Introducing the Signature II Headjoint

In our previous post titled "Signature Spotlight," we learned that the Signature flute was designed to offer Powell's craftsmanship and the legendary "Powell Sound" at an affordable price, and the hand-cut Signature headjoint was crafted specifically to compliment the flute.  The Signature headjoint is identifiable as its name is engraved on the headjoint, three lines below the logo. You will find a Signature headjoint not only on each individual Signature flute, but on every Powell Sonaré model as well.

Over the years, we've received requests for a "more free-blowing" Signature headjoint, and this year, we set out to design a completely new style headjoint known as the "Signature II." Prototypes were developed and then tested in several phases by flutists on the Powell production and sales teams, Powell artists, and Powell dealers.  The resulting headjoint was not only free-blowing -- it was completely unique.  We sat down with Powell finisher and headjoint cutter, Lindsey McChord, to learn more about the Signature II headjoint...

The Signature II is the latest in Powell's offering of headjoint styles, which includes the Soloist, Philharmonic, Venti, and Signature.  Lindsey told us that the Signature II uses the Soloist wall and the Philharmonic lip plate, which is slightly wider than the current Signature lip plate.  Those who have tried the Signature II found that it is extremely responsive and allows for clean, crisp articulation while producing a full and focused sound.

Whereas the headjoint's sound and response are apparent to the player, Lindsey gave us a special inside perspective -- literally. She shared her mirror tool with us, letting us take a closer look inside the headjoint where the riser meets the headjoint tubing. She explained that the riser is cut very differently, and that the design for the Signature II is "all about round and continuous shapes."  It contrasts from the Philharmonic, Venti, and Signature, which are cut to be more angular inside.   When we looked inside the headjoint, we could see that the bottom of the riser blended perfectly into the tubing with incredibly smooth, rounded edges.  It was easy to see the roundness and continuous shapes that Lindsey explained.  She said that for other headjoint styles, the undercutting is traditionally done on the sides only, but with the Signature II headjoint, undercutting is done completely around the bottom of the riser to achieve this smoothness and continuity. Like the undercutting, the overcutting for the Signature II is also very rounded.

What exactly does the cutting style of the headjoint mean for a flutist?  Well, Lindsey tells us that the rounded shapes allow air to go smoothly through the riser and down into the tube without anything catching the air stream.  The rounded overcutting and undercutting make the headjoint "very smooth to play."

Lindsey added that she is "especially excited about the new headjoint because it is so different from anything else."  If you're interested in trying the Signature II headjoint, click here to find our list of authorized Powell dealers in your area or contact us directly with any questions.

Replacing Headjoint Corks

We stopped in to the headjoint room as flute finisher and headjoint cutter, Lindsey McChord, was installing a new cork in a piccolo headjoint.  She showed us how to install it and how to remove it, which was pretty interesting -- especially in contrast with the flute headjoint.  We say this because after we watched Lindsey remove the piccolo headjoint cork, we were anxious to see how it compares with the removal process for a flute headjoint cork.  In both cases, Lindsey had a special tool to remove the cork.  However, she told us that when you remove the cork from a piccolo headjoint, it is removed in the opposite direction than it would be with a flute headjoint.  In other words, when you remove the piccolo headjoint cork, the cork is pushed up toward the crown and out through the top of the headjoint. This is because of the metal receiver at the bottom of the headjoint (this receiver attaches the headjoint to the body tenon). As you can probably imagine, the cork assembly would not be able to fit through the hole in the middle of the receiver (see photo below):

However, when it comes to flute headjoints, the cork is removed by pushing it down through the bottom of the headjoint.  The flute headjoint tapers as it goes up toward the crown, so it's not possible to push the headjoint cork up through the top without severely damaging the headjoint -- which you do not want to do! Take a look a the photos below to see the process of removing the corks.

Lindsey uses a special tool to remove the cork.  She starts by placing it in the headjoint, starting from the bottom

This tool is also used to check the positioning of the cork, just like a swabstick.  There is a line in the tool that will be exactly in the middle of the embouchure hole when the cork is positioned properly.

Lindsey pushes the headjoint downward toward the bottom of the tool.

And the cork pops up through the top!

A different tool is used for the flute headjoint cork. 

Lindsey removed the crown and inserts the tool in through the top of the headjoint.

With the headjoint upside down, Lindsey pushes it down toward the ring on the tool.

The flute headjoint cork is out -- having come through the bottom of the headjoint.

Finishing the Split-E

We've shared a few posts about Powell Handmade Custom flutes with a split-E, including a close-up on the mechanism and a quick snapshot from the finishing department.  You can find these posts by following this link to "Close-Up on Split-E" and this one to "Offset G and Split-E."

This week, we stopped by the finishing department as finisher Matt Keller was working on the split-E mechanism for an Aurumite 14k Handmade Custom.  So, we began to wonder... Are there differences between finishing flutes with and without the split-E? Matt told us that there are a few, and in general, a flute with a split-E takes longer to finish because it has more adjustments.  Of course, the adjustments are on the additional parts required for the split-E mechanism which you will see in the photos below:

Matt holds additional part of split-E mechanism.

The part turned over with arrows pointing to adjustments: 

felt (yellow arrow) and cork (red arrow).

Close up on cork adjustments.

Although it does take longer to finish a flute with a split-E, Matt feels that the independent motion of the mechanism's G keys can help with at least one challenge.  He explained that flutes without a split-E have two G keys that have to open and close together, as shown in the photo below:

Matt told us that the synchronized motion of these two keys can make padding them quite complicated!  With a split-E mechanism, the G keys are separate and move independently, which makes padding them a bit less challenging than when the keys move together.  To demonstrate this, Matt released one of the springs so that we could see one of the G keys open and one of them closed (as highlighted by the red arrows in the photo below):

In conclusion, we realized that there are differences in terms of materials (additional adjustments on split-E), parts, and the mechanics of the mechanisms, but the finishing process itself remains the same -- and the end result is a smoothly functioning mechanism!

Shaping the Lip Plate

This week, we stopped back into the headjoint room to meet with flute finisher and headjoint cutter, Lindsey McChord.  In a few previous posts, Lindsey explained some of the actual cutting techniques used in the headjoint cutting process.  You can review these posts by clicking here to read the "Cutting Headjoints" post and clicking here for "The Scraper Blade." 

In addition to the cutting, part of the headjoint making process involves shaping the lip plate, and this is done by exerting pressure on the plate to create the desired shape (or "slope" or "drop-off").  Lindsey uses a vise, which is a device that holds the headjoint in place and allows her to press areas of the lip plate to get the desired shape.  Although the vise is a piece of equipment, it is controlled not by a motor but simply by Lindsey turing a handle to push the wooden plate of the vise closer to the lip plate -- and this helps gently bend the metal lip plate to get the desired shape.  You'll see the process in the series of photos below:

First, Lindsey places a popsicle stick under the side of the lip plate that she does not want to bend.  This keeps that side completely in tact:

In the photo below, Lindsey shows us the space between the tubing and edge of the lip plate on the side that she needs to shape.  Ultimately, this space will decrease when the plate is bent with the vise.

Positioning the headjoint in the vise properly is crucial.  She told us that she positions it so that she can see straight down through the embouchure hole.

With her left hand, Lindsey gently holds the tubing of the headjoint, and with her right hand, she turns the handle of the vise.  The side of the lip plate closest to the handle is the side she is bending.  The opposite side of the lip plate (above her left hand) will not be bent because the popsicle stick is holding it in place.

Lindsey removes the headjoint from the vise to show us that the gap has become much less as she has bent that edge of the plate into the desired shape.

Lindsey checks the space between the edge of the lip plate and the headjoint tubing.  The popsicle stick comes into play once again as it serves as the perfect gauge for this measurement. She told us that although other commercial gauges have been made, she has tried them, and the popsicle stick really is the best.  It is the most durable, resilient, and accurate time and again.

Another nice thing about the popsicle stick is that it is wooden, so it has some give.  In the photo below, Lindsey demonstrates that she can also use it to bend parts of a lip plate very gently in the opposite direction.  In this case, she is working with a 14k lip plate.  She says that the stick is also a natural gauge for the amount of pressure she is exerting by hand.  "If the popsicle stick begins to split, I know I'm using too much pressure."

It's quite amazing to see the very simple and straightforward tools used for the lip plate shaping process.  Lindsey reminds us that, "It's because these headjoints truly are handcrafted.  There are no machines to do this -- it's all done by hand."  And, that is so very true.  With a little help from a metal vise to hold the headjoint, the actual pressure is controlled by Lindsey.  The measuring and assessment are done by hand, and then any additional "tweaks" are done by hand as well.

Shimming Pads

Shimming pads is something you may have heard about, but since most of us don't really take our flutes apart, it's sometimes hard to imagine exactly what is involved in the process.  Shimming is a technique that uses extremely thin materials like mylar to position and "seat" the pad properly. 

In the video below, we watch as flute finisher Matt Keller checks the pads on the footjoint of a flute he is padding:

In this next video, we watch as Matt shims a pad:

For more on shimming, click here to view the "Close-Up on Shimming" post from our Repair My Flute blog.

Verne Q. Powell - The Flutist

Verne Q. Powell

This week, we had the pleasure of corresponding with Verne Q. Powell's gradndaughter, Gail Powell Dearing.  She had written an article for the Winter 2013 edition of The Flutist Quarterly, detailing some very interested yet not widely known facts about her grandfather. In this excerpt, we learn about Mr. Powell's earliest days as a wind player...

Excerpt from "Second Wind: The Powell Spoon Flute at 102" (The Flutist Quarterly, Winter 2013)

By Gail Powell Dearing

It’s not well known that Powell was an accomplished flutist.  He started playing the ocarina when he was 8 years old, and at the age of 10, started a small fife and drum corps with a couple of his friends.  When he first heard a piccolo, he had to have one, so his brother bought him one for $3.40.  Powell said he shined his brother’s shoes for the rest of his life to repay him for the piccolo.  Then he expanded his group to six piccolos, six snare drums, and a bass drum; the group played at local ball games for the price of admission.

He bought his first Böhm flute when he was 17, and four years later purchased his “first good flute,” a Rundall-Carte wooden flute.  Largely self-taught, Powell had a reputation as a superior flute player long before he became better known as a fine flute maker.

Thus, his spoon flute was born of the combination of his skill as a jeweler and engraver with his love of music and facility with the instrument.

Undercutting Wooden Tone Holes

This week, we stopped by the finishing department just as flute finisher Matt Keller was about to begin undercutting tone holes on a wooden flute.  In a previous post (which you can read by following this link), we learned that cutting wooden headjoints required mostly filing and sanding as opposed to the cutting and scraping techniques used on metal headjoints.  So, we asked Matt if a similar technique is used for undercutting wooden tone holes.  Come to find out, it does!

Matt told us that undercutting wooden tone holes is done with a very small file, which you will see in the photos below:

File is to the right of the footjoint.

Matt holding the file in his right hand.

There are two areas of the tone hole that he files, which we've indicated with blue arrows in the following photo:

Why are these two areas the locations for undercutting?  Well, Matt mentioned that these locations are aligned with the direction of the air flow through the flute.  Definitely makes sense when you visualize it!  As for the reason behind undercutting tone holes in general, flute finisher Karl Kornfeld added that undercutting, "reduces turbulence as the air flows through the flute."  Matt files very carefully, a little bit at a time, using extremely light pressure. The process is much easier to see in a video than a photo, so we captured a bit in the video below!