Take a Stand - Part 2

Stand and footjoint

This week, our repair technician, Rachel Baker, received a call from a customer who had been experiencing mechanical problems with her footjoint.  The flute was shipped to Powell, and when Rachel opened the case, she found that there was a flute stand kept inside the footjoint.  The extra length of the stand also made for a very tight fit in the case, which ultimately was not good for the mechanism

Although there are some stands that are advertised as being small enough to keep inside the flute, it's actually more of a hazard than a convenience to store the stand this way.  You never want to leave anything in your flute while it is in the case (click here to read more in our previous post titled "No Extras Needed"), as the risk for damaging your flute is very high.  Also, if you'll recall from our previous post titled "Take a Stand" (click here to read it), one can inadvertently damage their flute if they are not placing it on the stand properly.  Now we can see that there is another situation where a stand could cause damage even without any motion of the flute going on/coming off the stand!  So, although it may seem convenient to have a stand that fits in the flute, it's still best to keep that stand stored separately and simply enjoy the convenience of its small, slender design.

The stand may fit in the flute, but you don't want to keep it this way in the case!

Take a Stand

We all know how convenient it is to have instrument stands for our flutes and piccolos.  Whether you are practicing or performing, it's great to have a place to put your instrument to keep it standing securely.  However, if you are in a hurry, you may not be approaching the stand with your flute positioned correctly.  In fact, this angled approach may be something that happens regularly, and you may not even notice it.  However, this slight positioning slip could definitely damage the flute...

This week, we stopped by the repair office at Powell, and technician Rachel Baker showed us something quite interesting.  It was a flute with a curved line on the inside of the body tenon caused by an indentation on the outside. You will see it traced with a blue Sharpie marker in the photo below.  Oddly enough, the flute was sent to Rachel for regular maintenance, and the owner did not know about the indentation.  What had happened was that she had been putting her flute on a flute stand at a bit of an angle.  Since the flute was coming down on the peg at an angle, the outside ring on the top of the footjoint was pushing against the outside of the tenon.  The pressure exerted on the outside of the tenon, in turn, created an indentation that left a visible line on the inside.

So, although it may seem rudimentary to place your flute in a straight position on the stand, it could be something that is easy to overlook.  The photos below will help demonstrate what to do -- and what not to do!

Putting flute down on peg at an angle -- don't do this!

Putting flute straight down on peg -- do this!

Blue Sharpie mark shows the indentation.