jose_luis said:

But I also acknowledge that I have no experience in the mechanics of a flute and its peculiarities, so I am being extremely conservative in this opportunity. This is also the main reason (and not an economic reason) why I hesitate about sending my instrument to a technician I do not know or I do not trust.

That's exactly why flutists should make an effort to become more familiar with the mechanics of their instrument.

I think Boehm himself said it best. In his book "The Flute and Flute Playing" he gives a detailed description of the flute mechanism and suggests that flutists should learn the basics of flute repair and maintenance. Here's a quote from his book:

"A spring may break or lose its elasticity; the oil, with which the axles and pivots must be covered, will become thick and sticky with time, and especially by the entering of dust, hindering the easy movement of the keys; or it may be necessary to replace an injured pad. In all these cases it is necessary to remove the keys from the body and sometimes take the mechanism to pieces. A person with some experience who has made himself familiar with the mechanism, and is provided with the few necessary tools, will have no difficulty in doing this. Every flutist should be in a position, therefore, himself to undertake small repairs and he should not trust his instrument to incapable hands."

BTW, Boehm's book has entered the public domain and it is now available for online viewing and for downloading as a PDF file via Google Books:

The Flute and Flute-Playing

You are 100% right. I re-checked and the pivot is on the external end, so it can be taken out without further instrument disassembly.

I had not seen it and was convinced it was on the other end. My sight is getting worse everyday, sorry about it and thank you.

When I last had my flute overhauled, the technician used some sort of dry powder instead. Seems to work a lot better.(think it's a silicone or PTFE blend as it also seems to be immune to moisture and dirt)

When I used to oil my flute myself, though, I found that the best way to apply it as with a tiny sewing needle one microscopic drop at a time. Sometimes I'd even just get some oil on the needle and rub it against the joint(no visible bubble - just a film).

COA is good. Think of it like your car - a tuneup every year or two is a big help and should be considered just a normal part of keeping it running.

Thanks.

Musicman944, I visited the google link you kindly provided but all I find are copyrighted books with only limited preview or snippet views. You mention that there is one in public domain and downoadable in PDF but I could not find it.

I am very interested in the book by T. Böhm even to the point of ordering it online, but if it is available for free and immediate download it would be by far much better. If you know how to do this, please advise...

On one of the front pages, Google had a statement that the book was in the public domain in the US and anyone outside the US would need to determine if public domain was applicable in their country. It's possible that Google may actually block access outside of the US.

Here's an alternate link. Give this one a try to see if it works:

http://books.google.com/books?id=sd8PAAAAYAAJ

Alternatively, Go to books.google.com and search for "Boehm". That's how I found it.

Thank you. Any method I use brings me to the same result:

"
The Flute and Flute Playing‎
by Ted Boehm, Theobold Boehm, Dayton C. Miller - Music - 1964 - 197 pages
[From 1812 to 1817 Boehm had a goldsmith's shop in which he constructed flutes
on the old system. In 1828, he established his first real flute shop where he
...
Limited preview - About this book - In my library [ Remove ] - More editions
"

The limited preview feature is always there.

Yes, it could be that Google is blocking access of a public domain book to readers in other countries non-USA. It looks like we in Europe are a different kind of public.

Not much surprising, because something similar is happening with Amazon, iTunes and other sites that allow mp3 (paid) downloads only to customers in USA.

To make it totally absurd, not only I could not download Emmanuel Pahud CD with the Bach flute Sonatas from both of them (blocked for outside USA customers) but also, it is not available at their sites in Europe (I checked UK, France and Germany) AND the standard CD by EMI is not available (and probably will not be at any of these WEB shops). Put simply, I cannot buy E. Pahud's CD by any means, unless I order it from a USA vendor, pay 20$ for the shipment and wait some 15 days to get it,if I ever do. But I wanted it for my last audition, not for next years'.

This madness is overreaction to WEB piracy and probably has the effect of making more and more people become new addicts to torrent downloads.

I'm having the same problem as you jose_luis with the web book,,can only get a limited preview.

With the cd's i buy quite a few from Amazon market place, a lot of these have come from america, and i've never had a problem. Postage is still the standard price too, £1.25, but that's to the UK, generally takes about 2 weeks for deliverly. The last one i bought cost 15pence for the cd and the £1.25 postage, that was from America too.

Yes, postage can vary a lot. The problem with E. Pahud CD is that it is not available for mp3 downloads outside USA, the pysical CD is not available at European sites of Amazon and on the USA site of Amazon, they say the CD is discontinued by the manufacturer (EMI Japan).

I visited two big shops in Madrid today and no trace of this CD.

Also, all classical music CD are vanishing quickly. They explained to me that the shops are not longer interested in this music because the sales are too low, as the few people that pays attention to this music now downloads it from Internet.

But the fact is that outside USA, they are being replaced by just... nothing. So the official sites are promoting piracy, in an indirect but effective way.

Crazy world it is and getting worst every minute.

Micron said: 2. The tiny gap mentioned in 1 is actually a large gap, such that these keys can wobble significantly sideways. This is common, but is unlikely to be a problem on a Yamaha. Solution is to 'swedge' the hinge tube to fit better on the hinge rod (and better between the supporting posts.)

Thumb keys clicking...Yamaha is no more immune to this that anyone else. When you get wobble in the Bb thumb lever (and you will, not a question of if, only when...) it needs to be refitted. The very mechanical position coupled with such a short tube only on one side of a key creates incredible leverage promoting wear by see-sawing on the hinge rod. (The LH thumb not only press down on the key but can't avoid also pushing up on it.) Once you've got that wobble in there it will click as the Thumb B key hits it even with a good felt, since the tube hits against the rod from the spring tension snapping it up creating the click. Oil merely absorbs the click and mutes it temporarily. Oil is not going to overcome that type of built in mechanical geometry wearing pattern.

A double axle set for the thumb keys with hinge tubes on both keys is a much more stable and quiet mechanism. The broegger thumb mechanik is another half-hearted solution to this reoccurring problem.

But then again, this is one reason why we do COA's...

Joe B

Sp far and after rising the felt with my ongle, the click has dissappeared completely. Not oiled it yet, as I have to find Yamaha oil somewhere to stay on the safe side.