First of all, I want to give credit to the sources from which I gained most of this information. The main source to be credited is An Illustrated Basic Flute Repair Manual for Professionals, which is the doctoral dissertation of Horng-Jiun Lin from The Ohio State University, 2008. The second source I’d like to credit is Band Instrument Repair: Basic Repair Procedures by David H. Bailey of Nashua, New Hampshire; notes about the flute are on pages 7-10.

Tools

These are a few basic tools that will come in handy when doing basic maintenance, adjustments, and repairs on flutes.

1. 1.Long, skinny screwdrivers (not Philips head)
   

2. • Used for adjusting post screws and adjustment screws
   

3. • Blade face should be 2 to 2.5 mm
   

4. • Blade length should be 75 to 100 mm
   

2. 2.Spring hooks
   

3. • Used for pulling or pushing needle springs into place or off the spring catch
   

4. • Can also use small gauge crochet hooks
   

3. 3.Needle Point Tweezers
   

4. • Used for adjusting pads and getting into small spaces
   

4. 4.Needle Pin Vise
   

5. • Used to get pads out of their cups
   

5. 5.Small Paint Brush
   

6. • Can be used to clean dust out of nooks and crannies
   

6. 6.Key Oil
   

7. • Used in small amounts to increase action of keys, decrease friction
   

8. •Two different viscosities
   

9. -Thick/heavy oil
   

10. -Thin/medium oil
    

There are many other supplies and tools, but these are the only ones I would feel comfortable using in my own classroom. Also, many of these tools are useful when repairing other instruments, especially woodwinds.

Common Issues

1. 1.A key is limp (there is no resistance when it is pushed and it does not pop back up, it may also fall shut)
   

2. • Most Likely Cause: the spring came unhooked
   

3. -Solution: Use your spring hook or crochet hook to push/pull it back onto its catch
   

4. • Other Causes: the spring is broken
   

5. -Solution: take to a repair profession and have them replace the spring
   

2. 2.A key falls off
   

3. • Most Likely Cause: the screw holding the key on the hinge has come unscrewed and has fallen out
   

4. - Solution: try to find the screw or a replacement screw. Put the key back on the hinge (don’t force anything), and put the screw back in. Check to see if the screw or hole is stripped or if there is too much lubricant.
   

5. -If the screw or the hole is stripped, put a small amount of clear nail polish over the screw to hold it in (or do not use the flute) until you can get it to a repair person.
   

3. 3.A key sticks shut
   

4. • Most Likely Cause: there is residue making it stick shut
   

5. - Use pad paper (or whatever is available) to remove residue. Clean with small amount of alcohol on a q-tip if it still sticks
   

6. • Other Possible Cause: there is friction in the hinge rod preventing the key from opening
   

7. - Solution: If friction is minimal, put a small drop of thin oil on the outside of the hinge rod. If there is a lot of friction, unscrew the rod screw and put a small drop of thin oil in the screw hole and on the outside.
   

4. 4.A key sticks open (or possibly shut, too)
   

5. •Most Likely Cause: the hinge screw is in too tightly
   

6. -Solution: force the key shut and unscrew slowly until the key pops back open
   

7. -A good indicator of a screw being too tightly screwed in is if it is recessed beyond the top of the rod. Usually, if it is recessed, it is screwed in too tightly. Also, if a screw is sticking out above the rod, it’s probably too loose.
   

Things to Look Out For

1. 1.Low C and C# keys that are not level with each other
   

2. • Because of the way some people hold the foot joint when assembling the flute, extra pressure is put on these keys, which can bend the key out of shape and cause the pad to not close properly when played.
   

2. 2.Kids messing with the crown, unscrewing and screwing it all the time
   

3. •Although this does not necessarily always cause problems, students can potentially screw it in too tight and cause the head cork assembly to get out of place
   

3. 3.Maladjusted adjustment screws
   

4. •One author noted that, “students and parents love to mess with adjustment screws” so he included a section about how ill-adjusted adjustment screws would present themselves
   

5. •Basically, they’ll keep keys from shutting all the way when they should, or they’ll prevent all of a set of combination keys from shutting at the same time when they need to.
   

4. 4.Bent tenons and students who “wiggle” the joints together
   

5. • Tenons that are no long longer round are not easy to fix, but are easy to cause.
   

6. - Dropping disassembled flute parts on the floor, hitting them against stands, chairs, lockers, etc. and not putting head and foot joints on straight while twisting will cause bent tenons.
   

7. -You cannot fix these in your classroom and they are expensive to fix. Make sure your students know how to properly assemble their instruments. Period.
   

The manual that is strictly flute repair also gives detailed instructions on how to disassemble, adjust, clean, and reassemble an entire flute. This could be helpful in the event that you do take something apart and do not remember how to put it back together (or if your student does something like that).

The information here is just some of the most important information on flute repair I could find. These two manuals still have a wealth of knowledge to offer, and I will keep them both in my treasure chest of band resources.