The Spoon Flute

Barrel engraving

We recently caught up with Richard Powell, Verne Powell's grandson, at the Mid-Atlantic Flute Fair.  He shared an interview with us that his father, Edward Powell, gave in 1988.  The excerpt below is Edward's account of the development of Verne Powell's very first flute, "The Spoon Flute" -- along with a short recap of his path from Kansas to Boston.

This goes back to Fort Scott, Kansas, where I was a small boy, and my dad was a jeweler, had a jewelry store, and played a wooden piccolo in the town band.  Among his works of jewelry, he made himself a medal which is the source of humor when we bring up the subject.  But, he played the flute.  This is when they had already experimented with, more than experimented with, making silver flutes or flutes of other materials and precious metals in combinations in Europe -- in Germany and France.  But, in the United States, it was mostly old fashioned wooden flutes.  And the chief manufacturers at that time were in Boston.  The names of the companies who were excelling at it were, first of all, Bettoney.  Bettoney was a bigger name than Haynes, but this story has to tie up with the Haynes Company.  My father happened to be in Chicago on some business trip when he went to hear the Chicago Symphony.  There was somebody there like Barrere, old Georges Barrere, who was playing on a silver flute which made my dad, Verne Powell, "flip" (in the vernacular).  He could hardly wait to get home to his jewelry store and make a silver flute.  Now I was, say, 10 years old.  I was in and out of his jewelry store, and I loved to go in the back room there where he had a hand rolling mill, rolling out this silver.  He melted up old spoons and coins and jewelry and parts of watch cases.  Melted it up, and I remember rolling.  I even had a hand in turning the rolling mill to thin out this metal for him to make his silver flute, which of course had to be twisted around an arbor and hard soldered.  We could make a story out of that for anybody who technically wants to know more about getting the curvatures in there.  But I remember Sunday mornings, my dad sitting at home, with a little leather mallet, and hammering out the taper of the headjoint of a flute.  And so quite a laborious job to create the handmade flute, which he ended up engraving -- being a master engraver -- and inlaid the keys with little gold buttons.

The Haynes Company at that time was a second rate company, but George Haynes was the brains and talent of the Haynes family.  William S. Haynes was the businessman.  It came to Bill's attention that my dad had this handmade silver flute.  So, he wrote to my father to see if he would send the flute for examination.  And immediately following that, he made him an offer to bring the flute and the whole family, and whatever he could -- and sell his jewelry store.  Haynes and my dad got together on an agreement, and my dad was to go there as the foreman.  Then the whole family, all six of us (one brother and two sisters), piled in the drawing room of a Pullman and made it to Boston.

D# Cluster

G# Key

Trill Keys

Headjoint Engraving

Changing the Crown

We recently opened up a discussion on our Facebook page inviting readers to post questions for our blogs.  The question selected for this week's Flute Builder came to us from Cara West.  She asked, "Could changing the headjoint crown be a good alternative to changing a headjoint?"

We checked in with Rebecca Eckles on this one.  Rebecca told us that there are several things that could make a difference with your headjoint, including the cork assembly.  She said that many people haven't had their headjoiut corks changed in a long time, so it's possible that air could be leaking from a loose cork.  When this is the issue, once the headjoint cork is replaced, the headjoint seals properly, and air flows freely.

As for the crown specifically, Rebecca tells us that it is a good place to start -- especially if you do not have the money for a new headjoint.  Obviously, there is a big difference between a few hundred dollars and a few thousand dollars!  However, the effects of changing the crown are really subjective and depend on the player.  Rebecca tells us that crowns are "different things to different people."  When it comes to headjoints, a new crown can certainly "give it new life."  She says, "Sometimes the crown is called the magic button."  We thought that summed it up perfectly!  So, if you are curious, try some different crowns, and see what they can do for you!

Many headjoints without crowns in the testing room!

A few crowns to try on the headjoints in the testing room.

Left Hand Low B

We stopped by the Powell repair shop at the end of this week and were surprised to find a flute with two keys for the left hand pinky.  Of course, one was the G#, but there was another -- a left hand low B!  Multiple keys for the left pinky are no stranger to other woodwinds, but we usually do not see them on a flute.  So, just what is the purpose of this key?  Well, it gives you an optional fingering for low B.  It also could be used in place of a gizmo key.  So, you could use the left hand low B key instead of the gizmo, and it would have the same function.  The left hand low B is built into the low B key mechanism.  The left hand low B key mechanism has additional tubing, posts, and ribs that connect it to the body of the flute. When the key is pressed, a lever section next to the low B mechanism on the footjoint is activated and closes the low B key.

Although there is additional material for the key mechanism, it really does not change the weight of the flute overall.  Our Repair Technician, Rachel, tells us that this left hand low B key is not as common today as it was in earlier decades.  Aside from this key, Rachel mentioned that she has also seen a left hand low C# -- but flutes with these left hand pinky keys are a pretty rare occurrence in her shop today.

Left hand low B is below to the G#.

Left hand low B is built into the low B mechanism.

Close-up on the bridging lever portion of the mechanism.

Front view.

Close-up on left hand low B key.

Additional posts (and ribs) are at the top and bottom of this mechanism. 

Front close-up on the footjoint.

Flute Scales

By Steven Wasser

  

The flute scale determines how well the notes play in tune to each other, octave to octave, and also determines the timbral balance of the notes.  From a mechanical standpoint the flute scale is a function of the following:

• the diameter of the flute tube or “bore”
• the size of each tone hole
• the linear location of each tone hole along the flute tube
• the height of each tone hole

Theobald Boehm developed the basis for today’s flute scales.  Verne Powell initiated an improved scale when he started producing his own flutes with the Powell Scale in 1927.  The next major improvement in scale design was accomplished by Albert Cooper in 1974.  Powell was the first major flute maker to introduce the Cooper Scale, and did so in 1975.  There are several other “modern” scales in use today, including the Bennett Scale used by one Japanese flute maker, and the Deveau Scale used by Haynes. 

Today Powell uses a modified and (we believe!) improved version of the original Cooper Scale which we call the Modern Powell Scale (or just Powell Scale, for short).  When testing instruments for scale we strongly recommend that you consider not only intonation, but timbral balance as well.  A new flute should sound like one instrument, not three separate instruments.

Scale should not be confused with the pitch of an instrument.  Pitch relates to which “A” the instrument has been designed to produce (e.g., A-440, A-442, etc.)  Powell instruments made for the U.S. market are typically pitched at A-442, and play well in tune from A-440 to A-444.

Installing Springs

Flute springs may seem a bit "deceiving" in their name since they aren't spiral-type springs that you would find in something like a ballpoint pen.  Instead, they are actually more straight, although they will have some curve to create tension.  They are also very, very small in terms of diameter, which means it takes a lot of skill and expertise to install them.  We recently caught up with flute finisher Matt Keller, who explained the process for us.

The hole where the spring is inserted is just under the post.  We tried to enlarge the area so that you can see it in the photo below.  Take a look at your flute, and you should be able to find it.

The spring begins, essentially, as a piece of wire -- which you can see in front of the footjoint in the photo below.

 

One of the first steps is to shape the tip of the spring with a mill file. 

Shaping the tip is a delicate process.  The blunt, flat end of the spring is being filed and shaped into a rounded and pointed end (much like the tip of a pen).

End of the spring has been shaped. 

The finisher must now cut the spring to the appropriate length.  He places the spring in the mechanism with the shaped end positioned at the spring catch.  He then marks the other end of the spring at the point where it will be cut. 

The spring is removed and cut with a wire cutting tool.

Now, our finisher puts the spring in place again to make sure that it is the appropriate length.

He checks the shaped end to make sure it will reach into the spring catch.

The shaped end of the spring will be placed in the spring catch, but the other end must be "crimped" or flattened to hold the spring in place (in the small hole just below the post).

This end is now flattened, and the spring is ready to be installed.

Tweezers are used to help pull the spring through and position it properly.  The rounded and pointed end is placed in the spring catch, and the flattened end is securely in the hole to hold the spring in place.

The spring is now in place.  Tension is added by bending the spring very, very carefully with a spring hook or by hand.  Every spring is different because each key is different.  Each spring will also have the appropriate amount of tension for the key.  If there is not enough tension, the key will feel "floppy" and not have enough resistance.  Too much tension would make the key difficult to press (too much resistance).

That is how it is done!  As for the material, all Powell Flutes (Signature, Conservatory, and Custom) use white gold springs.

Appraisals

Many Powell owners insure their instruments with specialty insurance policies for musical instruments or as part of their home owner's insurance.  It is certainly a good idea since you would want to protect these instruments in cases of damage or theft.  We dread even thinking about this, but we have had some owners whose flutes were stolen -- but insured.  In these cases, their insurance policy covered the value of the instruments so that a replacement could be purchased.

Insurance agencies will ask for an appraisal on your instrument(s), and you can do appraisals online through the Powell website!  It's quite helpful, especially since you can print your appraisal at the end.  So, how does it work?  Well there a few simple steps...

1) Go to the Powell website at www.powellflutes.com.

2) On the horizontal menu bar at the top (just under the logo at the top lefthand corner), select Q Club.

3) You will see the screen below.  If you are a registered member of the Q Club, you would sign in at this step.  If you are not registered, you can register at this screen.

4) In this next step, you will need to enter your serial number.  Click "Serial Number Search" on the left hand vertical menu of the page above.  You will see the following screen and should then enter your serial number:

5) Once you have entered your serial number, the specs will show on the next screen:

6) You will want to print or write the specs down so that you can enter them in this next step.  Click "Create an Appraisal for Your Flute, Piccolo, or Headjoint"  in the left hand vertical menu on this page.  You will see the screen below with choices in the left hand vertical column to appraise your flute, piccolo, or headjoint.  For a flute, you will then need to choose which model you have: Signature, Conservatory, Custom with Soldered Tone Holes, or Custom with Drawn Tone Holes.  Click the one category that applies, and a drop down menu will appear with more choices for types of metal.  We're using a Custom silver with drawn tone holes as an example.

7) Once you have selected the model and material, you will see a screen that shows the general value.  You will want to then choose "Customize" just under the value to add options.

8) Now you will be able to add the options you may have on your flute (C# trill, D# Roller, Split E, etc.) to calculate the full value.

9) Congratulations!  You have completed the appraisal.  You can print this or save it as a PDF to print later.  You can create as many appraisals as you'd like, and they will all be saved under your Q Club account.

That's all it takes!  It's simple, and you can do it yourself in the privacy of your own home.  Our Repair Technician mentioned that many people have appraisals done when they send their flutes here for repair.  That is an option as well and can be done as part of the process with no additional fee.  If you have any additional questions, feel free to contact us.  A full contact list is provided under "Contact Us" on the website!

Fitting a Foot Joint

We recently caught up with flute finisher Lindsey McChord as she was about to fit a footjoint.  It seemed to be a great topic in our opinion -- especially since we discussed headjoint fitting in a previous post on our repair blog at http://www.repairmyflute.com/2012/09/headjoint-fit.html. 

Footjoint fit is too tight and needs to be adjusted.

Lindsey told us that headjoint and footjoint fitting are basically the last steps in the finishing process.  Specifically, Lindsey prefers to fit the footjoint first.  When we caught up with her, the footjoint she was fitting was too tight because the footjoint tenon on the body was particularly heavy at the bottom (toward the edge).  In order to correct this, Lindsey placed the flute body on a piece of equipment known as an "arbor," which holds it in place and keeps it from moving.  She then sanded the tenon to achieve the correct fit.  Very fine sandpaper is used in this process (usually 800 or 1200 grit).  However, the process of sanding does not actually take material away -- it simply smooths the material out and makes for an even fit all around.  When sanding the tenon, it is important to make little changes bit by bit, always checking the fit in between.  Lindsey assembled the footjoint on the body to check for any rocking motion (both vertically and horizontally) after each slight sanding.  It's important to check both of these directions for rocking motion, because if the footjoint tenon is not completely round, you may feel rocking in one direction but not the other.  Any heavy areas are sanded first (in this case, the bottom of the tenon), and then the tenon is sanded all around.  Once again, she checks the fit after each slight bit of sanding.  The sanding/checking process is repeated until the perfect fit is achieved.  Luckily, it only took a few steps to adjust the tenon so that it was smooth and fitting perfectly with the footjoint!

Tenon is a bit "heavy" at the bottom as you can see from the line on the tenon.

"Arbor" used to hold the flute in place.

Body placed on the arbor to sand the tenon.

Sanding the tenon with a small piece of sandpaper, focusing on the heavy area.

Checking the footjoint fit.  This step is repeated after every adjustment.

Sanding the entire tenon with a larger piece of sandpaper to smooth everything out.

Tenon is smoothed, even, and perfectly fit with the footjoint!