The Appraisal

Flutes in for overhauls at the Powell repair office

We recently had a customer in the shop who wanted to get his Powell appraised, and the flute was quite old.  He was interested in selling it and wanted to get an idea of its approximate value (for resale).  Unfortunately, we are only able to give appraisals for insurance purposes.  This type of appraisal is based on a flute's specs and gives the flute's value so that the insurance company would know how much it would cost to replace the flute with one that is brand new -- in the event that the flute being insured is lost, stolen, or damaged to the point of needing to be replaced.

Appraisals for resale value are quite different than insurance appraisals.  The resale value is based on factors including the demand of the instrument, pitch, options, and condition of the instrument (pads, mechanism, and body).  So, we asked Powell's Repair Technician, Rachel Baker, her thoughts on overhauls for flutes that were ultimately going to be sold by their owner.  Our questions and her answers are below:

Questions: If a flute is in need of an overhaul, should the person do it before selling the flute?  If they go ahead with an overhaul, how will it help?  If they don't, what is the downside?

Rachel's Answers: It can go both ways. IF the flute is playable in its current condition, I usually recommend NOT doing an overhaul. This way the buyer can decide what type of pads, and who does the overhaul.

The downside of that is you will have to drop the price to factor in the price of an overhaul for the buyer. Also, they might not get the full sound of the instrument if it is in only mediocre playing condition, and this could make it harder to sell. 

So, there you have it -- a bit of an "chicken and egg" situation in terms of the overhaul question, but it certainly does make sense to wait on the overhaul and let the new owner have has his/her choices for materials and repair techs.

Flutacious! at Powell

Left to right: Amy Tori, Cynthia Kelley, Kathryn Brooks-Dean

This past week at Powell, we had the pleasure of hosting the Flutacious! staff -- Cynthia Kelley (Owner), Amy Tori (Director of Sales and Marketing), and Kathryn Brooks-Dean (Repair Technician).  The team gave us great feedback on our current products and also spent the week with our finishers and repair technician.

Finisher Karl Kornfeld with Kathryn

We had a chance to sit down with Amy and Kathryn between their sessions in the finishing and repair departments.  As mentioned above, Kathryn is the repair technician for Flutacious!, and Amy is working in their repair department as well.  Kathryn shared that she mostly sees flutes coming in to the shop for a COA or overhaul -- and this is actually the bulk of what our repair technician sees as well! She and Amy met with Powell's repair technician, Rachel Baker, to share best practices in everything from general repair to removing dents in headjoints.  When we caught up with Amy and Kathryn in the finishing department, they were working on pinning Signature flute mechanisms.  Of course, we know that the finishing process involves many more steps, all of which Amy and Kathryn had the chance to practice during their visit.

Amy, Rachel Baker, and Kathryn

Speaking with Kathryn and Amy during a break for lunch, we asked them about their most memorable experiences during the visit.  They were both quite impressed with the expertise of one of polishers, Aleks, in the care he took with his work and the precision in his polishing technique.  They also enjoyed their time with Rachel Baker, learning more about her work and, as Amy Tori shared,  "the way in which she has everything so well organized and has a particular method to working with so many flutes at once."  Amy also commented that everyone she met, from repair to finishing, had very defined processes for their work, and although their methods may have varied from person to person, everyone "knew exactly how they wanted things done."

Amy with finisher Karl Kornfeld

There were some very poignant statements that Amy and Kathryn shared about their experience at Powell.  Kathryn commented that she was "amazed at the amount of people working with their hands -- the true hand craftsmanship that goes into making these instruments."  Amy noted the correlation between repair and flute making as she witnessed it at Powell.  She shared, "When flutes come in to the shop, we think about what we will need to do the repair -- essentially, what we will do to fix a problem.  But, here at Powell, we learned that repair is not just about fixing a problem, it's about returning the flute to its original condition.  Being here, you really get a sense of how the flute is supposed to be after repair, because you get to see how it was made originally."

Padding the Powell Sonaré PS-750 Piccolo

PS-750 in Tuscan Umber

We've had a couple of dealer inquiries about padding the Powell Sonaré PS-750 piccolo, which is understandable given the very different "look" of the instrument.  It has square keys and a stainless steel mechanism.  So, how do you pad it?

Well, the answer is quite simple.  Powell Repair Technician, Rachel Baker, tells us that you "pad it like a normal piccolo."  The mechanism itself has square keys, but if you look on the underside of these keys, you will see regular, round, felt piccolo pads.  How are they held on?  Well, there is actually a circular groove cut into the key, essentially creating a "key cup" for the pad.  Also, the actual tone holes in the body of the flute are round.  Rachel says she uses the very same scoring process and shellac as with the Custom and Signature piccolos to help seat the pads.  We wrote a post on piccolo padding that you can read by clicking this link.

But what about the stainless steel?  Does that require a different heating process?  Actually, Rachel tells us that she heats them just as she would heat round, silver key cups.  She says that stainless steel transports heat the same way as silver, and heating these metals takes the same amount of time.  So, she says you simply, "heat it and float it" when you seat a pad on the PS-750.  For more details on this piccolo, click here to visit the PS-750 page on the Powell website.

Underside of square keys has a round grooved "cup" to hold round pads.

Closer view of underside of keys.

Round tone holes.

Close-up on the tone holes.

Lost in Translation

This week, we received a call from a dealer whose customer had his flute serviced by Powell about a week ago.  The dealer said that the customer had the same problem with the instrument and needed it fixed in two days.  Although we could not possibly meet that deadline because of shipping time alone, we sent out a loaner flute.  The flute arrived at the dealer -- at the very same time the customer arrived with his flute.  The customer actually had a different issue with his flute than was reported to the dealer.  The customer's mother had spoken with the dealer, and unfortunately, something "got lost in translation."  So, there was a bit of a scramble to arrange repair for something that had been repaired already!

When it comes to repair, it really is best for the flute owner to speak directly with the technician.  As we can see from the situation above, if there is someone in the middle, the wrong information can get relayed -- causing lots of confusion!  So, if your flute is in need of repair, contact the technician directly.  There's no need to feel shy if you are not sure exactly how to explain the problem -- simply explain the issue to the best of your ability.  If the repair technician has additional questions, s/he will ask for more information to make sure everything is perfectly clear.

If you do have to relay a message to the technician via a parent or someone else, try to write down exactly what the problem is with the flute.  You may even draw a diagram if necessary.  In fact, if you find it helpful to diagram the problem, you could always scan the drawing and e-mail or fax it to your technician.  You could also photograph the area in need of repair on the flute and send the photos to the technician.  When it comes to repair, it's always best to relay as much information as possible, as clearly as possible.  This will help save time and hassle -- and assure that the proper issue is addressed.

Powell has a page on it's website that lists frequently asked questions.  There is also a link on the page to e-mail our repair technician directly.  Click here to view the page.

Commercial Polish

Foot joint with a noticeable amount of commercial polish.

We were recently asked, "What happens if you use commercial polish on your flute?"  Hmm...  We knew that this was highly frowned upon in our repair shop, but we wanted to know exactly why -- so we asked!

Repair Technician, Rachel Baker, gave us some insight on the topic.  She told us that the biggest problem with commercial polish is that it gets everywhere -- on your pads, corks, felts -- and then all of those parts would need to be replaced.  In the repair shop, our technician has the skill set to remove the entire mechanism from a flute, and this makes things much easier when it comes to polishing the body.  We realize that most flute players would not -- and should not -- do this (hence the mess of polish on all the "soft parts" of pads, corks, and felts).

Aside from the mess, commercial polish is also much more abrasive than the red rouge that we use here at Powell to polish flutes.  Rachel tells us that all polishes are abrasive to some degree (because that is how they work), but the red rouge here is extremely fine in terms of its abrasiveness.  She said that commercial polishes are not only more abrasive, but they also require that you "rub really hard."  Rubbing so vigorously with an abrasive polish leads to more scratches on your flute. 

Polishing on the wheel with red rouge.

Finally, when it comes to polishing, equipment is just as important as materials.  Here we have red rouge, and we also have polishing wheels -- which rotate at an extremely high speed.  There's really no way a person's hand can compete with the speed of a polishing wheel, and the results speak for themselves!  (Click here to read our previous post on polishing.)

To summarize the answer, if you use commercial polish, you risk damaging parts of the flute and scratching the body.  Repair technicians using much finer polish (like red rouge) and high speed polishing wheels will be able to polish the flute safely and produce the best possible shine.  So, as tempting as it might be to put over-the-counter polish on your flute, it's best to resist the urge.  Keep your flute clean by wiping it with a plain, microfiber cloth after you play -- but leave the polishing to the pros.  Don't forget that when you send your flute in for a COA, polishing is part of the process!

Getting ready to apply some commercial polish to demonstrate.

Applying the polish.

Rubbing really hard!

Done -- and still fairly hazy in comparison to the headjoint on the left (polished on the wheel with red rouge).

Flute in the Car?

Packing for a trip?  Don't leave these in the car!

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night, realizing that you left your flute in the car?  If this has happened to you, you are probably not the only one.  In fact, we had this question come up recently.  We were asked, "What exactly could happen if I accidentally leave my flute in the car overnight on a very hot day or very cold day?"

Well, obviously, you don't want to intentionally leave your flute in the car.  We hate to think about flutes being stolen, but leaving it in the car raises that risk.  Meanwhile, there are certain complications that may arise due to temperature -- since exposing your flute to extreme temperatures for long periods time is never a good thing...

So, if you've left your flute in the car in very hot temperatures, any glue used on the flute can get "gooey" and shift.  This would be the case with glue used to hold adjustments and for the shellac used to seat pads that are "floated" (C1 and trill keys).  Also, the skin on pads has a bit of natural moisture, so in very high temperatures, this skin could dry out a bit and become brittle.  It's also be possible that the headjoint cork could dry out as well.

Extreme cold poses the greatest risk to wooden flutes, as we know.  In cold temperatures, there is usually a lack of humidity, so cracking is a major risk.  Just as high temperatures cause issues with pad shellac in terms of drying it out, cold temperatures may cause the shellac to become brittle.  In both instances, this would lead to pads falling out.  Powell's Repair Technician, Rachel Baker, tells us that many repair technicians see piccolos with pads falling out during marching band season, "because people are out marching in the cold."  We realize that not everyone will be marching in a cold climate, but if you are, there is definitely a risk for piccolo players -- because all their pads are held by shellac or some other type of pad glue.

We understand that situations happen, but in terms of leaving your flute out in the car, Rachel assures us that it won't "disassemble itself."  She said, "If the temperature is 400 degrees Fahrenheit, you will have problems, because any soft solder would melt -- but if you are in 400 degree heat, you have bigger problems..."  Finally, Rachel said that when you do pick up your flute after it's been left out, if it "just doesn't seem to be playing right," make sure to call your repair tech!

If the Plug-O Fits...

Metal Powell Plug-O

Plug-Os can be very helpful for many people, but what if it does not fit?  Is this possible?  Actually, it may be the case for some Powell Flutes, but there is definitely an option in this situation...

Powell's Repair Technician, Rachel Baker, shared a customer inquiry with us this week.  She said the customer wrote, "I purchased Powell Plug-Os, but they don't fit.  They are too small.  Do you have any recommendations on what to do?"  Of course, Rachel had a recommendation, and it is very simple.  If you order Powell Plug-Os®, and they are too small to fit, you can order the Sonaré Plug-Os®, which are slightly larger and should fit.
 
So, why would a Powell Plug-O not fit a Powell flute?  Well, some Powell flutes, particularly those made in the 1960s and 1970s, have French keys with holes that are slightly larger than French keys on today's Powell flutes.  Why is this?  Rachel tells us that designs simply change over time, and that is the case here.  She also said it may be hard to tell what size you need, but both the metal Sonaré Plug-Os or silicone plugs will be 9mm in diameter, and the Powell Plug-Os (and plugs) will be 7mm in diameter.  If you are thinking of ordering Plug-Os, Rachel recommends ordering the Powell Plug-Os.  If they don't fit, you can simply return and exchange them for the Sonaré Plug-Os.  Both types of Plug-Os are available directly on the Powell website in the VQP shop at https://powellflutes.com/vqpshop/plugs-plug-os.

Screen shot of the Plug-O page in the VQP Shop.