A Smooth Fit

We stopped by flute finisher Lindsey McChord's bench this week and found her working with French bushings and key pad washers -- although they weren't in the key cups yet.  As you'll recall, French bushings help hold a French key pad in place.  For closed keys, a washer with a screw on top holds the pad in place.  We wrote a about bushings and washers in a previous post on our repair blog.  You can click here to read that earlier post.

So, if Lindsey hadn't gotten to the pad installation yet, what was she working on?  Well, before the pad installation, Lindsey prepares the bushings and washers.  By "preparing" them, she smooths the outside edge of each metal bushing and washer.  This step is critical, because if a bushing or washer is installed and does not have a completely smooth edge, it can snag and rip pads.  In the case of washers in particular, Lindsey told us that often times when you unscrew the pad screw (just above the washer), the motion of turning the screw to loosen it might cause the washer to turn as well.  If the washer does not have a smooth edge and then turns as the screw is loosened, the washer's edge might rip the pad. 

With metal bushings and washers, Lindsey does a couple of things to smooth the edge.  She uses a mill file initially and lightly files all the way around.  She then takes a polishing compound and polishes the edge as well.  The polishing step helps provide an aesthetically-pleasing finished bushing or washer -- and it also serves as a final step to ensure that the edge is perfectly smooth!  Lindsey also ads a bit of melted wax to the inside of the bushing so that it will go smoothly on to the chimney of the key cup once the pad is in place.  With any rough edges smoothed away, there should be no snags in the next steps of padding the keys!

Using file to smooth edge of washer.  Polishing compound block to the right of Lindsey's right arm.

Holding a smoothed and polished French bushing.

French bushing in key cup on the left, washer and screw in key cup on right.

The First Powell Players - Part II

Continuing from last week's post on the first Powell players, we have numbers 6 -10 here.  These are the last of the group of "first players" who were included in the 1928 Powell brochure.  The artists' order in the brochure matches the serial number of the flute they owned. 

William F. Siebold 
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

I take this means to express my gratitude and sincerest thanks for the splendid flute you made for me.  I can fully appreciate the time and workmanship spent in making such an instrument, and can thoroughly agree with the well-known artist, my kind friend and teacher, Mr. William Kincaid, that the Powell flutes are the most even in scale, with a large and flexible tone.  I take pleasure in advising all flute players to use one of your instruments.

---William F. Siebold

William Kincaid
Solo flutist, Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, Professor of Flute, Curtis Institute

Permit me to express my sincere admiration and high esteem for your noteworthy achievement in making it possible for flutists of today to have and to play upon an instrument which is without doubt in my mind one of the finest to be had.  I wish you great success.

---William Kincaid

William Heinrich
Formerly with His Grace, the Duke of Devonshire's private Symphony, England; Berlin Philharmonic; principal flutists, Columbia Phonograph Company, and other famous organizations

What a happy mortal I am for being the professor of No.8 Verne Q. Powell's hand-made French model flute, because this instrument is, without any doubt, superior to any that it has been my fortune to play upon.  Wishing you every success.

---William Henirich

Frank Jeanaski
Madison Theatre, Detroit, Michigan

I have received your hand-made open G# French model flute.  I wish to congratulate you upon your capability in making such a fine instrument.  It is really the best I have ever used, and has everything a flutist would or could desire.

I owe many thanks to you for making me such a fine instrument.

---Frank Jeanaski

Joseph Jean Gilbert
Flute soloist, teacher, conductor, composer
Los Angeles, California

I  have given your No. 10 flute a most exacting test -- more exacting than you suppose.  As a recitalist, soloist, and assisting artist on a number of pretentious concert appearances out here, it has far surpassed any other flute that I have had.  In intonation, tonal characteristics, in all dynamics, it is superb, and oh joy! You can get behind it when necessary.

All in all, it is a wonderful instrument.  I can recommend it seriously to all artists.  May I, as a flutist and as a friend, wish you unreserved success?

--- Joseph Jean Gilbert

The First Powell Players - Part I

Have you ever wondered who the first flutists to play Powell were?  In the 1928 brochure, Verne Q. Powell included photos and quotes from the first ten flutists to play Powell.  We could compare the flutists in this section of the brochure to modern day "endorsing artists" who might be featured on a company's website, in ads, or in other printed marketing materials.  We will share the first ten players in a two-part post, beginning with the first five (as copied from the 1928 brochure):

Verne Q. Powell

It is with great pride that I present, herewith, the first ten artists to recognize and adopt the new Powell Flute.  These gentlemen are representative of the finest type of flutists in America.  Retaining Flute Number 1 for my own use, the following testimonials are presented in the order in which the flutes were made.

---Verne Q. Powell

John MacKnight
Flute soloist, formerly first flutist with People's Symphony Orchestra of Boston, and with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra

I wish to say that the flute you made for me has proved more than satisfactory in every way.  Its perfection of scale, its response to delicate attack, and its brilliancy have been a great joy to me.  

I wish you all the success you deserve.

--- John MacKnight

Charles Boyden
Boston, Massachusetts

As the happy possessor of your flute No. 3, I feel that I must write you a line of appreciation.

I consider, in workmanship, material and tone quality, that my flute is the best I have had the pleasure of seeing, and I feel that many years from now I shall be equally proud of it.  Good luck to you!

---Charles Boyden

John R. Wummer
Solo flutist, Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Detroit, Michigan

After thorough trial I am convinced that for quality of tone and workmanship your flute is superior to any being made today.

---John R. Wummer

Arthur Lora
Formerly solo flutist, New York State Symphony of New York; member of several chamber music organizations; teacher of flute at the Institute of Musical Art of the Juilliard School of Music, New York City

Enclosed is my check in payment for your Flute No. 5 received last Tuesday.  It is unquestionably the finest instrument I have ever played on.  The scale is excellent and the tone quality beautiful, with plenty of volume behind it.

With best of good wishes,

--- Arthur Lora

Zinki: Powell’s Tone Hole Extrusion Process

By Steven Wasser - President, Verne Q. Powell Flutes

What’s in a name?  In this case a lot, but the name itself is something we just made up because it sounded like fun. 

Zinki is the name we’ve given to Powell’s patented process for extruding tone holes on one of our CNC machining centers.  

The "Zinki" CNC Machine

The traditional process for extruding tone holes generally involves at least 3 separate steps, each one involving a different setup on a different machine, as follows:

1.      Make a small hole in the tube where the tone hole is going to be.  Usually this involves drilling or punching an egg-shaped hole.

2.      Load solid pulling balls into pockets in an arbor, then slide the flute tube over the arbor and place on a machine.  Position dies over each tone hole.  Connect a spinning shaft to the pulling ball and pull up through the die, pulling flute tubing with it to form the tone hole.

Traditional pulling ball.

3.      Remove the tube from the pulling arbor and place it on another machine.  Face each tone hole level with a cutting tool, then use a special tool to roll over the tone hole edge to (a) eliminate the sharp edge and (b) reinforce the tone hole.  

The process normally takes 30-45 minutes and uses both extrusion - a brute force technique - and spinning to form the tone holes.  The force required has a tendency to pull metal from the tube into small ripples alongside the tone holes.  And each time a flute tube goes from one setup to another, accuracy is lost.

Powell’s Zinki technology delivers the pulling ball from the outside of the flute tube, rather than pre-loading it on an arbor inside the flute tube.  In order to do this Powell needed to figure out how to put a big ball through a small hole.  Instead of a single large ball, the Zinki pulling ball is actually a series of small balls which can expand and contract. The details can be viewed at U.S. patent #7,420,109B2.

Close-up on Zinki pulling ball.

With Zinki the balance between extrusion and spinning shifts to spinning.  The result is a highly accurate tone hole with little if any rippling on the tube.  The last step in Zinki is to “kiss” the top of the tone hole with a diamond facing tool to make sure that it is level.  And all this takes place in a fraction of the time for traditional tone hole extrusion.

Powell Conservatory (Drawn Tone Holes)

Close-up on drawn tone holes.  Red arrow points to the rolled edge.

Offset G and Split-E

Last week, we took a closer look at a flute with a C# trill and the extra part of the mechanism that was built on to the flute for the key to function.  We stopped by the finishing area this week and spoke with flute finisher Cynthia Miguel Targa.  Cynthia was finishing a 19.5K Powell Custom with 14K keys.  The flute she was finishing also had an offset G and split-E.  Much like the flute with the C# trill, the flute with the split-E had an additional part to the mechanism as well.  For the split-E to function, an extra mechanism tube is added -- but this tube is hollow (you will see it in the photos below).  You can tell that the tube is hollow because there are no posts at the end.  Posts would have screws in them as well.

Because this particular flute has an offset G, the G keys have their own mechanism tubing complete with a rod, posts, and screws.  The offset G keys must have their own mechanism rod and tubing because of their position.  Since the G keys are not inline, they cannot be part of one long mechanism tube that a flute with an inline G would have.  Underneath the G keys, the G# key has its own mechanism tubing and rod as well.

So, if you have an inline flute with no extra options like a C# trill or split-E, you will see two long mechanism tubes.  There will also be separate tubing for the thumb keys and the G# (as mentioned).  If you do have options, take a closer look -- you'll see some of the extra parts of the mechanism for yourself!

There are two mechanism tubes on this flute -- one for the split-E, and one for the offset G.

Red arrow points to the split-E.

Red arrows point to the extra mechanism tubing for the split-E and offset G.

Another view of the split-E mechanism tubing (which is hollow).

A silver Conservatory with an inline G and no split-E for comparison.  The G keys are on one long mechanism tube.

Closer Look at the C# Trill

Often times, we have customers ask if a C# trill can be added to their flute as an aftermarket customization.  It can get pretty tricky since this type of customization would require an extra tone hole to be put in the flute -- which changes the body, which can change the response and sound, and...  Well, the list goes on.  It's more complicated that just adding a key.  So, we began wondering about other differences between flutes with and without a C# trill key.  We stopped by flute finisher Karl Kornfeld's bench just as he was working on a Powell Conservatory with a C# trill.

We took a series of photos which you will see below to illustrate the differences.  Flutes with a C# trill are very easy to identify -- you can clearly see the C# trill key next to the Bb shake.  If you look a little more closely, you'll begin to notice a few more additions to make the C# trill function properly.  Beginning with the back of the flute, you will notice an extra tone hole (and key cup) next to the thumb keys.  Looking at the front of the flute, you can see a couple of additions to the mechanism.  First, the C# trill key requires an extra mechanism tube.  This extra tubing needs to be stabilized so that it does not bend -- so, there is an extra cradle for the tube.  There is also an extension on the post at the end of the tube, which is actually one piece.  Finally, because there is an extra key on the flute, the key requires an extra adjustment for key height.

So, as we can see, the C# trill adds more than just a little key to the mix.  Obviously, the tone hole for the key is made along with all the other tone holes during the body fabrication process.  As noted above, flutes with a C# trill require several additional parts for the mechanism.  If you have a C# trill key on your flute, or if you are looking at flutes with a C# trill, take a closer look -- you'll see more than just a key!

One thing you'll notice right away is the extra tone hole next to the thumb keys.

A closer look at the extra tone hole. 

The actual C# trill key is easy to spot.

Yellow and orange arrows point to the mechanism tubing that both flutes have -- blue arrow points to the extra tube for the C# trill key. 

Karl is pointing to the extra cradle for the extra tube.

A view of the extra cradle from the back.

Yellow arrow points to the one-piece post extension.

Karl is pointing to the extra adjustment for the C# trill key height.  We couldn't capture the actual adjustment in this photo, but it is a very small piece of felt under the key.

Registering Your Powell

The Powell website has several "interactive" features including scheduling repairs and trials, but it also has a portal to the digital version of the Powell database.  This is found in the Q Club section of the site.  You'll find it on the left-hand side of the page under "serial number search."  If you click on "serial number search," it will take you to the online version of the "Powell bible."  Anyone can use this feature, whether you own a Powell or not.  If, for instance, you are thinking of buying a Powell, you can enter the serial number and find the specs.  This can be particularly helpful whether you are looking to buy a new or used Powell flute.  The results of the search would give you a screen that looks like this:

You can look up serial numbers easily on our website.

It is also very important to register your Powell flute online.  If you have recently purchased one -- old or new -- make sure to register on the Q Club page.  Once you are registered, you can create appraisals, which most people need for insurance policies on their instruments.  We had a previous post on how to create appraisals, which you can read at http://www.flutebuilder.com/2013/01/appraisals.html.  When you register your flute, the information is transferred to the electronic database at Powell.  This helps us keep accurate records so that you can have the complete history of your flute.  We keep records here at the office, and every Powell owner has a complete file of repair history, appraisals, and any other correspondence with Powell.  Often times, you may want to send in your flute for a C.O.A., but you may not remember when it was last serviced.  If your flute is registered here at Powell, we will have its complete history, so you can contact us, and we will be able to tell you when that last C.O.A. was done.

Unfortunately, instrument theft can occur.  If your flute is registered with us, we can help in the event that it is stolen.  It would be reported as stolen, and it would be much easier to find if it turns up in a shop somewhere or in someone else's hands.  Powell Artist Bonita Boyd had her Powell flute stolen very early in her professional career.  Many years later, a call came through to the Powell office asking for specs on a flute -- which happened to be hers!  It was easily identified in the system, and the inquiry helped in the recovery process. 

Your flute is a cherished investment that you will want to care for and protect, so registering it is critical.  If you are purchasing a pre-owned Powell, please make sure to register it as well.  Often times, a Powell flute may have been owned by multiple people, and if it is properly registered by the owners, we can maintain records of its history.  If you currently own a Powell and haven't registered it with us yet, it's never too late! 

We have records of all registered Powell flutes, many with extraordinary histories...