Care And Feeding Instructions For Bamboo Flutes

By Patrick Olwell

House of Musical Traditions no longer carries Olwell Bamboo Flutes on a new basis. Please see Windwood Flutes for an excellent Olwell-style bamboo flute.

Humidity and Moisture

Your flute has been built to be as stable as possible; however, wood is an organic material and, unlike metal and plastic, it will respond to changes in its moisture content with changes in its shape for its entire life. The wood in a brand new flute has been carefully dried and conditioned in the workshop and should be broken in slowly to regular playing. I recommend an hour a day for the first week, and a gradual increase after that.

The greatest condition affecting the moisture content of a wooden flute is the relative humidity of the air around it. If perfectly constant humidity could be achieved outside and inside the flute, it could be guaranteed never to swell, shrink or crack unless someone sat on it or dropped it. As constant humidity is impossible, it is important to protect the flute from rapid changes in humidity. A wooden flute can adjust to different climates relatively safely as long as it is allowed to do it slowly. It should be protected in all cases against extreme dryness or humidity.

[A wooden headjoint with a metal tuning slide in an unusual case because the wood will shrink and swell, while the metal will not. It should be looked after carefully in changing climates.]

Keep in mind that "extreme" climates are fairly common. Winter in the northern United States can be very, very dry -- especially in heated houses -- while days in Doolin, Ireland can reach very high humidity, even when it feels cold out. Oiling the instrument will help protect it and we will get into that in a minute (oiling instructions below). A minor degree of shrinking and swelling is inevitable, but following are a few suggestions for travelling between wet and dry climates and times of year.

• Never force a socket and tenon together that are swollen too tight to fit. Sockets can crack easily this way. When flute parts shrink from dryness and become slightly loose, the plumber's teflon tape is useful. You can put it on in very small increments and it will come off easily without damaging the cork.
• In very dry climates, you can keep the flute case sealed in a plastic bag, or keep the flute in a tightly zippered nylon pouch. Simply shake the flute out after playing, rather than swabbing it, to help it retain moisture.
• In a wet climate, swab the flute out after playing with a plastic cleaning rod and a lint-free cloth. Silk is ideal. Basically, in wet climates you want to prevent moisture from entering the flute. In dry climates you want to prevent moisture from leaving it.
• Always allow the flute to warm up to room temperature before playing it.

Oiling

Oil the bore of your flute regularly with a thin coat of organic oil. In very dry climates and with a brand new flute you will have to oil it more often. Maybe once a week at first, and once a month after, depending on how much you play and how much oil the wood absorbs. If the wood can absorb more oil, it should. Sight down the bore with a bright light now and then to see if it is overly dry. You can put a little piece of oily, lint-free rag on the end of a plastic cleaning rod. Oil the bore, sockets and the thin edge of endgrain. Avoid getting oil on the tenons, corks, keys, pads and metal tubing. You can also dab a little bit of oil on the inside edges of the mouth hole with a Q-tip. Never stick anything metal into your flute. It will scratch easily.

Organic, vegetable-based oils penetrate the wood fibers, displacing moisture that would like to enter the wood. Inorganic oils simply sit on the surface of the wood and foul things up. The best oils for wooden flutes are olive and almond. Almond oil can go "off," oxidize or turn rancid. The clear, sweet almond oil sold in pharmacies in Ireland and Britain seems to be purified and less likely to do this than the "cold pressed" almond oil from health food stores in the U.S. A small amount of Vitamin E mixed in is an antioxidant and will preserve the oil, as will refridgeration. Raw linseed oil (never use boiled) is okay on blackwood flutes where it seems to be non-hardening. I use a food grade flaxseed oil sold refridgerated in health food stores on my blackwood flute. It is especially nice for the embouchure hole.

Temperature

The effect of temperature on wooden flutes is evident mostly in the intonation. A cold flute will play flatter, and will sharpen in pitch as it warms up (one of the reasons a tuning slide can be so useful). Temperature also works with moisture absorption as a flute adjusts to being played, so take care to let your flute warm to room temperature before playing it.

Other Stuff

Apply cork grease as needed to cork tenons. In addition to being a lubricant, cork grease on the largest tenon in the headjoint will repel moisture and help keep the cork and wood from swelling excessively.

If, despite the most meticulous loving care, your flute does crack, DO NOT put oil or any kind of wax in the crack. This will prevent the glue used in a repair from adhering. Wind the cracked bit tightly with string or a rubber band and contact the House of Musical Traditions Also, avoid taking a file or sandpaper to the flute to correct problems with the fit of the tenons or keys. If the fit is not corrected by acclimation and attention to the guidance in this article, contact the House of Musical Traditions.