Building the White Gold Flute - Part 3

This week, we spent time with Custom flute body maker, Alex Shtyrkov, once again.  He was preparing to silver braze the tone holes,  Now, we realize that this type of tone hole is referred to as a "soldered tone hole," but Powell actually silver brazes its tone holes.  What is the difference?  Well, brazing requires a much higher temperature than soldering, and the flute is put through an oven for the brazing process.  We have a previous post on brazing and soldering at http://www.flutebuilder.com/2012/06/why-solder-matters.html.  In the video below, you will see Alex prepare the tone holes with a brazing paste and then put the flute through the brazing oven.

After the flute comes out of the oven, Alex removes the small fixtures that held the tone hole rings on to the body for the brazing process.  At this point, the actual holes need to be made in the body, which is referred to as "milling tone holes."  It is basically a process of cutting through the metal with a rotary device to make the hole.  After the holes are milled, Alex "faces" the tops of the tone hole rings so that they will be the proper height and shape.  You will see the milling and facing in the video below:

Check back next week as we the body making process continues...

Building the White Gold Flute - Part 2

We're in week 2 of our white gold NFA Custom flute's journey to being completed.  When we last saw the flute, it was in raw material form -- body tubes and components in the body and stringing kits.  As the body and stringing kits were being assembled in the materials department, the body tubes (center and footjoint), were sent over to Powell production team member Jason Sherman.  Jason's role is to drill very small holes in the tubes.  Each hole is the center of what will actually be the full tone hole.  As with the entire process, accuracy is key.  In order to drill these holes precisely, Jason programs a CNC (Computer Numeric Control) to drill the holes into their exact locations on the tubes, as you will see in the video below.  He repositions the tubes a few times during the process to drill offset holes as well as holes on the side and back of the tubes.

Footjoint after initial holes were drilled.

After the holes are drilled, the body tubes go back to the materials department and are placed in the body kit.  The body kit is then picked up by the body maker, Alex Shtyrkov.  We spent a few days with Alex as he prepared each and every tone hole to be brazed to the body.  Before the tone holes are brazed on to the body, they must be prepared to fit the tubes exactly.  Alex goes through each tone hole, fitting them and shaping them by hand.  Once they are ready, he attaches them to the body to prepare for brazing.  The tone holes must be secured so that they do not move during the brazing process.  Securing the tone holes requires the use of small fixtures that go through the initial center holes that were drilled by Jason.  Alex secures each tone hole, and then prepares them for brazing, which we will see next week...

Building the White Gold Flute - Part 1

Entering the order

As we prepare for the 2014 NFA Convention, we'd like to highlight the process of building a flute -- but not just any flute.  In fact, we are building a 14k white gold Powell Custom with 14k rose gold keys specifically for this year's Convention.  In our series of posts, we will follow the white gold flute from start to finish!  Recently, we discovered letters of correspondence between Verne Q. Powell and Fritz Baker.  Baker was the former principal flutist with the Denver Symphony and owner of Powell #900, the only completely white gold flute made by Mr. Powell.  Click here to read a previous post on the color of white gold and here for a detailed post on Mr. Baker's white gold flute.

The process of building a Powell flute begins with a sales order being entered into our computer system.  The order specifies the details and specs of the flute, and then a work order is generated.  The work order follows the flute along every step as the flute is being made

In the videos below, we see the next two steps that take place after the work order is generated.  First, materials must be inspected.  Then, the body kit and stringing kit are put together.  We visited the materials area of the production floor to film the following videos of the materials inspection with Materials Manager, Dawn Rothwell-Mann, and assembly of kits with Materials Coordinator, Helen Power.

Piccolo Headjoint Corks

Just like your flute, your piccolo has a headjoint cork assembly.  We happened to stop by the testing room when headjoint corks were being installed, so we thought it would be a great opportunity to find out more about them!

Getting ready to secure and position the nut.

Piccolo headjoint corks (again, just like flute) will need to be replaced from time to time.  How can you tell if it's time to replace your piccolo headjoint cork?  Well, if your sound becomes "mushy" and unfocused, it's most likely time to change the cork.  Also, it's important that the nut in the cork assembly is glued down to avoid any issues like the nut coming loose and causing a buzz or rattle.  If the nut becomes loose, you will hear a buzzing or rattling sound when you play. You can also shake the headjoint to check for any rattling.

Unlike metal flutes, there is much more movement with wood.  As we know, wood expands and contracts, so there is more potential movement with the headjoint cork.  You'll want to check your headjoint cork regularly, and you can do this with your swabstick.  The mark on the swabstick should be in the middle of the embouchure hole.  If you find that the headjoint cork is out of adjustment too often, it may be time to replace it!

New headjoint corks ready to go!

Cork is properly positioned!

Numbers in the Cups?

If you have a Powell Signature or Conservatory flute, you may not have realized this, but there are numbers engraved in your key cups and on certain parts of your mechanism.  What are these numbers for?  Well, they are actually the serial number.  The reason for this is quite simple, actually.  You see, all Conservatory and Signature flutes have silver key mechanisms, so keys and mechanism components from several different flutes may be sent to the polishing room at the same time. 

Initially, each key mechanism is fit to a particular flute during the "stringing" process.  The key mechanism and body components of an individual flute are kept together in a tray in the stringing department.  However, the keys and mechanism components are removed from the trays when they are sent to the polishing room.  After polishing, they are returned to the stringing department in preparation for the flutes to then go on to the finishing department.  So, in order to insure that the proper mechanism (which has been fitted to the flute) returns to the corresponding body after polishing, the serial number is engraved in the key cups and other areas of the mechanism.  In the photos below, the blue Sharpie marks point to the areas where the serial number is engraved:

Adding a Gizmo

Close up on gizmo (on a 14K Aurumite Custom)

In a recent post on our Facebook page, we asked if there are any options people did not have on their current flutes that they would like to have had.  One response was from a flutist who said she had a Powell without a gizmo key, and she wanted to add one.  We thought, "Hmm, is it possible to add a gizmo key?" We've had inquiries about a C# trill, but never the gizmo, so we decided to find out if this would be possible.

We visited Powell's Repair Technician, Rachel Baker, and found out that the answer is yes -- you can add a gizmo key!  In fact, it's quite a simple modification (as you will see in the photos below).  If you have a B-foot flute, a gizmo key can be soldered onto the arm of the b key.  That's all there is to it!  This will allow the new gizmo to function just as it would if it were on the flute originally.

Just a refresher on the function of the gizmo -- it helps the high C speak  more easily by allowing the B cup to close without closing the C and C# cups.  Powell currently has two different shapes for its gizmo keys -- a straight one for the Signature and Conservatory models, and a curved one for the Custom models.  If you were to add a gizmo, the curved style is the one that would be added.  This addition is also quite affordable, as Rachel quoted about $150 to have the key added.  For further information, click here to read our previous post on the gizmo.  If you're ready to have it added, you can schedule the service by clicking here to access our online repair request form.

Red oval around gizmo key, red lines outline B key arm (where gizmo would be soldered).

Close up on gizmo key -- only this would be soldered.

 

Introduction of Left Hand Pinless Design

Looking through our archives, we came across the Powell Flutes newsletter from the summer of 1988.  The pinless bridge in the left hand, introduced 26 years ago, is a precursor to today’s elegant and functional pinless mechanism.  An excerpt from the 1988 newsletter article highlighting the new design is below:

The Hidden Bridge: An Improvement in Left-hand Design

The unique action of a flute, whereby certain keys must act independently some of the time, and in concert with other keys at other times, creates a design challenge.

Part of the solution to this challenge has been the use of steels or rods which run inside the sterling silver mechanism tubing.  One approach, which is the most typical one for the left hand, is to “pin” the steel to the mechanism tubing, effectively putting one key in a fixed position to another key.  A second approach has been to connect two or more keys by running a bridge from one to the other.  This method has traditionally been used for flutes with split-E and offet G to connect the right-hand E with a lever that operates the left-hand lower G.

Each approach has advantages and problems.  Mechanically, the bridge is a more secure device.  However, bridges are cumbersome to build and do not have the delicate appearance of nearly invisible pins.

Powell’s design of choice for 62 years for the left hand has been to use pins.  After Powell’s craftsperson has pinned and adjusted the left-hand mechanism, it is both effective and attractive.

The practical mechanical limitation of pins for the left hand occurs when a flutist desires a split-E in conjunction with an in-line G.  Several Japanese flutemakers began using a bridged left-hand section for split-Es around 1980.  Powell constructed a left-hand bridge on two flutes during the last three years.  While the bridge was determined to be very effective, the aesthetics were unsatisfactory.

Powell’s stringing supervisor (Tom Sears) was asked to bring his 15 years of flutemaking experience and his artistic talents to bear on the aesthetic problem.  What he finally designed, after experimenting with several methods, was a bridge for the left hand which runs below, rather than above, all of the mechanism tubing.

The “hidden bridge” is so well designed and crafted that most players cannot even find it unless the bridge is shown to them.  Powell’s new hidden bridge design is mechanically simple and accomplishes the functionality of the bridge without any oversized or extra back connections.  Aesthetically, it is the equal of pinned mechanisms.

For more on today’s  pinless mechanism, we have two videos on our YouTube channel with Powell’s President, Steven Wasser, demonstrating a model of the mechanism at the 2009 NFA Convention in New York City.  Click here to watch the first video, “Smooth as a Rolling Stone, Part 1” and here to watch “Smooth as a Rolling Stone, Part 2: Q & A.”

Red box around pinned left hand mechanism

Red box around pinless "hidden bridge"