Padding a Piccolo

Yesterday, we spent some time with our repair technician, Rachel Baker.  In addition to repairs, she also works on new piccolos built in the shop.  When we caught up with her, she was in the process of padding a Powell Signature piccolo.  Rachel mentioned that the pads used on the Signature are Pisoni Star pads, which have a metal resonator in the center.  Unlike flute pad shimming, when Rachel pads a piccolo, she uses shellac instead of glue to float the pads into place.  She also uses an alcohol lamp to heat the key cups.  Here are a few photos: