My flute got dented accidentally and has couple dents on the side and its sorta curved.Is it repairable?

A student gemeinhardt 3b

The dents can be repaired, but the curve may come some problems. When a flute isn`t completely straight, you are going to run into problems with it not holding adjustments.

And to another poster on here that seems to think that I only post helpful responses to make myself look good, you don`t know me then. I love the flute and love to help others as much as possible. When I was young I had all these questions myself, but didn`t have these wonderful chat forums to come onto and ask.

also is there any website where i can find just the body joint which is the only part curved and dented.

Gemeinhardt 3b student

Thx

also is there any website where i can find just the body joint which is the only part curved and dented.

Gemeinhardt 3b student

Thx

Straightening bent flutes is pretty routine stuff for any good technician.

I would straighten a couple of dozen per year. Usually the straightening of the tube takes only a couple of minutes. Then a anything from minor tweaking to a complete adjustment may be necessary, taking up to 40 minutes on a student flute, more on a pro model.

The dents would probably take me less than a minute each.

So don`t get overly upset.

The job takes a little longer when there is severe rippling near G#, or severe distortion of a tone hole, or significant distortion of the lower tenon socket.

The most common way for a flute to get banana shaped is for somebody to sit on it while it is on a couch or bed. People often don`t look before sitting on these places. Warn students.

I started my technician career by straightening my own Haynes after it had been run over by a car. Squashed.

thank you for the advice

one question how much would it cost?

From what you describe, if I did it it would probably cost $30-60. However it is very difficult to estimate without seeing it.

However, some technicians have inefficient methods of doing this type of work and may take significantly longer. If there were other faults in the mechanism or pad seating they would need to be attended to at the same time.

Another unfortunate issue is that some technicians will charge all they can get out of you, and the more major a job LOOKS, no matter how simple it is, the more they will charge! So approach the technician with the assumption that is is a relatively easy job, rather than that it is a major that he can overcharge heaps for.

Some technicians may step up their profit-taking a few more notches, by saying you need a new body, which is not true.

So if a technician give you bad vibes on any of these things, you definitely need a second opinion.

As always, my advice is to research enough teachers and players WELL-established in your area for their recommendation of a technician, until a pattern emerges. There are plenty useless technicians around who need to be sharks to survive.

Thanks ill ask my teacher

Ask SEVERAL.

Some teachers have loyalties to a friend who is a technician, or are getting a commission on work sent. Your teacher will not tell you if this is the case.

Recommendations from such people are worthless. Their recommendations will be tainted.

So err on the side of caution.

thank you the store said it can be fixed and will get it fixed in a couple hours

thanks again

Did i get ripped off they said it would talke 2 weeks and would be 100-120 dollars and i said yes they said they had to realign the keys and everything

Hiya Peter,

Did you get ripped off? Well, time wise I would say no. The odds are you are on a Christmas Holiday, which unfortunately is probably the second most popular time to have an instrument repaired. I am sure it wouldn`t take a qualified flute technician more than a day to complete the repairs you need, however you are probably not first in line.

As far as pricing goes...It depends. If the flute is going to have to be completely disassembled, reformed due to the curve, and everything put back together, I would assume this is a fair price. Basically, you are probably getting an overhaul. They are going to have to make sure everything is cleaned, re-oiled, all the pads are sitting correctly, and that the flute plays again. Flute repair can run anywhere from $20-$45 an hour. I would take into consideration the cost of living in your area, but assuming the repair tech does a quality job, it is more than likely a fair price.

thx

I agree, except that it is rare for me to have to take the keys off in order to straighten a flute.

BTW, if a car mechanic had to do the equivalent work on your car - similar time, expertise and complication, you would probably be charged lot more, even though the flute work is more specialised! As they say in USA, "Go figure!"