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#1 2006-03-21 09:54:21
Cork joint is becoming loose
Hi everybody,
I would like to ask for your help concerning the cork joint of my flute.
Not knowing all the specific terms, I hope I can explain my problem clear enough:
My shakuhachi (zen-on, maple) has a cork joint and it starts to turn loose. I am using cork grease to prevent the material from drying or becoming too rough from time to time. But I have the feeling that the cork material more and more looses its thickness when I keep the two flute parts stuck together for some time. The cork material seems to loose its elasticity. I tried to keep the cork moistened/wet for about a day, just to make the cork relax a bit. Afterwards the joint worked fine again – but only for two weeks. I am not sure if it is the correct procedure to repeat again and again.
Does anybody have a helping idea?
Thank You all!
Mike
I wish I would have found this instrument much earlier in my life. But I didn´t know that I was searching for it all those years.
http://www.myspace.com/mikeshakuhachi
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#2 2006-03-21 10:45:55
- mrosenlof
- Member
- From: Louisville Colorado USA
- Registered: 2006-03-01
- Posts: 82
Re: Cork joint is becoming loose
The Conventional Wisdom (CW) about woodwind instruments with corked joints is that they should be stored taken apart. That's what I do with (western) flutes, and what other family members do with clarinets.
If your cork has become permanently compressed, any person who repairs woodwind instruments would be able to put new cork on your joint. It's a simple repair.
If the 'some time' that you keep the shakuhachi assembled is two hours, you should get it re-corked, that's not normal behavior. If it's two weeks, you should store it apart.
Last edited by mrosenlof (2006-03-21 10:48:24)
Mike Rosenlof
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#3 2006-03-22 03:39:25
Re: Cork joint is becoming loose
Thank you for your help, mrosenlof!
I thought that assembling and disassembling the flute everytime I play (more or less twice a day) might be more stressful for the corked joint than keeping it assembled. Of course I would keep the flute apart for transportation purposes. But normally, for daily use, I kept it assembled for that reason.
Mike
I wish I would have found this instrument much earlier in my life. But I didn´t know that I was searching for it all those years.
http://www.myspace.com/mikeshakuhachi
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