The Powell Handmade Alto

Powell's Repair Technician, Rachel Baker, has seen Powell flutes and piccolos of all ages and styles cross her bench over the years.  This week, however, she had the chance to work on something that she had never seen until now -- a Powell Handmade alto flute.

The flute (serial number 5006) was made in 1977 and was in the shop for a C.O.A. (clean, oil, adjust).  Looking back through the Powell Bible, we discovered that only 34 Powell alto flutes had been made in the history of the company.  The production of these flutes spanned from 1930 to 1990, with a large majority (15) being made between 1976 and 1978.  This particular alto was also one of only four that were made with gold lip plates.

Indeed, this was a special and memorable moment for Rachel. Speaking about the actual C.O.A. process on the alto, Rachel said it was pretty much the same as it is for C flutes.  She said, "same oil, same pads -- just things are a bit bigger." Although the flute originally had felt pads, we noticed that it now has Straubinger pads, so we could see her point about the similarity!

In terms of differences, this particular instrument was definitely one of a kind.  Rachel told us that when it comes to models (like altos) that were made in small quantities, you can find slight design differences among them.  She admired the keywork for its aesthetics and noted that both the body and mechanism were sterling silver.  She was particularly fond of the pointed arms and small points in the middle of the key cups which you will see in the photos below.

Although we did not have information on the actual karat of the lip plate, Rachel said that it is most likely 18k, as this was quite common during the time when this flute was made. Today, Powell offers alto flutes only in the Powell Sonaré line--the AF-60 and AF-70. Both models come with an all sterling silver Powell headjoint made at the shop in Maynard, Massachusetts, and a choice between straight or curved headjoints. Click here to find more information about these models on the Powell website.

Spare Parts?

Recently, our repair office received a call from a music store looking to order a key for their customer's vintage Powell.  For many musical instruments, it is common practice to call the manufacturer when you need a replacement part.  However, in the case of this Powell, it was not possible for a new key to be purchased and shipped in the mail as the shop had expected.  Inconvenient as it might be, there is actually a very good reason for this...

Key cups and arms

At Powell, we make custom flutes with custom parts to fit each flute individually.  So, its not possible for us to have stock parts ready to ship.  If a key needs to be replaced, it actually has to be made by hand in the stringing department and then fitted to the flute.  That being said, this customer would have to send the flute here, and our stringers would make a new key.  And, even before the key is made, the component parts to make the key would have to be made!

After our repair technician, Rachel, explained why we could not send out a "replacement part," it seemed quite simple -- a custom flute has custom parts, and only custom parts!  It's not possible to keep stock of something custom, because it is one of a kind.  But, we started to wonder about parts for regular maintenance, like pads and shims.  So, we asked her, "What if you need a pad replaced?"  Rachel said, "Oh, pads are 'soft parts,' so they are not custom.  Only the 'hard parts' like the keys and mechanism tubing on a custom flute would need to be made."

Rachel's example of "hard parts" and "soft parts" cleared things up for us.  She says its perfectly fine to take your flute to an authorized Powell repair technician for regular maintenance like a C.O.A. (clean, oil, adjust) since only the "soft parts" like pads might need to be replaced.  Also, pads and shims are made to standard dimensions, so in that case, they are all made to meet very specific measurements and can be easily purchased by repair technicians.

Soldering arm to cup

Finished key

Wooden Flute COA

We stopped by the repair shop and found our repair technician, Rachel, working on something a little different -- a Handmade Custom Grenadilla flute.  Not that a grenadilla flute is that unusual, but we see her repairing and adjusting metal flutes most frequently.  This particular grenadilla flute was in for a C.O.A.

So, are there many differences between a C.O.A. on a wooden flute and a metal flute?  Well, not really.  As for mechanics, wooden flutes are currently available only with an offset G and would not have a C# trill -- but those are really the only differences with the mechanism.  Additional adjustments that would be performed with the wooden flute is that the bore is oiled, and the tenon cork is replaced as needed.  When we stopped in to see Rachel, she was in the midst of some small adjustments, including replacing felts and adjusting spring tension.  She had already replaced the tenon cork and was now making minor adjustments to the cork's width.  To do this, she placed the flute on a mandrel, cut a small strip of fine grit sandpaper, and sanded the cork.  Other than tenon corks and bore oil, there really aren't many differences to steps performed in a C.O.A. on a wooden flute.  However, because the body of the flute is wooden, Rachel did mention that it is less likely to come in to the shop with damage to the body -- like small dents and dings that may happen to the body of a metal flute.  That being said, you still want to make sure to protect your wooden flute, even if it's body material is denser and more "ding resistant."  In terms of frequency, you would send in a wooden flute just as regularly as a metal one for a C.O.A, and you should be able to enjoy many happy years with your well-adjusted grenadilla flute!

Replacing a felt.  Same felt that is used on metal flutes.

Trimming the felt.

Checking spring tension.

Making sure to check everything thoroughly.

Making minor adjustments to tension with a spring hook.

Checking newly adjusted springs.

Sandpaper will be used for tenon cork.

Small strip of sandpaper has been cut.

Sanding the tenon cork.

Greasing the cork with some Chapstick.

Cleaning inside the top of the footjoint.

New cork fits perfectly.