Lately I've been trying out lots of flutes, including a lovely Pearl Maesta 9701. I was getting ready to leave my university to go home for a week long break and had several flutes to carry back with me. I put the Pearl in the box it came in and held the other flutes by their case cover handles. As I walked down the hallway the box somehow got tilted to the point where the pearl flute fell out and hit the floor with a loud thud. The flute was inside its case and its outside case cover.

I opened it up and everything looked just fine, so I went home. Once home I tried to put the flute together and the footjoint would not go on the body as it usually did. I made sure not to apply any pressure to it and took a closer look at the body. Immediately I noticed that the tenon that connects the body to the footjoint is slightly bent . Somehow this occured due to the pressure of the fall once the flute hit the floor, even though it was inside the case. Anyway, I'm quite upset over this and would like to know if you have any recommendations for someone who can repair this handmade Pearl.

I'd also like to point out that I was going to have someone look at the flute anyway for other reasons. One of the keys is making a very light clicking sound when I press it that seems abnormal, and last night the very bottom C was not speaking (I tried other headjoints with it to make sure it was a technical problem). This morning the bottom C spoke just fine... so that is strange to me as well. If anyone could recommend a fine technician to look at this instrument I'd appreciate it... And if you could let me know what the process is to do this kind of repair and the possible cost that would be great too.

Flute Specifications:
Pearl 9701
soldered tone holes
Split E, C# trill, D# roller
offset G, B foot

Since this is a handmade flute, you should take it to a shop that specializes in pro flutes. It would help to know where you reside to point you to a flute technician. If you don't have one nearby, you'll need probably have to ship it.

The procedure to repair this is not terribly difficult provided the right tools are available. One way to fix this is to use a flute body mandrel (a precision-made, polished steel rod that is very slightly smaller than the flute bore). The mandrel is mounted in a bench vise and then the flute is carefully slid over the mandrel up to the point of the dent or bend. On quality flutes, it's best if the mandrel is covered with a very thin teflon sheet to prevent the mandrel from scratching the flute bore. If the bend is very slight, the flute can be pushed fully and gently onto the mandrel. The mandrel can them be tapped lightly with a mallet which causes the rod to bounce slightly and thereby push out the bend from the inside. This is somewhat of a trial and error procedure to get the tenon straight. Some technicians may use an expandable flute tenon expander. It can be adjusted to fit into the bent area and then expanded to push out the bend. Cost can vary depending on how severe the bend is. Most techs will charge by the hour and rates for a good technician can run around $100/hour. This type of job can be done in less than an hour. Some techs may charge in 15-minute increments, but many techs have a minimum one-hour charge.

Thank you for the wonderful information... By the way, I am located in Florida.

I've decided to send it to Sherry's Flute Repair.

I hope it can be fixed rather easily, do not worry too much.

I had my Yamaha silver HJ tenon badly bent last year. It slipped from my hands and fell on the floor with a direct impact on the tenon border.

I was desperate to the tears, phoned local Yamaha, got the address of a technician, phoned him, had him agree to check it immediately (I guess he felt the desperation in my voice), went there in public transportation (did not feel like driving) and finally had it repaired in one hour work (using the mandrels an all the specific tools a good technician has).
Total lapse of desperation: about three hours. And not too much expensive, some 40 Euro (52 USD).

The foot joint tenon is smaller and should be easier to repair, if only slightly bent.

Another good shop that is a bit closer to Florida is J.L. Smith in Charlotte NC. ( http://www.flutesmith.com see "The Workshop" link) They specialize in flute sales and repair. They also have a repair parts division that supplies flute parts and tools to many repair shops. (http://www.jlsmithco.com) I've dealt with them for headjoints as well as flute tools and parts. They are great folks to work with.

Thanks for all the replies. I've packed up the flute and am shipping it off to Sherry today. I'm thinking it won't be too difficult to repair since the tenon is just a bit bent... I'll let you all know how the flute turns out in about a week.

Sherry is very good. She repadded a flute for me last year.