
traditional paper shims, but the benefits are tremendous
- We use the best
Italian Lucien Pisoni Deluxe pads on even student
overhauls and complete pad jobs. They are a firm pad that
resists packing down and the leaks that a packed down soft pad creates.
The skins are tough and clear (double yellow skins). A firm pad that
seals well makes articulation (tonguing) and response much quicker and
clearer on any flute. Though these pads cost us more, they make for
a longer lasting repair. Ask us about Straubinger and Schmidt Gold pads
for your Pro flute.
A Word
on Tone Holes

Many "lesser
advised" repair techniques use filing tone holes as a way to make
a pad seat easier, and short cut the time it takes to pad an instrument.
Surprisingly, some repairpeople working on Pro instruments file tone holes.
Not only can filing a tone hole change the intonation of the flute, something
manufacturers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars perfecting, it greatly
compromises the structure of the chimney hole. We do not file
tone holes unless they have been damaged in an accident
and filing is imperative.
Scheduling
Repairs and Turnaround Times

Meeting your deadlines
is important to us! We are recommitting ourselves to meeting your schedule
deadlines and quick as possible turnaround times. Please phone
or write us about scheduling. We'll get you right in and get your instrument
back in your hands as quickly as possible. In addition, be sure to tell
us the brand, model, age, and description of the problem (or maintenance)
in your e-mail. We look forward to making you a happy customer!
Contact us at (513)
579-8294 or e-mail us at info@fluteworks.com.
For details on what
is included in each type of repair, including prices: Repairs
and Modifications.
Repair
FAQ's
These are Questions
and Answers that clients often ask. We'll keep adding to this column.
Send us your questions and we'll be happy to answer them.
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General
Repair Information |
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Repairs
are by appointment only. Rush repairs are available as scheduling
permits for an additional charge of 20% of the total repair (minimum
charge $35).
Prices
are in effect July 1, 2008 and are subject to change without notice.
All prices are in U.S. dollars, F.O.B. Cincinnati, and are subject
to Ohio sales tax when applicable.
Please
call or email to schedule at (513) 579-8294 or info@fluteworks.com.

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Repair
FAQ's |
| These
are Questions and Answers that clients
often ask. We'll keep adding to this column. Send us your questions
and we'll be happy to answer them.

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| Flute
Annual Maintenance Prices |
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Professional flute, from . . . . . . . . . . . .. .$229*
Pre-pro flute (e.g. diMedici 1011) . . . . . .
.$194**
Student flute, from . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.. . $169**
* Please add $20 for shop supplies.
** Please add $10 for shop supplies.
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| Overhauls,
Repads, Repad with Mechanism Prices |
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Professional flute: . .overhaul $988.
. repad w/ mech $873. . repad $737
Professional piccolo: . overhaul $797*.
repad w/ mech $754* . repad $621
Student flute (closed hole)/piccolo: . overhaul $338.repad
w/ mech $303 . repad $239
Student Step-up (open hole): . overhaul $434
. repad w/ mech $398 . repad $334
Pre-professional flutes/piccs: . overhaul $499
. repad w/ mech $469 . repad $405
Alto, Bass flute: . . please call for prices
*Professional piccolo overhaul and repad with mechanism includes
woodwork, excluding repair of cracks.
** Above prices exclude certain parts. Add $24. for pads and shop
supplies to Student flute overhauls, repad w/ mech., & repads.
Add $45. for pads and shop supplies to Pre-pro and Pro overhauls,
repad w/ mech., & repads.
*** Please phone for quotes for Straubinger pads and Schmidt Gold
pads on your particular instrument.
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| Hand
Cutting of Embouchure and Tone Hole Prices |
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Professional flute: . .embouchure cutting $271.
. fraizing $167
Student flute, solid silver: . embouchure cutting $179
. fraizing $145
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| Other
Repair Prices |
| Other
repair services: . .hourly rate of $72
Repair prices for precious metal (other than silver) instruments,
headjoints, and mechanisms may be slightly higher, as determined
on an individual basis. Quotations are also available for badly
damaged instruments. Please call for a quotation.

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Hand
Cutting of Embouchure and Tone Holes
We are nationally
recognized for our innovative work with these modifications. If
your flute is stuffy or stiff sounding, it would probably benefit
from our skillful hand cutting of the embouchure hole. Each headjoint
is individually assessed to ensure maximum improvement. Tone hole
fraizing remedies excessive cracking between intervals. Please
refer to our Data Page, Fraizing
and Undercutting, for a more detailed explanation of these procedures.
Annual Maintenance
& Adjustments are Crucial for the Flute to Keep Its Value ("Clean,
Oil, Adjust")
A combination
of periodic overhauls (every two to three years, depending on use)
and yearly checkups to make minor adjustments will keep your instrument
in optimum laying condition. Yearly checkups (also
known as "Clean, Oil, Adjust") will correct any minor
leaks or problems before they become irreversible. This will help
stretch the time between overhauls.
Details
on Overhauls, Repads, Repad with Mechanism

A professional flute
or piccolo overhaul includes complete disassembly of the instrument; cleaning,
tarnish removal and hand polishing; all pins are pulled, keys and pivots
are refitted and the mechanism is properly oiled; normal maintenance for
wood is performed on wood piccs (except cracks). It also includes a complete
repadding, and replacement of all corks, felts, and headjoint stoppers.
Please inquire for Straubinger and Schmidt Gold pad quotes. We also offer
a repad with mechanism service which includes all
of the procedures in a complete overhaul except for tarnish removal and
hands polishing. A repad only is also available. It includes
the replacement of the pads, corks, felts, and headjoint stopper.
The Cincinnati
Fluteworks dedicates the same care, skill and consideration to the
overhaul of student flutes and piccolos. We disassemble
the instrument, refit keys and mechanism as necessary, clean and
oil the mechanism; polish the instrument, and remove tarnish; replace
all pads and the headjoint cork, and replace all corks and felts.
"How
often does my instrument need an overhaul?"
Here are the symptoms: If you have noticed any sluggishness in tonguing
response, weakness of sound in the low octave, or unreasonable difficulty
playing an even chromatic scale, your flute probably is the culprit.
Leaks and lost action tend to sneak up on the flutist. While leaks
may seem minor, any leak affects the response of the entire instrument.
Compensation with increased pressure may seem to help, but slows
technique. It also makes the leak progressively worse and causes
further deterioration of the pads. In addition, after a year or
two, the headjoint cork will begin to shrink from the effects of
moisture. This also causes leaking and sluggish response. Because
this leak is not readily pinpointed (as with a leaky pad), the player
is often blamed for the instrument's shortcomings.
The Cincinnati Fluteworks gives each repair, whatever size, our
complete,
professional attention. Our workmanship and materials are fully
guaranteed.
We also specialize in many kinds of personalized modifications to
bring
out the best qualities of an instrument (and the player!). Our years
of
experience with these modifications have made us leaders in the
field.
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